Angelus News | January 26, 2024 | Vol. 9 No. 2

OF WOMBS
AND WOUNDS
Pope Francis’ recent condemnation of
surrogacy was needed. But can we talk
more about what’s driving the practice?
BY CHARLIE CAMOSY
In his annual foreign policy address
to diplomats accredited to the Holy
See, Pope Francis this month made
some striking remarks on a topic not
typically associated with foreign policy.
“The path to peace calls for respect
for life, for every human life, starting
with the life of the unborn child in the
mother’s womb, which cannot be suppressed
or turned into an object of trafficking.
In this regard, I deem deplorable
the practice of so-called surrogate
motherhood, which represents a grave
violation of the dignity of the woman
and the child, based on the exploitation
of situations of the mother’s material
needs. A child is always a gift and never
the basis of a commercial contract.
Consequently, I express my hope for an
effort by the international community
to prohibit this practice universally. At
every moment of its existence, human
life must be preserved and defended;
yet I note with regret, especially in the
West, the continued spread of a culture
of death, which in the name of a false
compassion discards children, the
elderly, and the sick.”
The Holy Father often tries to do two
things at once: (1) hold fast to traditional
doctrine (if often in ways that
are intentionally and helpfully nonpolitical)
and (2) emphasize the pastoral
value of mercy. This is evident in his
description of the Church as a field
hospital which tries to stabilize deeply
wounded people.
It is striking and can be disorienting
when he does one without the other, or
when certain people or groups emphasize
one without the other. Here, when
it comes to his engagement on surrogacy,
he emphasizes Church teaching
without referencing mercy — as he
does in so many other contexts, including
abortion and irregular relationships.
SHUTTERSTOCK
Thus his remarks, though powerful
and needed, get only two cheers from
me.
In a culture like ours, where surrogacy
is an unquestioned good — especially
(but not only) in contexts of infertility
and same-sex marriage — speaking in
such morally and legally clear terms is
admirable and even brave. One hopes
that his allies, including some who
accept and promote surrogacy, will be
given the grace to hear what he’s saying.
The Holy Father is speaking from
his central moral theological commitment:
resisting Western-style consumer
throwaway culture. Instead of seeing
God’s creation — including human
beings — as merely products to be used
and discarded, he wants us to recognize
their proper value.
The global surrogacy consumer
network not only exploits vulnerable
women, but also treats children as items
for purchase. Tragically, in most cases
of IVF, the “excess” human beings are
often discarded as if they are waste.
And it is doing so on a growing scale.
An estimated 18,400 infants were born
in the U.S. via surrogates from 1999 to
2013, according to one study. But now,
with the advances in surrogacy-related
technology and growing popularity
24 • ANGELUS • January 26, 2024