Abortion is never a right, affirms Spanish bishop

Guadalajara, Spain, Mar 16, 2010 / 21:13 pm

Bishop Jose Sanchez of Siguenza-Guadalajara, Spain remarked Monday that abortion is “an attack against life,” and is therefore “an injustice” that “can never be called a right.”

In a letter to the faithful, Bishop Sanchez announced that the diocese would celebrate “Pro-Life Day” on March 25 in order to demand the right to life for all human beings “from the moment of conception,” and to remind parents of their obligation to “respect and defend” that right.

“Because we are disciples of the Master, who loves human life, who gave up His own for us, who values the lives of the least among us … we defend human life in all of its stages,” the bishop wrote.  He emphasized that the lives of the most “innocent and defenseless” must be protected, including: “the unborn, the sick, the elderly, those suffering hunger and thirst, those orphaned or abandoned and those exiled or subjected to violence of any kind.”

After pointing out that the Church has no intention of “invading the terrain of legislators, judges and leaders,” Bishop Sanchez noted that the Church “does have the right and the duty to defend the rights of the weakest.”  “We cry out against laws or behaviors that trample fundamental rights, in this case the right of life and the right to life.”

“The campaign promoted by our Church in Spain, on the occasion of Pro-Life Day, is intended to lend her voice to the voiceless, in this case, the unborn and struggling mothers, offering the service of numerous persons, organizations and institutions willing to welcome life and all persons,” Bishop Sanchez said.

The prelate concluded his letter by praising those who reach out to mothers in difficult circumstances, “so that they never feel the temptation to eliminate the lives of their children as the only solution to a distressing situation.”