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Fifty Years of Italy’s Pro-Life Movement

Every year, abortion statistics reveal that the lives of many children are already threatened in the womb. Yet the unborn always have had a powerful ally in the Catholic Church.

Every year, abortion statistics reveal that the lives of many children are already threatened in the womb. Yet the unborn always have had a powerful ally in the Catholic Church. 

On March 8th, the Vatican celebrated the 50th anniversary of the “Movimento per la Vita,” the Movement for Life in Rome. During the Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, read a message from the Holy Father, who was unable to attend the Mass himself due to his hospitalization: 

“The unborn child represents, par excellence, every man and woman who does not count, who has no voice. To place oneself on his or her side means standing in solidarity with all the world’s discarded. And the gaze of the heart that recognizes him or her as one of us is the lever that moves this project.” 

In his message, the Pontiff thanked the pro-life pilgrims on their organization’s 50th anniversary, praising their concrete support for mothers experiencing difficult pregnancies: 

Continue to be committed to women, on their capacity for acceptance, generosity and courage. Women must be able to count on the support of the entire civil and ecclesial community, and the Centres for Help for Life can become a point of reference for all. Thank you for the pages of hope and tenderness you help to write in the history book, and which remain indelible; they bear, and will bear, much fruit.” 

Adapted by Jacob Stein 

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