ROME – Although the issue of migration was front and centre during his overnight visit to Marseille, Pope Francis sent another strong message to secular Europe, offering a clear condemnation of the widespread practices of abortion and euthanasia.    

Francis, who has repeatedly referred to abortion and euthanasia as byproducts of what he has dubbed a “culture of waste”, travelled to Marseille from Sept. 22-23 to attend the third edition of the Rencontres Méditerranéennes, or “Mediterranean Meetings”.