Bogotá, Colombia, Dec 5, 2011 / 16:16 pm
In the wake of increasing criticism, Colombian priest Father Carlos Novoa retracted previous statements that appeared to support abortion using documents from the Vatican and Blessed John Paul II.
“I wish to make it clear that in no way can my words be interpreted as a justification for abortion or as support for those who defend the right to terminate a human life,” Fr. Novoa said in an editorial for local newspaper El Tiempo.
His remarks come after the bishops of Colombia held a meeting between Fr. Novoa and nearly twenty pro-life leaders on Nov. 30.
Controversy began over comments the Jesuit priest made to the paper El Espectador on Oct. 15 that seemed to support the ruling by Colombia’s Constitutional Court to legalize abortion.