At a press conference on his flight from France to Rome, Pope Leo XIV defended his willingness to speak out on behalf of the right to life.
“I went primarily to preach the Gospel, to preach the Good News, to reaffirm what Jesus Christ Himself says when He says I am the way, the truth, and the life, so to speak the truth that Jesus offers us.,” Pope Leo said in response to a French reporter’s question. “The defense of life is something that as you all know the Church teaches, believes very deeply.”
“The Church, because of Jesus Himself, wants to be close to those people [the sick and disabled] and to affirm the values that life itself I think holds for all of us,” the Pope continued. “So, I would say, if that’s politics, I did that, but it was not to get involved in French politics. It was to teach what the Church really believes.”
The Pontiff also addressed questions about sexual abuse, the war in Ukraine, the housing crisis, and AI.