Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sep 6, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Archbishop Jose Luis Mollaghan of Rosario said this week “the unborn child should never be seen as an aggressor, but rather as a gift and prolongation of the mystery of life that God offers and gives us.”
He called for stepping up the promotion of adoption and of assistance for mothers with difficult pregnancies, “both before and after the birth of their children.” He also recommended offering “greater pastoral care to women who have suffered or have actively procured an abortion.”
Reflecting on the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I knew you; before you were born, I consecrated you,” the archbishop said they were fulfilled “in a grandiose way in the incarnation of the Lord in the womb of the most holy Virgin Mary, who awaited his birth with love and hope.”
“The lives of those who have already been born should be protected,” Archbishop Mollaghan underscored, “especially children who suffer from hunger, mistreatment, the lack of education and health care, the lack of a home, abandonment and any type of abuse.”