Spain: half a million people join pro-life marchThe Pro-Life March held in Madrid on Sunday 29 March, in defence of women and against the abortion that the Government’s new legislation would like to make less restrictive, was a great success. According to the Family Policy Institute, Madrid was transformed into the capital of the alliance of civilization in defence of the right to life. Apart from the March in Madrid, which ended with the reading of the Pro-Life Manifesto, rallies were held throughout Spain in front of Spanish town halls in defence of life with the reading of the Manifesto. The initiatives were supported by some 700 associations all over the world representing over 20 million people. France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Malta, UK, Portugal, Slovakia, Hungary, USA, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Brazil were some of the countries whose civil societies supported Spain’s initiative in defence of the rights of the child in the prenatal period. “The Government cannot turn its back on this public outcry, not only Spanish but global in scale, in defence of the right to life”, declared Lola Velarde, President of the European Network of the Family Planning Institute, according to whom “the protection of the rights of the child in the prenatal period is a value shared in all civilizations and generates a genuine alliance”. The Pro-Life March, on the theme “The right to kill does not exist: the right to live exists”, brought together over half a million people along the route in the centre of Madrid, far surpassing the organizers’ expectations.England: Cardinal Murphy O’Connor’s farewell addressIn a pastoral letter read out on Sunday 29 March in 216 parishes of the Archdiocese of Westminster, Card. Cormac Murphy-O’Connor has reflected on his 9 years at the head of the Archdiocese of Westminster. In his message, the last he will deliver before his retirement, the archbishop acknowledges that there have been difficulties and challenges but also great joy and fulfilment. “I remember the great occasion when over ten thousand of us gathered together at Wembley Arena to celebrate the beginning of our initiative, «At Your Word, Lord». What a joyful day that was, with representatives from every parish. It was like a huge Catholic, Christian family gathered together in faith and hope for the future of the growth and flourishing of the Church”, wrote the cardinal. “There are so many other things I remember: the Mass every year for the immigrant communities and the thousands of people that come to Westminster Cathedral from many, many nations and gather together in a spirit of prayer and faith and membership of the Church”, the letter continued. The Archbishop also praised the “spiritual strength” of the parishes in the Archdiocese. “There I have found vibrant Eucharistic communities; people young and old who gather together week after week to celebrate the Mass. There is no Christian community that can be built up unless it has as its basis the celebration of the Eucharist”, concluded Murphy-O’Connor who exhorted all Catholics to be confident about the future. Poland: ecumenical initiatives of charityMany Polish bishops in their pastoral letters for Lent remind Catholics of the importance of almsgiving as a form of Christian charity. Over the weekend of 21 and 22 March, Caritas in Kielce, a little town of some 200,000 inhabitants, gathered over 7 tons of foodstuffs destined to help those most in need. Throughout the national territory the 22 Food Banks support similar projects; last year they distributed almost 250 tons of food to the poor. In this period of Lent, Polish Caritas is also organizing a fund-raising campaign throughout the country, this year to the benefit of the sick and the disabled, and promoting savings initiatives in families in favour of those most in need. Lenten charity is also taking on an ecumenical face: Polish Caritas has joined together with the Diaconia of the Evangelical Church and “Eleos” of the Protestant Church to organize together a large collection of alms in the period of Lent; this is the seventh consecutive year in which this ecumenical fund-raising campaign has been held. Caritas, as part of the appeal to defend life during the pastoral year now underway, points out that almsgiving during Lent is “a response to God’s love by showing love to our neighbour”. The representatives of all three Churches emphasize the ecumenical value of the project that is being promoted in all parishes. Last year Polish Caritas, Diaconia and Eleos raised almost 250,000 euro for the purchase of medicines and medical equipment. Caritas alone, in the course of 2008, raised over 3 million euro which it distributed to hospitals and rehabilitation centres.
