WATCH: Pope Leo Makes First Public Comments on Abortion And What It Means to Be Pro-Life

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Pope Leo XIV jumped into the U.S.’s seemingly never-ending abortion debate and offered his own view of what it means to truly be “pro-life” this week.

As noted in a report from The Associated Press, the Pope on Tuesday night was confronted about the Church’s decision to award Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) with a lifetime achievement award. The award is meant to recognize Durbin’s work assisting immigrants. That decision has not come without controversy, with critics pointing to Durbin’s pro-choice view on abortion.

Asked how the Catholic Church can grapple with honoring someone who supports abortion, the Pope explained how he believes the pro-life crowd suffers from its own contradictions:

Someone who says, “I’m against abortion,” but says, “I’m in favor of the death penalty,” is not really pro-life. Someone who says that “I’m against abortion,” but, “I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants who are in the United States,” I don’t know if that’s pro-life. So, they’re very complex issues. I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them; but I would ask, first and foremost, that there be greater respect for one another and that we search together, both as human beings — in that case, as American citizens or citizens of the state of Illinois — as well as as Catholics to say we need to really look closely at all of these ethical issues and to find the way forward as Church. The Church teaching on each one of those issues is very clear.

Pope Leo’s comments were brought up during Wednesday’s White House briefing. In response, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected the idea that immigrants were the victims of “inhuman treatment” in the U.S.

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