What happened
Pope Leo XIV recently visited France, where he showed compassion to disabled people, including a severely disabled girl he blessed during his visit. This act is seen as a rebuke to secular European society, which is increasingly accepting of euthanasia and abortion, particularly for people with disabilities.
The pope chose six men and boys with Down Syndrome to be his altar servers at an open-air Mass in Paris, and he openly condemned assisted suicide, urging the French to reject the "false compassion" of euthanasia and abortion of the disabled. This stance is in contrast to the views of French President Emmanuel Macron, who pushed for an "aid in dying" law that was recently passed in France.
The pope's words and actions are seen as a condemnation of the utilitarian and neopagan view of human life that is prevalent in modern European society, where the dignity of human life is seen as contingent on factors such as health, productivity, and utility. This view is exemplified by the recent case of a two-year-old disabled child who was euthanized in the Netherlands, a country where euthanasia has been legal for 25 years.
The pope's visit and his affirmation of the humanity and dignity of disabled people are seen as a powerful rebuke to this view, and a testament to the enduring power of the Christian faith to shape our understanding of human life and dignity.
