A Democratic state representative candidate in Colorado’s June 30 primary who supports abortion is receiving support from a funding organisation that runs advertisements featuring images and recordings of Pope Leo XIV – a move critics say misleadingly implies ecclesial and papal support.

Manny Rutinel, who is seeking the nomination for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, is the beneficiary of a Super PAC advertisement that features footage of the Holy Father reading from his recent encyclical on artificial intelligence. The Colorado Catholic Conference has said that neither it nor the Vatican endorses any candidate, while highlighting Mr Rutinel’s legislative record on abortion.

The 30-second advertisement, funded by “You Can Push Back”, a Super PAC supported by tech billionaire Chris Larsen, opens with clips of Pope Leo XIV from the presentation of Magnifica Humanitas, his first encyclical, signed on May 15, 2026. In it, the American Pontiff addresses the need to safeguard human dignity amid technological change, warning against AI systems that could limit access to healthcare, employment and security. The voice-over links this to Mr Rutinel’s sponsorship of Colorado’s pioneering AI regulations, portraying him as standing against unchecked tech interests.

Mr Rutinel, 31, a Yale Law graduate and former environmental attorney who entered the Colorado House in 2023, is competing in the Democratic primary for the 8th District on June 30. The district, covering parts of Adams and Weld counties north of Denver, is viewed as competitive.

The Colorado Catholic Conference responded swiftly on X, formerly Twitter, declaring: “The Catholic Church in Colorado and the Vatican do not endorse @MannyRutinel or any political candidate. The Colorado Catholic Conference, as the united voice of the Catholic Bishops of Colorado, objects to the use of Pope Leo XIV’s image and words to imply endorsement of Rutinel.”

It further noted that the candidate’s positions on abortion amount to “direct participation in the grave evil of abortion and violates Catholic Church teaching”.

Key legislative actions cited include co-sponsorship of HB26-1335, enacted in May, which mandates that institutions of higher education operating student health centres stock and provide access to abortion medication, mifepristone and misoprostol, for enrolled students, subject to limited religious or medical exemptions. The measure applies to both public and private campuses.

He also backed SB25-129, signed in April, which extends protections to abortion providers in Colorado against out-of-state legal actions when individuals travel for procedures legal up to birth in the state.

Mr Rutinel’s campaign website affirms his stance: “When it comes to abortion, the government needs to respect Americans’ freedom to make our own decisions about our own families without interference from politicians or anyone else.”

He has additionally supported SB25-014, addressing state-level marriage provisions following Obergefell, and has publicly marked Pride Month.

Pope Leo XIV has consistently upheld the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of life. In an address to Spain’s parliament on June 8, he urged lawmakers to recognise “every human life … from conception to its natural end”, questioning the justice of any society that marginalises the unborn, the elderly or the vulnerable.

The Church’s doctrine, as articulated in the Catechism, holds that direct abortion is a grave moral evil and that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered, while calling all persons to chastity. Catholic social teaching, including in Magnifica Humanitas, insists that technological and political advances must serve the full dignity of the human person created in the image of God, from conception onwards.

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