Now, I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the most extreme opposition to abortion comes from lay people within churches, not from the leadership of churches. While church leaders may question the morality of abortion, it's the lay extremists in churches that take an absolutist position - to the point of bombing clinics and shooting doctors. Church leaders have a higher level of education, and generally don't take absolutist positions.

I certainly wouldn't expect Pope Francis to take an absolutist position, and I'm be interested to know what prompted Steve Shaw to say, "Thank you, Pope Francis, for your illegitimate interventions in the debate." To my mind, Pope Francis has been very moderate on the issue, and does his best to calm the extremists down. I expect Mr. Shaw won't accept anything less than a rah-rah pro-abortion stance from the Pope. Does Francis have no right to express his opinion in the country of his birth?

-Joe-