Pope Calls Abortion Evidence Of 'The Throwaway Culture'

Enlarge this image toggle caption Osservatore Romano Press Office/EPA/Landov Osservatore Romano Press Office/EPA/Landov

Pope Francis, criticized by some conservative Catholics as not speaking out forcefully against abortion, said Monday that the practice is "horrific" and evidence of "the throwaway culture."

In an annual speech known as the pontiff's "State of the World" address, Francis told diplomats and journalists gathered at the Holy See that it "is horrific even to think that there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day."

Hunger, he said, is a threat to world peace, noting that food, like human life, is being discarded as unnecessary.

"We cannot be indifferent to those suffering from hunger, especially children, when we think of how much food is wasted every day in many parts of the world immersed in what I have often termed 'the throwaway culture,' " Francis said.

Some conservative Catholics were alarmed when Francis said in September that the church must end its "obsession" with teachings on abortion, contraception and homosexuality or risk falling "like a house of cards."

As Reuters notes: