Pope Leo XIV: The Unborn Already Belong to the Human Family

Pope Leo XIV challenged a secular Latin American country: Defend the rights of preborn babies, protect the elderly from euthanasia, and reduce a sky-high suicide rate.

The pope recently began a 12-day journey to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, landing first in Uruguay on November 6. Uruguay has earned the unhappy title of “Latin America’s most secular country,” with over half of the country’s population identifying with no religion, and the nation having very liberal social laws.

Uruguay legalized abortion in 2012, with 11,445 abortions reported in 2025, and more than 129,000 preborn children killed since legalization. Uruguay also legalized euthanasia last year. And the country has a very high suicide rate of 19.6 per 100,000 inhabitations, among the highest in the Americas.

Speaking to President Yamandú Orsi, public officials and diplomats in Montevideo’s Plaza Independencia on Friday, Pope Leo challenged the nation to recognize the inherent worth and value of every innocent human life.

The pope specifically urged the president and public officials to remember, “The unborn already belong to the human family and to the future of their people. Their absolute dependence on their mother does not diminish the dignity to which they are entitled or the protection they deserve.”

“Welcoming a new life requires that fathers assume their responsibility alongside mothers, that the family offer its support, and that social conditions exist that allow both parents to raise and care for their children,” Pope Leo insisted. “The protection of the unborn and the support of those who welcome them are inseparable.”

Pope Leo also emphasized the importance of the natural family which “remains the primary setting in which each person is welcomed and learns to live with others.” Quoting Pope John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio, he reiterated, “The future of humanity passes by way of the family.”

Pope Leo also affirmed the dignity and value of the elderly, even if, in view of modern society’s materialism, they do not benefit a society economically.

“Today … people’s worth cannot be measured by what they produce, by their work or by their ability to fend for themselves,” he said. “The fundamental dignity of each person, therefore, is neither acquired nor earned, nor does it need to be justified.”

Addressing Uruguay’s very high suicide rate, Pope Leo urged the nation’s citizens to reestablish and strengthen the family ties that connect them, and to reach out to those suffering and in need.

“Today, we can live our lives surrounded by others, at work, on the streets, or even in our own homes, yet remain unaware of the burdens that others may be carrying,” the pope said. “Loneliness, anxiety and the loss of hope can become so profound that a person no longer sees a reason to continue living.”

He added, “Given the painful reality of suicide, it is clear that adequate health care, family ties, and the closeness of the community are inseparable. None should ever feel like a stranger among their own or think that their absence matters less than their presence.”

Two days later, Pope Leo traveled to Argentina, a more religious country, but which became the largest nation in South America to legalize abortion in December 2020. After Argentina’s Senate passed the bill legalizing abortion, throngs of abortion activists celebrated in the streets.

Pope Leo urged the nation to protect the dignity of all human beings in an address before Argentinian President Javier Milei, public officials and diplomats in Buenos Aires.

“Before asking ourselves what kind of world we will leave our children, we must first recognize their dignity,” Pope Leo instructed. “Our responsibility toward future generations begins with welcoming life from its very first moments and safeguarding it until its natural end.”

Pope Leo’s defense of preborn children, the elderly and those suffering and alone is a welcome challenge to South America’s continued secularization.

Let us hope and pray for the protection of all human lives, both here in the United States and around the world. And let us also recommit to doing what we can in our own lives to protect the most vulnerable among us.

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Photo from Getty Images.