Bishops call on Mexicans to bravely defend life

Mexico City, Mexico, May 30, 2008 / 04:38 am

The Bishops’ Conference of Mexico has sent a message to Catholics urging them to courageously defend the unborn as a decision by the country’s Supreme Court looms on the constitutionality of a law allowing abortion in Mexico City.
 
In their message, the bishops recalled, “Our people have the right to a life in full, proper to the children of God, with more humane conditions: free from the threats of hunger and all forms of violence.”
 
Life is a “wonderful gift that God has given us that Catholics, believers, men and women of good will are called to care for and defend,” they said.
 
After pointing out the “spiral of violence resulting from the drug cartels” and encouraging the work “of authorities to combat this scourge,” the bishops called on Mexicans not to turn a blind eye to the problem, as any effort to successfully address it will require “the collaboration of all of society.”
 
“Respect for human life must begin at the moment of conception and continue to natural death, and therefore we have followed with great interest the public arguments being held by the Supreme Court related to the constitutional challenges to the law that legalizes abortion up to the twelfth week in Mexico City,” the bishops said.
 
“We believe that the arguments presented by different disciplinary fields have enriched this debate in which the common denominator is concern for life, that of the unborn and that of the mother,” they added.
 
The bishops expressed their gratitude for the pro-life marches that have taken place around the country in recent weeks. The prelates encouraged pro-lifers to “intensify their work in the formation of consciences that appreciate, respect and promote life.”  They said such marches should continue.  “We are with you, be not afraid.  The Church is called to be an advocate of justice and a defender of the poor and defenseless,” the bishops stated.