Pope Francis ushered in the New Year with an appeal for the faithful to reject abortion, calling for a “firm commitment” to protect and respect life from conception to natural death.

"May we learn to care for every child born of a woman, above all by protecting, like Mary, the precious gift of life: life in the womb, the lives of children, the lives of the suffering, the poor, the elderly,

Pope Francis started the New Year with a potent message advocating for the protection of life at all stages, from conception to natural death. During a New Year's Day Mass, he emphasized respecting human dignity and denounced abortion as 'homicidal,