“Someone who says ‘I’m against abortion but says I am in favor of the death penalty’ is not really pro-life,” Leo said. Church teaching forbids abortion but it also opposes capital punishment. Pope Francis officially changed church teaching in 2018 to decree that the death penalty is “inadmissible” under all circumstances. Church teaching on each one of those issues is very clear,” he said. Cupich was a close adviser to Pope Francis, who strongly upheld church teaching opposing abortion but also criticized the politicizing of the abortion debate by U.S. bishops.