Pope Francis ‘Stunned’ by Abortion Rate in Spain

The Holy Father made the comment after being informed by visiting Spanish bishops that more than 110,000 abortions occur annually in their nation.

Pope Francis blesses a group of Spanish bishops during their ad limina visit to the Vatican.
Pope Francis blesses a group of Spanish bishops during their ad limina visit to the Vatican. (photo: ctv.va)

MADRID — The spokesman for the Spanish Bishops’ Conference said that when a group of bishops from Spain informed Pope Francis of the abortion rate in their country, the Holy Father said he was “stunned.”

For more than five years, the number of abortions in Spain has topped 110,000 annually.

According to the Cope Radio Network, Father Jose Maria Gil Tamayo revealed the Pope’s reaction on his Twitter account Feb. 28 and quoted the Holy Father as saying that, in many cases, “The god of money is the focus and not the human person.”

“Whatever doesn’t fit into that arrangement is thrown away, and the children that are unwanted are thrown away,” Pope Francis reportedly told the bishops.

The group of Spanish bishops making their ad limina visit included Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela of Madrid, along with his auxiliaries, Bishop Fidel Herraez, Bishop Cesar Augusto Franco and Bishop Juan Antonio Martinez Camino. Bishop Joaquin Maria Lopez de Andujar of Getafe and Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Pla were also among the Spanish prelates.

Diocesan bishops make an ad limina visit to the Vatican every five years to report to the pope on the state of their local Churches.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

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‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis