ROME (AP) 鈥 Pope Francis ushered in the New Year with a renewed appeal for the faithful to reject abortion, calling for a 鈥渇irm commitment鈥 to protect and respect life from conception to natural death.
Francis, 88, celebrated a New Year鈥檚 Day Mass in St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica on Wednesday that was dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
In his homily, he prayed that everyone learns to care for 鈥渆very child born of a woman鈥 and to protect 鈥渢he precious gift of life: life in the womb, the lives of children, the lives of the suffering, the poor, the elderly, the lonely and the dying.鈥
鈥淚 ask for a firm commitment to respect the dignity of human life from conception to natural death, so that each person may cherish his or her own life and all may look with hope to the future,鈥 he said, using the terminology of the church's opposition to abortion and euthanasia.
In recent years, the Argentine Jesuit has been speaking out more emphatically about abortion than he did at the start of his pontificate. After two doctrinaire popes, Francis complained in the first months of his papacy in 2013 that the church had become obsessed by such as abortion.
Francis now regularly refers to procuring an abortion as 鈥渉iring a hitman to solve a problem.鈥
He recently when he criticized its abortion law as 鈥渉omicidal鈥 and announced he wanted to rather than approve legislation legalizing the procedure. The Vatican recently announced that the beatification process is under way for King Baudouin, who died in 1993.
The morning Mass marked the final big event of Francis' busy Christmas schedule. For the pope, who suffers from recurrent respiratory problems, this year's season was even more challenging with the start of the Vatican's big Holy Year, a once-every-quarter-century celebration of the faith that is expected to bring 32 million pilgrims to Rome during 2025.
Speaking to pilgrims who gathered in a sun-filled St. Peter's Square, Francis recalled the Jubilee's central message of the He again called for world leaders from wealthy countries to eliminate or reduce the debts owed by poorer countries.
Francis urged Christian leaders, in particular, 鈥渢o provide a good example鈥 by taking the lead to forgive debts.
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