A pro-abortion activist group which calls itself ‘Catholic’ has protested the Vatican’s Synod on Synodality, hosted by Pope Francis, for having left abortion off the agenda.

A 15-metre-long quilt woven with stories of Catholic women who have had abortions was unrolled on the Via della Conciliazione, the central roadway leading up to St Peter’s.

The demonstration by ‘Catholics for Choice’, a US-based pro-abortion organisation, comes days after the pontiff said that abortion was “homicide” and that doctors who do them are “hitmen”. The US bishops have repeatedly attacked ‘Catholics for Choice’ over their use of the word ‘Catholic’ in their name and advertising.

Among the organisations that fund ‘Catholics for Choice’ is the Ford Foundation, which funds other pro-abortion groups.