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Pope Francis shook up an already intense debate over birth control and abortion in Latin American countries where the Zika virus is causing a public health emergency by declaring on Thursday that contraceptives could be used to prevent the spread of Zika, which researchers have linked to a spike in cases of babies born with severe brain damage. The pope’s remarks came in a wide-ranging, midair news conference on his way back to Rome from Mexico in which he made a distinction between abortion and birth control. He ruled out condoning abortion, which he called “a crime, an absolute evil.” But he seemed somewhat open to making an exception for contraception, citing Pope Paul VI’s decision in the 1960s to make an emergency exception to permit nuns in the Belgian Congo to use contraceptives because they were in danger of rape. (Romero and Yardley, 2/18)

Under no circumstances, Francis said, should abortion be considered a "lesser evil," and he said the procedure should be avoided at all cost. “It is a crime, [killing] one person to save another,” he said. "That is something that the Mafia does ... an absolute evil." However, preventing a pregnancy that was in danger of being exposed to Zika might be allowable, he said, but only if it would most certainly prevent a pregnancy at risk. (Wilkinson, 2/18)

It was not immediately clear what effect the pope’s remarks would have in heavily Catholic Latin America, where cases of Zika are multiplying. Researchers increasingly believe the virus is linked to thousands of cases of microcephaly — a condition in which babies are born with small heads and brain abnormalities — in Brazil. There also is evidence that the virus is spread through sexual transmission in some ­cases. (Boorstein, Itkowitz and Pulliam Bailey, 2/18)

The [Pope's] comments on contraception—which is against church teaching—caused a stir especially in Latin America, a predominantly Catholic region at the center of what the World Health Organization has declared to be a global health emergency over the Zika virus and its possible connection to a birth defect called microcephaly. “What he’s saying is that protecting reproductive rights is protecting the population,” said Debora Diniz, a founder of Anis, a women’s rights group based in the Brazilian capital. (Rocca, 2/18)

Theologians and some Latin American bishops cautioned the pope was not giving a green light for Catholics to use artificial birth control, nor did his remarks amount to a change in church teaching. But Francis’ comments suggest that Catholics under specific circumstances could make a “conscience-based decision about whether they should prevent pregnancy,” said the Rev. James Bretzke, a moral theologian at Boston College. (Winfield, 2/19)

The pope faced similar questions about contraception during a trip to Africa, where sexually transmitted AIDS remains a major concern. Francis deflected the questioning, listing hunger, lack of drinking water and exploitation among more pressing issues for the continent. After a visit to Asia in January 2015, the pope said Catholics may have a moral responsibility to limit the number of their children and need not reproduce "like rabbits.'' But he reaffirmed the church's ban on artificial means of birth control and said Catholics should practice "responsible parenting." (Bacon, 2/18)

They were only brief remarks, but Pope Francis’s response to a question about the use of contraception in the midst of the Zika outbreak has already prompted debate about its implications for public health. (Joseph, 2/18)

The World Health Organization issued a strong call on Thursday for the use of contraception in countries with the Zika virus, and said that women who had unprotected sex and feared infection should have access to emergency contraception, a recommendation that may not sit well with the Roman Catholic Church. (Tavernise, 2/18)