A number of organisations, including CID Fraen an Gender, Femmes en Détresse, Planning Familial, the Greens and the Left, have hit back at statements made during Pope Francis' visit to Luxembourg this week.
In a joint statement,, the organisations said they noted the statements with "indignation and concern", particularly a comment made by Luxembourg cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich regarding US presidential candidate Kamala Harris' stance on abortion. The cardinal expressed his opinion that abortion is "barbaric" and said there should be no exceptions, not even for rape or incest.
The organisations said these statements not only represented an attack on women's rights for self-determination, but also showed the role of women in the eyes of the Catholic Church.
"The right to an abortion is enshrined in law in Luxembourg. The fact that the cardinal dismisses the exercise of this right as a "wrong decision" shows a serious disregard for individual freedom of choice and the human suffering that accompanies such difficult situations," campaigners wrote.
This was subsequently emphasised by Pope Francis' call for people in Luxembourg to have more children, in his speech given at the Cercle Cité on Thursday afternoon. The statement says that neither the Pope nor the Catholic Church should interfere in family planning or people's sexuality.
"We call on the Catholic Church and its representatives to conduct the dialogue about abortion and women's rights on the basis of respect, empathy and understanding of the complexity of the issue, instead of relying on moral condemnations and dogmatic positions," the statement concluded.
