Two thousand people took part in the 12th annual March for Life in Prague on March 24, 2012. Pro-life advocates filled the streets to give witness to the need to end abortion in the Czech Republic and enact laws that protect the lives of all children from the moment of conception.
According to Katerina Uchacova, co-director of Hnuti Pro zivot CR (Movement for Life Czech Republic), an affiliate of Human Life International (HLI), “The organizers emphasized that for over twenty years various organizations have been actively involved in publicity work and in helping women in a practical way. But that is not enough.”
Movement for Life Czech Republic said that in gynecological wards in hospitals 2,000 children are aborted every month. “This law has become the curse of the whole nation,” said Katerina. “It is not just children who are killed, but also hope, compassion and responsibility.”
Dominik Cardinal Duka giving the March for Life sermon.
A Mass was also held on the day of the March in the Dominican Church of St. Giles, in which the chief celebrant was His Eminence Dominik Cardinal Duka, O.P., Archbishop of Prague and Primate of the Czech Republic. Three other Czech bishops, along with Dr. Andreas Laun, auxiliary bishop of Salzburg, Austria, concelebrated the Mass together with a large number of priests.
During his sermon, Cardinal Duka said, “God is life, and if he created man in his own image, man is not and cannot be the one to take away or destroy life … The only solution to the situation into which we have got ourselves, is to open our society and our families to new life. Our society needs children. But the present crisis is not merely economic or demographic; it is a crisis of man, who imagines he can base his life on selfishness. Love, however, means to give absolutely everything.”
“The Czech Republic would do well to follow the example of nations like Poland and Hungary who have had the courage to stand up against the EU and reject abortion,” said HLI Vice President for Missions Father Peter West. “This alone is not enough to reverse their serious demographic problems, but it’s a start, and a necessary one. We join Cardinal Duka in encouraging the Czech people to reclaim their Christian heritage and embrace an openness to life and family, choosing a more hopeful future for their nation.”
LifeNews.com Note: Reprinted with permission from Human Life International’s Truth and Charity forum. Adam Cassandra is a Communications Specialist at Human Life International.
