VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) – Pope Francis has appointed one of the world's foremost proponents of population control and abortion to a key Vatican position.
The Holy See Press Office announced Monday the appointment of Jeffrey Sachs as an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Paradoxically, the lifelong work of the 66-year-old leftist economist has been dedicated to furthering elites' top-down control of population growth.
In his 2008 book Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet, Sachs promoted abortion as the economical way of eliminating "unwanted children" when contraception fails. Abortion, the radical economist rationalized, is a "lower-risk and lower-cost option" than bringing babies into the world.
The "legalization of abortion reduces a country's total fertility rate significantly, by as much as half a child on average," he expounded in the book. He further criticized America's Mexico City Policy, which blocked U.S. federal funding for non-governmental organizations that provide abortions.
In 2011, Sachs wrote an article for CNN countering Catholic teaching. In his article, he argued, "Success at reducing high fertility rates depends on keeping girls in school, ensuring that children survive and providing access to modern family planning and contraceptives."
The chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, Bp. Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, was asked in 2020 by the Catholic News Agency about Sachs' support of abortion and contraception and how it meshed with Catholic teaching.
Sorondo justified Sachs' remarks by saying he had made the comments in 2011. "Now, he has changed," the bishop declared.
The prelate also justified Sachs' frequent visits to the Vatican, saying, "He integrates the Magisterium of the Church and of Pope Francis into economics by putting the human person and the common good at the center."
Sachs has continued his pro-abortion, pro-contraception agenda over the years, even in spite of declining fertility rates and worldwide population decline.
The globalist has enjoyed a privileged life. The son of an attorney involved with workers' rights, he was born into the then-wealthy enclave of Oak Park, a suburb of Detroit, in 1954. He received a bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree from Harvard College and has traveled in elite circles ever since.
An online biography of Sachs reads, "Despite his jet-setting, jet-lagged lifestyle, Sachs could not be happier."
Many Catholics are stunned by Sachs' appointment, noting how his perennial promotion of abortion as a way to decrease population growth runs counter to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Many are also confused about the appointment in light of the pope's recent comments condemning abortion. As recently as Sept. 15, the pontiff has declared, "Abortion is murder."
"Scientifically, it's a human life. The textbooks teach us that," the pope added. "And this is why the Church is so strict on this issue, because it is kind of like accepting daily murder."
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