Pope compares abortion to "Hiring a Hitman" [View all]

In one of his harshest criticisms of abortion, Pope Francis has compared the procedure to “hiring a hitman to resolve a problem”.

The pontiff told his weekly general audience at St Peter’s Square that “a contradictory approach to life allows the suppression of human life in the mother’s womb in order to safeguard other values”.

He added: “How can an act that suppresses an innocent and helpless life as it blossoms be therapeutic, civil or, simply, humane?” He went on to tell the audience that “it is not right” to take a human life, no matter how small.