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Pope Leo XIV Condemns France’s Assisted-Dying Law in Paris

By Drooid · Sep 26, 2026, 6:04 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Paris on September 25, 2026 for a four-day visit, greeted by President Emmanuel Macron.
He warned that artificial intelligence could create a “paradise of machines.”
He met privately with seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse at Lourdes.
At the Élysée Palace he condemned France’s assisted-dying law as profit-driven threat to life.
He led a mass at Place de la Concorde that attracted hundreds of thousands of attendees.

History

Historical Context

In March 1995 Pope John Paul II issued *Evangelium Vitae*, expanding the ‘culture of life’ language first used in the 1991 *Centesimus annus* and reaffirming the Church’s opposition to euthanasia. The teaching builds on earlier encyclicals such as Paul VI’s 1968 *Humanae vitae*. John Paul II’s 14 encyclicals keep the Vatican’s bio-ethical stance central to European assisted-dying debates.

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Story summary

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Paris on September 25, 2026 for a four-day visit, greeted by President Emmanuel Macron.
He warned that artificial intelligence could create a “paradise of machines.”
He met privately with seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse at Lourdes.
At the Élysée Palace he condemned France’s assisted-dying law as profit-driven threat to life.
He led a mass at Place de la Concorde that attracted hundreds of thousands of attendees.

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