Outspoken pro-abortion governor gets speaking slot at Vatican summit
The Vatican invited Gov. Gavin Newsom to deliver remarks at its annual climate change summit in mid-May, despite the California Democrat's social progressive track record that includes championing transgender surgeries for minors and leading a nationwide pro-abortion ad campaign.
A spokesperson for Newsom's office told Fox News Digital on Tuesday the governor will travel to the Vatican from May 15 to May 17.
"While there, he will make remarks at the Summit and advance subnational climate work with a region in Italy," the spokesperson said.
Additional details about the governor's agenda while in Rome will be available in the coming weeks, the spokesperson added. Newsom said in a statement that this year "holds unprecedented significance for democracy and the climate, two intertwined issues which will define our future."
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"With half the world's population poised to elect their leaders amidst a backdrop of escalating political extremism, and global temperatures hurtling towards alarming new heights, the stakes could not be higher," Newsom wrote. "There is no greater authority than moral authority – and the Pope’s leadership on the climate crisis inspires us all to push further and faster. I’m humbled to go to the Vatican to join the Pope in his call for climate action."
Newsom, who is Catholic, has touted progressive policies – often at odds with the Catholic Church's dogma – in his state since he assumed office in 2019.
The Vatican states that "human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception," but Newsom has recently launched a pro-abortion campaign targeting states that have voted to restrict abortion access.
This month, Newsom released an ad targeting Republican lawmakers in Alabama who are fighting against a bill that would allow women to travel out of state to seek abortions. He also announced that lawmakers will introduce legislation that would permit Arizona abortionists to travel to California to conduct abortions for Arizonans after the neighboring state upheld a near-total abortion ban in the Supreme Court in April.
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The liberal governor also made California the first "sanctuary state" in 2022 for transgender children from more restrictive states seeking sex-change surgeries. Meanwhile, the Vatican also formally reaffirmed and expanded on the Catholic Church's teaching regarding gender theory – which it holds as an inadmissible ideology – asserting that attempts to alter an individual's immutable gender are ultimately misguided attempts to play God.
However, same-sex couples can now be blessed by Catholic priests, following formal approval by the pontiff in December. The document says that "people seeking God's love and mercy shouldn't be subject to ‘an exhaustive moral analysis to receive it.'" Meanwhile, the church stands firm in its stance that marriage is a lifelong sacrament between a man and a woman, that blessings should not be given at the same time as a civil union, using set rituals or even with other actions or clothing related to weddings.
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The summit, which was spearheaded by Pope Francis in 2022 after he deemed climate change an "ecological sin" caused by human negligence, is organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. According to the academy, so-called climate resilience "requires both cross-disciplinary partnerships among researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs, as well as [transdisciplinary] partnerships between science and community leaders including faith leaders, NGOs, and the public."
"Mayors and Governors form the core of such transdisciplinary partnerships," it says on its website.
The Vatican did not respond to Fox News Digital's multiple requests for comment by press deadline.
Fox News' Pilar Arias and Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.