With bare hands

"The II Vatican Council invites all of us to become martyrs. Some of us are asked to sacrifice our lives literally – up to bloodshed, but each of us is invited to dedicate his life for others". With these words, archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, described a call of the Catholic Church addressed to all people of good will, to engage in the matters regarding protection of life from its conception until natural death and in the support of marriage and family. He was one of the speakers at the international conference "Culture of Life – Culture for Life" which took place on 27 October in Bratislava with participation of more than 150 experts in pro-life agenda from several European countries. Its conclusions were published in the first days of November.Need to resist the pressure. "Slovakia needs more enthusiastic people with zeal for protection of life. We are under strong pressure of liberal environment, also within the European Union, represented by organizations like the International Planned Parenthood Federation with vast financial sources. We have practically naked hands and our power is only in showing a good example and organizing of info campaigns if we want to address people and help them resist this pressure", explains Slovak MEP Miroslav Mikolásik, pointing to the necessity to break the wall of indifference. "I am talking about people who believe in God and power of love, logically presuming that they have a capacity to believe also in marriage and sacredness of human life, because this is what represents the future of each nation", continues Mikolásik. "Catholic approach" on the field of medicine. Professor Ján Dacok, Slovak jesuit currently teaching at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, gave lecture on perspectives and strategies regarding the culture of life for the future. He spoke about need to begin from the level of parishes where small groups should work on the matters of protection of life and family. "We also need a coordination on national level, in a form of the office of a delegate for culture of life. I’m glad that the Bishops’conference has already made some steps in this direction", says professor Dacok. In his opinion, the person in charge should be in close touch with politicians, legislators, as well as with structures of other countries, with special emphasis on relations with the relevant dicasteries of the Roman Curia. "Slovakia needs medical facilities with a ‘Catholic approach’, with no space to manipulate with human life in any form", suggested professor Dacok, talking to the SIR Europe about concrete proposals for the future.Lay people, missionaries of life. The key role in the fight for the culture of life in all areas belongs to the laity. For the past twenty years the great deal of work in this area has been done by pro-life movements and institutions, which happen to have exceptionally consistent "voice" in Slovakia. Although there are several pro-life streams, majority of the bodies (43) are associated in the Forum for Life, civil association promoting protection of life and support of marriage and family on all levels of the society. "Our mission is important especially today, when the activists stand face to face with great challenges represented by attempts of certain groups to introduce into legislation laws regarding registered partnerships of homosexuals or financing of sterilizations from public financial sources", explains Marek Michalcík, vice-president of the Forum for Life. Deep crisis of economics, society and culture, associated with enormous demographic recession as a result of constantly low natality has "painfully touched" also the countries of the Middle and Eastern Europe, reads the final statement of the conference, pointing to the fact that this situation is a consequence of a "pseudoculture" which is "hostile towards human life, denies its inviolability and irreplaceable value and dignity". It represents a serious threat for "free, democratic development, prosperity, even existence of today’s societies and whole human civilization of the 21st century".