Pope Leo XIV visits France amid abortion, euthanasia tensions

Pope Leo XIV arrived in France on Friday for a four-day visit that includes a stop at the Lourdes shrine. The trip comes months after France enshrined abortion as a constitutional right in 2024 and passed a law in July 2025 allowing assisted dying for terminally ill adults.

Catholic doctrine opposes both abortion and euthanasia, insisting life must be protected from conception to natural death. French bishops set the visit's motto as "That the world may have life," signalling the theme.

“We already know the question of life and respect for life — not only from an ethical standpoint, but in many ways — is at the heart of the pope's message.”

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, head of the French bishops' conference, said the pope is expected to raise respect for life during his stay. Leo XIV has previously emphasised human dignity from the unborn to migrants in his encyclical on artificial intelligence.

The visit carries political weight seven months before a French presidential election. The Elysée prepared a state visit protocol, while the Vatican labelled it an apostolic visit, leading to compromises such as no Republican Guard escort and no Elysee dinner.

Tensions also exist within the French Catholic Church, where a radical faction is engaged in electoral battles. Leo XIV, the first pope born after World War II, has already shown a firm temperament in his short papacy.