Pope Francis has condemned the act of surrogacy and called for its ban. He made this statement on Monday, January 8, in a speech by Vatican City, which was reported by CNN.
The Pope said, “I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs.
“A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract. At every moment of its existence, human life must be preserved and defended.”
He added that his wish to see the international community yield to his desire.
Surrogacy is an option for those who desire to be parents and have struggled to conceive on their own.
The reason for the opposition of surrogacy by the Catholic Church is because it depersonalizes conception and disposes of some embryos, which it argues is the equivalent to abortion.
In recent times, the Pope has been in the news for various reasons. In December 2023, he approved a document that endorses the blessing of same sex marriage after the “couple” must have followed some measures.
The Pope’s decision was followed with a backlash from different Bishop Conferences globally. This made the doctrinal office of the Vatican to release a five-page statement to clarify the “Fiducia Supplicans” guidance it released on December 18, 2023.
The reception to the guidance was addressed by the head of the doctrinal office, Cardinal Victor Fernández, who asked for a full understanding of the guidance.
Vatican News reported that Fernández said the contrary statements from bishop’s conferences globally against the Pope’s declaration cannot be interpreted as doctrinal opposition because the document is clear and definitive about marriage and sexuality.
He added, "There is no room to distance ourselves doctrinally from this declaration or to consider it heretical, contrary to the tradition of the church, or blasphemous."
Besides, he said that the blessing of the same sex marriage is informal and it does mean an approval of anything in particular. Rather, it is a “response of a pastor towards two persons who ask for God's help.”
In his words: “Such non-liturgical blessings may require more time for application "depending on local contexts and the discernment of each diocesan bishop within his diocese.
"In some places, no difficulties arise for their immediate application, while in others it will be necessary not to introduce them, while taking the time necessary for reading and interpretation."
Post a Comment