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QUEBEC (LifeSiteNews) — Speaking in the presence of pro-abortion Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Pope Francis criticized the “ideological colonizations” which target “the unborn,” and defended the Church’s role in protecting life from “conception to natural death.”
The Pontiff made his comments in Quebec’s Citadel building where he met with various dignitaries including Justin Trudeau and the Governor General of Canada Mary Simon.
Following a pagan “smudging” ritual, which called on “the sacred circle of spirits,” Francis delivered an address in which he lamented a “colonizing mentality,” and spoke of a need for the Catholic Church to “promote indigenous cultures.”
‘Unborn’ are the ‘forgotten ones’
While much of the early part of his speech focussed on the Catholic Church’s relation to the Indigenous peoples, Francis turned to what he described as “ideological colonizations” which permeated modern society.
“Even today there is no shortage of ideological colonizations that contrast the reality of existence, stifle the natural attachment to the values of peoples, and attempt to eradicate their traditions, history and religious ties,” he said.
Modern society, filled with a sense of self-importance, “makes room for that cancel culture that evaluates the past only according to certain current categories,” he said.
This leads to a “cultural fashion” which neglects the “duties towards the weakest and most fragile of our brothers and sisters,” said Francis, including “the unborn.”
“Thus a cultural fashion is implanted that standardizes, makes everything the same, does not tolerate differences and focuses only on the present moment, on the needs and rights of individuals, often neglecting the duties towards the weakest and most fragile: the poor, migrants, the elderly, the sick, the unborn,” Francis said.
They become the “forgotten ones in affluent societies,” he continued, and are then “discarded like dry leaves to be burned.”
Moments earlier, Justin Trudeau had issued yet another fiery attack against the Catholic Church for “its role” in the “spiritual abuse, cultural abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse of Indigenous children in Church run residential schools.”
However, Francis appeared to somewhat rebuff Trudeau’s criticism – which he has made on several prior occasions – highlighting the Church’s “service” of life at “every stage, from conception to natural death.”
Referencing the “values of society” which the “political system alone cannot produce,” Francis stated:
“And the Catholic Church, too, with its universal dimension and its care for the most fragile, with its legitimate service in favor of human life at every stage, from conception to natural death, is happy to offer its contribution.”
Francis’ and Trudeau’s actions supporting abortion
The Pope’s comments gained a particular significance given those he was addressing. Following the U.S. Supreme Court leak pre-empting the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Trudeau publicly voiced his support for the killing of the unborn on demand. “The right to choose is a woman’s right and a woman’s right alone,” he tweeted.
READ: Justin Trudeau and Pope Francis share a similar vision for the world: the evidence
Indeed, the self-professed Catholic has regularly professed his support for abortion, and since taking office in 2015 his Liberal government has put forward many pro-abortion policies such as stripping pregnancy resource centers of their charitable status because they promote life instead of abortion. Trudeau’s Liberal Party’s 2021 election platform specifically targeted pro-life groups, including organizations that directly help women in crisis pregnancies.
However, Pope Francis has a peculiar record with regards to abortion.
He has previously presented some Catholic teaching regarding the immorality of abortion, albeit not always firmly or extensively, and often likened abortion to “hiring a hitman.” Yet his actions have undermined any vocal opposition to abortion which he makes.
The Pope has repeatedly sided with the United Nations (UN) and its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is heavily pro-abortion. He expressed support for the U.N’s Goals, despite them calling for “universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs,” which includes contraception and abortion.
READ: Pope claims he speaks out often against abortion, his actions suggest otherwise
In recent weeks he authorized and defended the Vatican’s joining of the Paris Climate Agreement, despite its pro-abortion tenets.
Francis has also ignored Catholic teaching regarding Holy Communion for pro-abortion politicians on a number of occasions. According to pro-abortion Joe Biden, Francis has given him Holy Communion, and in October last year, Biden told reporters that in a private meeting Pope Francis told him to “keep receiving Communion,” despite the politician’s continued, staunchly pro-abortion stance and support for LGBT ideology.
When the pro-abortion U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was recently barred from Holy Communion by her local bishop, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, Francis notably allowed her to receive Communion at a Papal Mass on June 29.
READ: Pope Francis again praises notorious abortionist Emma Bonino: ‘I have great respect for’ her
Such is the Pope’s effective disregard for Catholic moral teaching regarding abortion, that a prominent Vatican theologian suggested Francis might soon issue a new encyclical undermining the Church’s opposition to contraception and IVF.
Francis signaled his move away from traditional Catholic morality early on his pontificate, when he famously rebuked Catholics for being “like rabbits,” urging instead “responsible parenthood.” Following a media storm over his comments, Francis later had to apologize for his comparison.