Acid attack victim says Pope Francis talked her out of killing herself — here’s what he said

A woman who was a victim of an acid attack said that Pope Francis persuaded her not to end her own life during his visit to Colombia this week, according to the Catholic Herald.

NPR reported that Consuela Cordoba was injured in 2000 when her former partner threw acid on her face. She has since undergone more than 40 operations and relies on special tubes inserted into her nose in order to breathe.

“I had perfect teeth, I was very pretty,” Cordoba told NPR in a 2012 interview. “But now, I’m destroyed.”

The Catholic Herald reported that after Cordoba was recently diagnosed with a brain infection, she decided to end her own life by euthanasia, which is legal in Colombia. Her doctor agreed, and she made a Sept. 29 appointment to administer a lethal injection.

Then Cordoba was selected to be among those who met with Pope Francis during his visit. She said she planned to use the meeting to ask him for his permission to end her life. The Catholic Church opposes euthanasia.

Cordoba said she hugged Francis and sought his permission to end her life.

“He said ‘No’, he was not going to do it,” Cordoba said. “He told me that I was very brave and very pretty.”

Cordoba said the exchange “changed my life.”

“Now I want to live,” she said.

“Dr. Gustavo Quinonez was going to give me the injection, but I’m not going to do it because God is going to bring greatness to my life,” Cordoba said. “I am going to tell Dr. Gustavo, 'Thank you very much for your injection, but it is for another.'”

The leader of the Catholic Church also made headlines during his visit to Columbia when he got a black eye as he bumped his face against the popemobile after it made an abrupt stop, and when he criticized President Donald Trump’s position on DACA.

(H/T: The Sun)