Jan. 13--It's official: The pope is pro-life.
I know he's pro-life, the way we typically use the term. But since ascending to the papacy, Pope Francis has repeatedly called on his followers (and would-be followers) to pay equal respect to the human life that happens outside the womb.
Presiding over a Vatican baptism of 33 infants on Sunday, he announced that mothers should feel free to breast-feed their infants inside the Sistine Chapel. He made a similar pronouncement last year.
"If they are hungry, mothers, feed them, without thinking twice," he said at the time. "Because they are the most important people here."
I love this guy.
From his "Who am I to judge?" interview (full quote: "A gay person who is seeking God, who is of good will -- well, who am I to judge him?") to his authorization of new laws that criminalize the sexual abuse of children by Vatican City clergy members, to his push for human rights in Asia this week, this pope keeps finding ways to demonstrate that lives -- all of them -- matter.
"The great work of rebuilding must embrace ... promoting human dignity, respect for human rights and the full inclusion of each member of society," the pope said Tuesday in largely Buddhist Sri Lanka, which has been torn apart by religious violence.
Feed and love your fellow humans. Don't think twice. It's a message so plain in its essence that it often goes without saying. It should be said.
I hate that we divide our reproductive rights conversations -- which are so complicated and nuanced and fraught with the strongest of emotions -- into woefully inadequate sides: pro-life or pro-choice. I hate that one is seen as antithetical to the other.
Because many of us who support reproductive rights also have the highest regard for human life -- all human life, regardless of age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or country of origin.
This pope is helping shift the conversation toward improving the lives of all humans.
For that, I love this guy.
hstevens@tribpub.com
Twitter @heidistevens13
