An Argentinean archbishop has urged the faithful not to vote for candidates or parties that support abortion, insisting that voting for them would be a “mortal sin.”

In choosing whom to vote for in Argentina’s upcoming elections, “the abortion issue is one of the chief topics to consider,” said Archbishop Hector Aguer in the television program Keys to a Better World on Saturday. “Opting for a pro-abortion candidate or for a party that includes abortion in its platform is a mortal sin.”

“We become accomplices if we vote for people who are going to pass a law that facilitates abortion or that legalizes this abominable crime,” said the emeritus archbishop of La Plata, adding that conscientious objection for pro-life people is under attack in Argentina.

According to Catholic teaching, a “mortal sin” is a gravely evil action that separates a person from God and, if unrepented, is sufficient to send that person to hell.

According to the biblical first letter of Saint John, there is a difference between deadly sins and those that do not lead to death.

If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

“We cannot vote for those parties or candidates who have declared themselves in favor of abortion,” the archbishop said. “They are going to try to play dumb, of course, but we must demand that they declare their position on this issue and as soon as we know, we will decide our vote.”

“Even if they have no ethical or religious conscience, we do,” he said.

“It is a mortal sin to vote for a party or a candidate who supports abortion, and I will argue this with anyone, because if not, what will become of us?” he said. “This is about the life of a defenseless human being, innocent, the poorest of the poor, in this we cannot compromise.”

The archbishop’s reflections mirrored those of Pope Francis, another Argentinean, who said last month that abortion is “never the answer,” while comparing it to the crime of hiring a hit man to kill someone.

In his address, the pope insisted that being pro-life is not just a Catholic or Christian position, but one that appeals to justice and right reason.

Francis also Francis denounced selective abortions, saying they stem from an inhuman “eugenic” mentality.

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