Pope Leo Takes On Assisted Death, Secularism, Education In Blunt Message To French Establishment
Pope Leo XIV has used his apostolic visit to France, running from September 25-28, 2026 to discuss abortion, euthanasia, surrogacy and the place of Catholic schools in a once staunchly Catholic, but not officially secular country.
The pope’s trip is unfolding amid French President Emmanuel Macron’s progressive government which enshrined abortion in the Constitution in 2024 and recently passed legislation legalizing assisted death. Pope Leo addressed some of the underlying questions on these issues while invoking Catholic teaching.
While at the Elysee Palace in Paris Friday, the American pope, whose grandmother was French, delivered his speech in the country’s native tongue. He remarked that modern society often expects science to eliminate or alleviate every form of suffering, a hope that “often brings the risk of self-delusion.”
When science and technology lack deeper wisdom, he said, they can offer “immediate solutions that apparently address people’s wishes and their pain” yet fail to serve the greater good. He then voiced specific concern about trends that turn scientific advances into profit-driven enterprises, citing genetic manipulation, surrogacy, the trade in human organs and “the possibility of arranging one’s own death.”
O Papa Leão parou a cidade de Paris! Cerca de 700 mil pessoas participam da missa na Place de la Concorde.
Antes da celebração eucarística, o Pontífice percorreu de papamóvel a famosa avenida dos Campos Elíseos (Champs-Élysées) https://t.co/Mx8xomqee0
— Vatican News (@vaticannews_pt) September 26, 2026
The Pope noted that mutual respect and the protection of every human life remain duties binding on all. Later, at UNESCO headquarters, he reinforced the point by stating that “the human person is someone who is conceived and born.” (Read more from “Pope Leo Takes On Assisted Death, Secularism, Education In Blunt Message To French Establishment” HERE)
