Archbishop Georges Pontier of Marseille, the president of the
Bishops’ Conference of France, has criticized President François
Hollande for his support of a bill that would criminalize websites that
“exert psychological or moral pressure to dissuade from recourse to
abortion.”In a letter to Hollande, the prelate pointed out that women who have had an abortion and regretted their decision would no longer be able to express their misgivings.
“This bill calls into question the foundations of our freedoms and most particularly the freedom of expression,” Archbishop Pontier added. “This seems to me to be a very serious attack on the principles of democracy.”
On December 1, the Vatican newspaper published a front-page essay supporting Archbishop Pontier’s letter.