Pope Benedict XVI Pledges To Defend 'Inviolability of Human Life From Conception to Natural Death'

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday during a sermon at the Roman basilica of St. John in Lateran pledged to continue to defend the "inviolability of human life from conception to natural death,". The pope said he will maintain Pope John Paul II's ideals and urged all church officials to refuse "all attempts of adaptation or of watering down" Roman Catholic teaching. The ceremony was the last in the pope's formal assumption of the papacy, following his election on April 19.

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