CHURCHES IN BRIEF
Ukraine: procession against sin of abortion On March 18, in Lviv, a religious procession was held. Some 40-50 thousand people participated in it. The event was organized by the Lviv Archeparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (Ugcc), and the prayer themes were prepared by the Redemptorist Fathers. "Let us remind that the Christian community is faced with a great moral responsibility for those who consider abortions to be a way out of difficult situations: we should relentlessly explain the Christian position on such sinful and shameful acts and support those who are broken by despair", said Hieromonach Mykhailo (Ivaniak) quoting a recent address of the hierarchs of the Greek Catholic Church and Roman Catholic Church calling to prohibit abortions in Ukraine. The Redemptorist Fathers noted that many people expressed their support for the abortions and also express dissatisfaction with an alleged interference of the church in the area outside of its competence. "This word of the church is not liked by everyone. Certain circles of people began to cry out: ‘Why does the church interfere in other people’s affairs? A person makes a choice of life. Leave it to us!’". " However – explained the monks -, the word of the church is the word of Christ and one cannot be silent when people sin. People’s hearts became insensitive to sin, but the voice of God is still heard in them". The procession lasted for three hours and was attended by the clergy, seminary students, parishioners and students. A large wooden cross was carried in turn by artists, teachers, representatives of the regional and city authorities. In the end, Metropolitan Ihor (Vozniak) of Lviv thanked everyone for their participation, led the community in prayer for the glorification of the Servant of God Andrey Sheptytsky and gave his blessing to everyone.Belgium: "March for Life"The third "March for Life" will take place in Brussels on March 25. Organizers call for a new "culture of life" and urge political authorities to ensure the respect of human life in a situation marked by over 19 thousand abortions. The first March brought together 1700 people in Brussels. As many as 3000 participants took part in the second march of 2011. "The March is meant to be a local, family demonstration, independent from political parties. It is organized by a Committee of Students and young professionals, Neerlandese and French-speaking alike, who this year chose the following slogan: "Each child has the right to celebrate his birthday". Also the bishop of Tournai Msgr. Harpigny, and the bishop of Gand Msgr. Van Looy assured their presence. In reaction to the March for Life, a counter-demonstration will take place in Brussels. The organizers of the March made known that in preparation of Sunday 25 every day of the previous week one-hour prayers will be recited in the Church of Saint-Jacques-sur-Coudenberg, in Brussels. Poland: life and family policiesOn Sunday March 25, also the Church in Poland will celebrate the "Day of the Sanctity of Life", introduced as a reply to the encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" of John Paul II, published on March 25 1995. In 2004 the Polish Parliament introduced March 24 as the Day for Life, and since then it is officially celebrated as a national holiday. To mark the Days the parliamentary group for the protection of life and the family presented a resolution for the protection of embryos in In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) procedures, asking the competent authorities to repeal their decision to introduce such practices within national health services: the related draft law is opposed by several pro-life groups. By calling for the introduction of a ban on IVF, the Polish Pro-Life Federation highlighted the need for a greater commitment in favour of large families, that presently enjoy only limited and rare support on the part of the competent authorities. According to cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, Archbishop of Warsaw, Poland inherited a flawed social assistance system from the Communist regime, and new policies for the family are not being considered, even less those in favour of large families. To these initiatives is dedicated the document on social questions adopted during the recent session of the Polish Bishops’ Conference due to be published soon.
