The Vatican calls surrogacy a new form of colonialism

Surrogate mother. Photo: baby.ua

On January 13, 2026, the Roman Catholic Church’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, condemned surrogacy, calling it a new form of colonialism and a practice contrary to human dignity, Tribune Chrétienne reports.

Speaking at a meeting at Italy’s embassy to the Holy See, he said that surrogacy turns women and children into objects of trade and is based on the exploitation of economically vulnerable people. In his words, financial means do not give anyone the right to a child.

The archbishop recalled that this position corresponds to Catholic teaching. Pope Francis had previously called surrogacy a morally unacceptable practice, and Pope Leo XIV pointed out that turning pregnancy into a service distorts the very concept of motherhood.

The Vatican also referred to conclusions of the UN, which in 2025 equated commercial surrogacy with a modern form of slavery, and called on states to pursue international efforts toward a complete ban on the practice.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that a Roman Catholic diocese in the United States is sponsoring the adoption of children by LGBT representatives.

Read also