Pope blasts ‘culture of waste’ after Roe
ROME — Pope Francis celebrated families Saturday and urged them to shun “selfish” decisions that are indifferent to life as he closed out a big Vatican rally a day after the U.S. Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion.
Francis didn’t refer to the ruling or explicitly mention abortion in his homily. But he used the buzzwords he has throughout his papacy about the need to defend families and to condemn a “culture of waste” that he believes is behind the societal acceptance of abortion.
The pope, noting that some couples allow their fears and anxieties to “thwart the desire to bring new lives in the world,” called for them not to cling to selfish desires.
“You have been asked to not have other priorities, not to ‘look back’ to miss your former life, your former freedom, with its deceptive illusions,” he said.
Wisconsin gov vows to fight state’s 173-year-old abortion ban
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who a very tight race four years ago, hopes to translate anger over the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade into votes this fall as he vows to fight a 173-year-old state abortion ban, including offering clemency to any doctor convicted and not appointing prosecutors who would enforce the prohibition.
“Any time you take half the people in Wisconsin and make them second-class citizens, I have to believe there’s going to be a reaction to that,” Evers said Saturday.
Police at Arizona Capitol fire tear gas at protesters
PHOENIX — Police fired tear gas to disperse abortion rights supporters demonstrating outside the Arizona Capitol Friday night, forcing lawmakers to huddle briefly in a basement inside the building as they rushed to complete their 2022 session.
Thousands of protesters had gathered earlier on the Capitol grounds in Phoenix, divided into groups both supporting and condemning the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Authorities said there were no injuries or arrests.