After Amnesty International’s decision to officially support the right to abortion in case of rape, Cardinal Martino, president of the Pontifical Council Justice and Peace, declared to the Italian daily Il Messaggero of August 14, 2007, that: “the money Catholics give to this organism is badly spent.”

“I hope they will soon publicly backtrack on their decision and proclaim loud and clear that their activity is in favor of the protection of life, from its beginning until its natural end,” because “the Church will not support pro-abortion actions or projects.” This organization, added the cardinal, “cannot fight against the death penalty, for prisoners’ and refugees’ rights and behave differently when confronted with the life of a defenseless child in its mother’s womb.” When committing itself to “defend the oppressed and the weakest”, Amnesty International cannot “ignore the intrinsic evil of abortion, which is a horrible crime.”