Pope Francis has strongly condemned abortions and the practice of surrogate motherhood, saying they are serious violations of human dignity.
In the principles released by the Vatican on Monday, the leader of the Catholic Church also condemned gender reassignment and “gender theory,” as offences that undermine the dignity of human beings
“Any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception,” said Mr Francis.
A human being, whether unborn or not, is always something sacred and inviolable, according to the document.
The termination of a pregnancy means nothing other than denying human dignity to the “most defenceless’’ beings.
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The Vatican’s latest declaration draws a parallel between abortion and surrogacy when , woman carries a child on behalf of someone else and then gives it to them after the birth.
In this way, the declaration says, a child becomes a “mere object’’ and the dignity of the woman is violated for reasons of profit.
The Vatican, as an institution, has taken a clear stance against gender reassignment.
The declaration, called Dignitas infinita (infinite dignity), was published after years of preparation by the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith under the leadership of Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández.
Mr Francis had previously approved it.
The topics addressed in it also include war, poverty, migration, human trafficking, and violence against women.
