LIFE
The Portuguese Church is preparing to celebrate Pro-Life Week (13-20 May). Its theme this year will be: “Human happiness, God’s concern”. By introducing Pro-Life Week in 1994, the Episcopal Commission for the laity and the family, following a suggestion of John Paul II in 1991, has aimed to “arouse a recognition of the meaning and value of life in all its phases and conditions in families, in the church and in society, focusing attention in particular on the grave problems of abortion and euthanasia”. Referring to the recent events experienced by Portuguese society, namely the referendum and the new law on the voluntary interruption of abortion that came out of it, the Commission re-affirms “the need for a cultural change in the Portuguese social conscience, currently distinguished by the lack of fundamental ethical values, by shortcomings in the formation of consciences, by individualism in the use of freedom and in the search for the truth, and by relativism of the principles and conceptions that shape the life of the individual and of the community”. The statement presenting Pro-Life Week 2007 insists on the fundamental importance of “growth in the faith as the solid basis for the foundation of consciences and indispensable stimulus for the creativity and boldness necessary for active participation in the life of the Church and of society”.
