In response to a parliamentary question from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP), Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Minister for Foreign Affairs Xavier Bettel argued that it is not the government’s place to comment on statements made by Pope Francis during his visit to Belgium in late September.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo condemned statements made by the Pope as “unacceptable”. The statements in question included Pope Francis equating abortion to “murder” and congratulating King Baudouin for refusing to sign what Francis referred to as a “murderous bill”.
The Belgian head of government also demanded respect for the work done by doctors, after the Pope labelled medical professionals carrying out abortions as “hitmen”, and criticised Francis’ patriarchal views on women which the Pontiff expressed during his visit to the university in Louvain-la-neuve.
Alexander de Croo’s statements certainly stand in contrast to the reception of Pope Francis in Luxembourg the day before, where official representatives, including the government, refrained from criticising the Pope or the Vatican in any way.
In their response, Frieden and Bettel also do not comment on whether they insist on the right to abortion in bilateral meetings with the Vatican. The ministers merely referred to current legislation and the coalition agreement, in which the government pledges to abolish the mandatory “reflection period” of three days between consultation and termination of pregnancy.
