Even 'sick or damaged' life must be defended, Pope tells faithful

In a strong condemnation of abortion, Pope Benedict XVI urged the faithful on Sunday to develop a new respect for life, even when it is "sick or damaged."

In marking the Italian Catholic Church's "Day for Life," Benedict stressed the need to protect all human life.

The pontiff cited the 1995 encyclical "Evangelium Vitae," in which Pope John Paul II delivered the Vatican's most forceful condemnation of abortion, artificial contraception, euthanasia and experimentation on human embryos.

Benedict told pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square: "We know well that this truth risks being contradicted by the hedonism of the so-called well-off societies: Life is exalted as long as it's pleasant, but one tends to not respect it any more when it is sick or damaged."