Thousands in Brazil march for life

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 22, 2007 / 09:06 am

Some 25,000 people in the Brazilian town Curitiba and 8,000 in the capital Brasilia took to the streets to defend the life of the unborn and to protest against the legalization of abortion in the country.

The massive rally in Curitiba took place at the Marumby Expocenter as part of the campaign “Shout for Life.”  Archbishop Moacyr Jose Vitti of Curitiba presided at Mass with priests involved in the pro-life movement concelebrating.

During the Mass more than 600,000 signatures of people of who have joined the campaign against abortion were presented to the archbishop.  The campaign has been organized by the Society of the Immaculate Conception of Mary Protector of the Unborn and the association Evangelizar e Preciso.

Together both groups have collected 750,000 signatures and when they reach 1 million, Archbishop Vitti and pro-life leaders will present them in Brasilia to Congressman Jorge Tadeu Mudalen, president of the House of Representative’s Commission for Social Security and the Family. 

Several days ago, 8,000 people marched from the Cathedral in Brasilia to the Congressional building in a protest organized by the movement Brazil Without Abortion. Pro-lifers carried banners calling on politicians to support the pro-life cause.