Pope Francis condemns surrogacy as ethically unacceptable – and calls for a global ban.
Vatican City – Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, pleaded with the community to advocate for a comprehensive ban on surrogacy. In his message at the audience in Vatican City, he emphasized that “a child is always a gift and never an object of contract.”
He said, “In this context, I consider the practice of so-called surrogacy to be reprehensible as it seriously violates the dignity of the woman and the child. It is based on the exploitation of the mother's material need.” Human life must be preserved and protected at every moment of its existence, said the 87-year-old.
Surrogacy is prohibited by law in many countries
During surrogacy, a woman carries a child for so-called intended parents and hands it over to them after birth. The motivations for this practice vary. In Germany, as in many other countries, surrogacy is prohibited by law. Even after the mediation, criminal proceedings will be taken. However, in some countries, surrogacy is partially permitted under certain conditions.
Pope calls for peace – “culture of death” is spreading
Pope Francis also commented on current crises and called for peace in the face of wars and conflicts. He regretted that world peace had been threatened, weakened and in some parts lost in 2024. In particular, the head of the Catholic Church referred to the Russian war with Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas. He said he was sadly aware that a worrying “culture of death” was spreading in parts of the West.
Under the guise of supposed compassion, children, the elderly and the sick are excluded. This is where he came to the topic of surrogacy. He underlined that the path of peace requires respect for every human life, starting with the unborn child in the womb, which must neither be eliminated nor made into an object of commercialization.
Pope criticizes gender theory
During the speech, Francis described gender theory as dangerous because it blurs the natural differences between people. In his words, he warned against ideological developments that do not contribute to peace but could lead to wounds and divisions between states. “Unfortunately, the attempts of the last few decades […] “This has led to ideological colonizations, among which gender theory plays a central role, which is very dangerous because it erases differences with its claim to make everyone equal,” the Pope said. (dpa/jek)
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