Law on abortion not only against God, it’s against man, says Spanish cardinal

Toledo, Spain, Apr 7, 2009 / 21:03 pm

The prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Antonio Canizares, criticized the Spanish government’s plan to broaden the country’s laws on abortion, saying on Sunday that it “goes against man and not only against God’s will.”

“We cannot just accept this, really, and it is not a political question, it is a question of humanity, of true humanity. It is not a question of parties, God knows I don’t look at any political issue like that, but I do say that we cannot again reject Christ, in whom all love is found, all the truth and all the greatness of man, which must be respected,” the cardinal said.

“It must be said; I cannot see the law on abortion being expanded,” the cardinal said during Palm Sunday Mass in Toledo. One cannot do whatever one pleases with his or her body, he said.

He also encouraged those who “truly love mankind without expecting nothing in return” to work to make love of God and neighbor the norm in society, in response to the “blind current of aggression, the lack of respect for man, the violation of human dignity, the elimination of human life, even of the innocent and the unborn.”

Cardinal Canizares also had words of encouragement for young people who are seeking God, because what they are seeking is “peace, happiness and joy.” His comments were in reference to the Spanish youth gathered this past weekend in Rome for World Youth Day, where they received the WYD cross, which will be brought back to Spain.