Pope Francis has denounced abortion and the bearing of children by surrogate mothers as grave offences against human dignity.
In a declaration of principles published by the Vatican on Monday, the head of the Catholic Church also condemned gender reassignment and gender theoryโ.
The Pope said gender theory is an offence against what he said was the God-given dignity of human beings.
A human being whether born or not is sacred and inviolable, according to the document.
The termination of a pregnancy means nothing other than denying human dignity to the โmost defencelessโโ beings, it added.
The Vaticanโs latest declaration draws a parallel between abortion and surrogacy, when a woman carries a child on behalf of someone else and then gives it to them after the birth.
In this way, the declaration says, a child becomes a โmere objectโโ and the dignity of the woman is violated for reasons of profit.