Pope Leo XIV intervenes in U.S. abortion debate by raising what it really means to be pro-life while supporting the death penalty.

A tumultuous five hours on Tuesday began at about 2 p.m. ET, when an EWTN Vatican journalist asked Pope Leo XIV to address the ongoing controversy over Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich’s plan to give a “lifetime achievement award” to Sen. Dick Durbin, a baptized Catholic who has long advocated and voted for legalized abortion.

Pope Leo XIV blessed a block of ice at the Raising Hope for Climate Justice conference, urging citizens to pressure leaders on climate action and criticizing those who deny global warming. He also said that true pro-life values oppose both abortion and the death penalty,

Echoing the views of his predecessor, Francis, Pope Leo also said “Some have chosen to deride the increasingly evident signs of climate change, to ridicule those who speak of global warming, and even to blame the poor for the very thing that affects them the most.”

Pope Leo XIV is not going to reject the reforms of Pope Francis, but neither is he going to quickly move beyond them.