VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Addressing French pilgrims at the Vatican today, Pope Leo XIV appeared to criticize a recent vote by French politicians to advance assisted suicide in the country.

On May 27, the French National Assembly voted 305 to 199 to advance a bill which would legalize the “right to assisted dying.”

During his weekly General Audience today, Pope Leo XIV appeared to criticize the bill when making his message of greetings to the French pilgrims before him. After the summary of his Gospel meditation was read out, Leo commented:

I cordially greet the French-speaking people from France, Chad and Cameroon, especially the pilgrims from the diocese of Boba and the group of Motards Chrétiens Notre-Dame.

Our world struggles to find value in human life, even in its last hour: may the Spirit of the Lord enlighten our minds, so that we know how to defend the intrinsic dignity of every human person. God bless you.

Leo’s comments, though not mentioning the bill by name, were specific for the French pilgrims, as was each greeting to the various national groups. For the Pope to highlight the value of human life in the latter moments of earthly existence appears to be drawn from the textbook of recent Vatican diplomatic style – promoting a Catholic value while not directly attacking that to which the value is opposed.

Nor was the import lost on Cardinal Robert Sarah, a native of Guinea – French Guinea as it was known in 1945 – and a native French speaker. Sarah took to social media platform X to share the French version of Vatican News’ report on Leo’s words – a report which also pointed to the May 27 vote for assisted suicide.

The bill is not yet law: after passing the vote in the National Assembly last Tuesday it must proceed through various stages of the upper house, namely the Senate, before then returning to the National Assembly. The process is anticipated to be lengthy but, crucially, it has the support of French President Emmanuel Macron, who has made no secret of his backing of assisted suicide.

As reported by Jeanne Smits for LifeSiteNews prior to the vote last week, the proposed bill represents a radical advancement of anti-life policies in France. It is also advancing in conjunction with another bill on palliative care access.

READ: France poised to legalize ‘right’ to assisted suicide in coming days

Analyzing the companionship of the two bills, Smits wrote that the palliative care bill is “mostly top dressing” for the assisted suicide bill.

The French assisted suicide bill would also roll out wide-ranging permissions, with Smits noting that it is largely the proposed safeguards which have been dropped from the text of the bill as it makes its way through the legislative procedure.

Currently, the proposed bill outlines that individuals seeking to commit suicide with the assistance of others must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Be a French national or with a permanent residence in the nation.
• Have a serious and incurable condition, whatever the cause, that is life-threatening, in an advanced or terminal stage.
• Be experiencing physical or psychological suffering related to this condition, which is either resistant to treatment or unbearable according to the person when they have chosen not to receive or to stop receiving treatment.
• Be capable of expressing their wishes freely and in an informed manner.

Catholic bishops in France have joined leaders of other creeds – including Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Protestants, Buddhists – in signing a statement firmly opposing the bill.

They warned of the bill’s deceptive framing, writing that “behind an apparent will of compassion and framing, this text operates a radical shift.”

“Legalizing administered death will not be progress, but an ethical, social and medical regression,” the religious leaders wrote.

They urged politicians to instead prioritize investing in palliative care, and “the global accompaniment of people until the end of their lives.”

For now, though, the bill continues through the legislative process with the next step being its consideration by the French Senate.