Pope Leo XIV's election pauses Andorra abortion decriminalisation deal
The election of the more conservative Pope Leo XIV has prompted the Vatican to pause a planned agreement that would have allowed Andorra to.
Key Points
- Pope Leo XIV, seen as more conservative than Francis, has changed the Vatican’s stance on Andorra’s decriminalisation plan.
- Lawmaker Ladislau Baró had reportedly secured a pact to decriminalize abortion without legalising procedures inside Andorra.
- The Vatican has paused the process and requested a new analysis, making agreement before the legislature ends unlikely.
- Observers say Leo XIV has not issued an outright rejection of the proposed change.
Pope Robert Francis Prevost, who has taken the name Leo XIV, is seen as generally more conservative than his predecessor Francis, and his election has prompted a change in the Vatican’s stance that directly affects Andorra’s plans to decriminalize abortion.
According to sources close to the Church, a clear roadmap existed to complete the change during this legislature. Lawmaker Ladislau Baró had secured a “pact” that reportedly satisfied all parties involved.
Those same sources say Francis’s more open approach made it possible to reconcile decriminalization — which never involved legalizing abortion inside Andorra, so any procedure would still have to take place outside the country — with the continued functioning of the Co-Principality. Leo XIV has, for now, put the process on “pause.”
The sources indicate it now seems unlikely that an agreement to decriminalize will be finalized before the end of the current legislature. The Vatican is seeking a new analysis, a process that does not fit the timelines for reaching a pact before the next elections. Observers note, however, that Leo XIV has not issued an absolute rejection of the proposed change.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: