Pope Francis has doubled down on his traditional views on abortion and women during his in-flight news conference coming home from Belgium.

I always talk about the dignity of women,’ he said on his flight back to Rome. ‘An abortion is a homicide,’ he said, adding, ‘The doctors who carry this out are hitmen.’ He also spoke of the ‘responsibility to help the abused and to take care of them

In a meeting with Belgian dignitaries on Friday, both King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo called for more concrete action to help survivors of abuse by Catholic clergy. And in later events at two Catholic universities,