BRUSSELS, Belgium (LifeSiteNews) — Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo summoned the papal nuncio to Belgium following Pope Francis’ condemnation of abortion during his papal visit. 

On October 3, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told the Chamber of Representatives that Pope Francis’ characterization of abortion as “murder” in an in-flight news conference is an overreach of power, apparently forgetting that the Catholic Church has jurisdiction over all states and governments.  

“It is absolutely unacceptable for a foreign head of state to make such statements about democratic decision-making in our country,” he declared.  

“We do not need lessons on how our parliamentarians democratically approve laws,” De Croo continued. “Fortunately, the time when the Church dictated laws in our country is long gone.” 

“My message will be very clear: what happened there is unacceptable,” he stated. 

De Croo further announced he had summoned Archbishop Franco Coppola, who serves as the papal nuncio to Belgium and Luxembourg to discuss Pope Francis’ comments. Each country has a papal nuncio who serves as the Vatican’s ambassador to that particular country and deals with the state when the pope is not available.   

De Croo’s anger comes after Pope Francis denounced abortion as “murder” and abortionists as “hitmen.” 

“Let’s not forget to say this: abortion is murder,” Pope Francis said on the way back to Rome after his September trip to Belgium. “Science says that just one month from conception, all the organs are present.”

“A human being dies; a human being is killed. The doctors who take part in this are – allow me to use the word – they’re hitmen. They are hitmen. On this point, there’s no discussion. A human life is being killed.” 

In addition to his comments, during his trip, Pope Francis praised the pro-life Belgian King Baudouin, expressing hope that the late king’s beatification cause will advance. Baudouin is known for resigning for a day in 1990 rather than signing a law that legalized abortion.  

Pope Francis’s comments come during a crucial time in the Belgian government, as the government is expanding elective abortion from the first 12 to the first 18 weeks of pregnancy.  

In recent years, Belgium has become increasingly anti-Catholic, embracing radical ideologies that will ultimately destroy the nation.   

Belgium has long promoted homosexuality, becoming only the second country in the world to legalize so-called homosexual “marriage” in 2003. Similarly, in 2014, Belgium expanded euthanasia to children.