ROME — Belgium’s Prime Minister has protested remarks by Pope Francis condemning abortion as murder, insisting they constitute interference in the country’s internal affairs.
During his recent visit to Belgium, the pontiff praised the late King Baudouin for his courage in choosing to temporarily “leave his position as king to avoid signing a murderous law,” which legalized abortion in 1990.
At the time, Baudouin explained his decision to the Prime Minister, saying: “I fear that this law will contribute to a palpable diminution of respect for the lives of the weakest among us.”
“Is it right that I am the only Belgian citizen to be forced to act against his conscience in such a crucial area?” he asked. “Is the freedom of conscience sacred for everyone except for the king?”
The pope visited the royal crypt beneath the Basilica of Our Lady of Laeken with the current King and Queen of Belgium and prayed before the tomb of King Baudouin, who reigned from 1951 until his death in 1993.
Francis urged Belgians to look to Baudouin at a time when criminal laws are being enacted and pledged to expedite the late king’s cause for beatification.
“May his example as a man of faith enlighten the rulers,” he said.
In response to the pope’s remarks, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said he will summon the Vatican’s ambassador to formally protest the pope’s words.
“It is absolutely unacceptable for a foreign head of state to make such statements about democratic decision-making in our country,” De Croo said Thursday during a session in Belgium’s Chamber of Deputies.
“We do not need lessons on how our parliamentarians democratically approve laws,” De Croo added. “Fortunately, the time when the Church dictated laws in our country is long gone.”
On October 2, the rector of the Free University of Brussels, Jan Danckaert, published an article in De Standaard claiming the pope was fomenting “hatred” against abortionists and that his language “not only insults the doctors who perform abortions, but also Belgium and its population.”
“It is actually unheard of that a foreign head of state — because that is what Pope Francis is — assumes the right to attack a law of another and moreover democratic country,” Danckaert stated.
Danckaert noted that the pope had returned to the topic of abortion during his in-flight press conference on the way back to Rome, in which he compared abortionists to “hitmen.”
“Let’s not forget to say this: Abortion is murder,” the pope told journalists. “Science says that just one month after conception, all the organs are present.”
“A human being dies, a human being is killed,” he continued. “And the doctors who take part in this are – allow me to use the word – they’re hitmen. They are hitmen. This cannot be disputed. A human life is being killed.”
The Belgian parliament is currently considering legislation that would expand abortion access from the first 12 to the first 18 weeks of pregnancy.
