Abortion is murder: Pope

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE: Pope Francis said on Wednesday that abortion was "murder" but, asked about US bishops threatening to deny holy communion to President Joe Biden, said the Church should generally avoid taking a political stance.

He was responding to a question about some US bishops who proposed denying the sacred ritual to politicians who supported abortion rights -- a group that includes Biden. "Abortion... is more than a problem, it is murder. Whoever has an abortion kills," the pontiff told reporters on board his plane, as he returned from a visit to Slovakia.

"Scientifically it is a human life. Is it right to end it to solve a problem? That is why the Church is so hard on this issue, because if it accepts this, it is as if it accepts daily murder," he said.