Pope Leo XIV on Sunday condemned the legalization of medically assisted death as immoral “false compassion,” reaffirming Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life before a crowd of about 150,000 at the Marian shrine in Lourdes, according to AP copy carried by multiple outlets.

“We must reject the temptation to cause death under the guise of false compassion,” the Pope said during Mass on the third day of his France visit. “What is legal is not necessarily moral,” he added, as reported by Lapost and Rockford News First. He also met seven survivors of clergy sexual abuse that day and visited a care center for the sick.

The remarks landed against a charged French backdrop. France’s National Assembly enshrined abortion as a constitutional right in 2024 and recently gave final approval to its end-of-life bill. Earlier, Leo had criticized an Illinois medical-aid-in-dying law that took effect on Sept 12, making Illinois the 13th U.S. state with such a law.

The Pope drew about 800,000 people at a Paris Mass at Place de la Concorde earlier in the trip, the reports said.

His words add a moral voice to France’s continuing debate over end-of-life care.