Pope Francis in 2005: Defend the right to life even if they ‘have you killed’
ROME, March 15, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As Pope Francis makes headlines across the globe for his public gestures of humility, he is also turning heads for his strong preaching on both faith and the crucial moral issues of the day.
As a Cardinal, in addition to condemning abortion in the strongest terms, he also urged the public to be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to end this devastating atrocity.
Pope Francis, then Cardinal Bergoglio, in 2005.
In 2005, as activists urged Argentina to legalize abortion, the future pontiff urged Catholics to defend the right to life even if they “deliver you to the courts” or “have you killed.”
At a Mass in Buenos Aires on Aug. 31st, 2005 in honor of St. Raymond Nonnatus (Raymond "the unborn"), who is revered as the holy protector of pregnant women, the then-Cardinal said that promoting life is “a road that is full of wolves.”
“Perhaps for that reason they might bring us to the courts. Perhaps, for that reason, for caring for life, they might kill us,” he said. “We should think about the Christian martyrs. They killed them for preaching this Gospel of life, this Gospel that Jesus brought. But Jesus gives us the strength.”
The future pontiff also urged the faithful to “be astute” in promoting the Gospel of life. “Go forth! Don't be fools,” he said. “Remember, a Christian doesn't have the luxury of being foolish. … He can't give himself the luxury. He has to be clever, he has to be astute, to carry this out.”
The Cardinal also said: “When one listens to what Jesus says: Look, ‘I send you, I send you like sheep amongst the wolves,’ one has the desire to ask: ‘Lord, are you joking, or do you not have a better place to send us?’ Because what Jesus says is a little chilling: ‘if you proclaim my message, they are going to persecute you, they are going to slander you, they are going to set traps to deliver you to the courts and to have you killed. But you must continue forward. For that reason, take care, Jesus says, and be astute, be clever like the serpent but very simple like doves,’ joining the two things.”