Download PDF version of this page26/06/2007
Press release
Issued by the Catholic Communications Network
Blessed is the fruit of your womb
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
28th June 2007
Masses will be celebrated up and down the country this Sunday 1st July 2007 to mark Day for Life – the day in the Church’s year dedicated to celebrating the dignity of life. This year’s theme ‘Blessed is the fruit of your womb’ has been prompted by the 40th anniversary of the Abortion Act in England, Scotland and Wales. Over 500,000 leaflets have been sent out to parishes explaining what the Church means by pro-life and the practical, emotional and spiritual care that the Church offers to women and babies in need. There is also a Day for Life website full of downloadable resources, including liturgical materials, podcasts and videos www.dayforlife.org
“Raising awareness - that’s one of the principal purposes of Day for Life,” said the Right Reverend Bernard Longley, Auxiliary Bishop for Westminster and Bishop for Day for Life. “This year we want to highlight the terrible waste of life over the last forty years. There is a tendency to rationalise abortion by dehumanising the unborn child. Day for Life provides an opportunity for the Catholic Community to come together to pray about the issues, to understand in a deeper sense the Church’s teaching and to enable other people to be aware of what the Church is actually teaching, but also to draw attention to the many different ways in which practical support is offered to people who are facing very difficult questions in their own lives.”
This year’s Day for Life will also highlight the support offered to the many women, and men, who suffer grief and loss following an abortion.
“The Church never condemns individual women who are often pressurised into abortion,” said the Most Reverend Peter Smith, Archbishop of Cardiff and Chair of the Department for Christian Responsibility and Citizenship. “We positively support young women who have become pregnant and don’t know what to do. They need a lot of support, space and time for counselling and reflection to see that there are other ways which do not involve the killing of a human life. And for those men and women who are suffering the pain of an abortion, the Church will always be there for you. Christ is waiting for you in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. ”
In England and Wales this year, the Day for Life second collection taken up in parishes in England and Wales which will principally go towards supporting the work of the Life organisation and the Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics.
ENDS
For further information, please contact Maggie Doherty, CCN
t. 020 7901 4802 e. Maggie.Doherty@cbcew.org.uk w. www.dayforlife.org
Audio clips from Bishop Bernard Longley and Archbishop Peter Smith are available
Notes to Editors
Day for Life is celebrated yearly by the Catholic Church in Ireland, Scotland and England and Wales. This year’s Day for Life sees the 30th anniversary of Cura in Ireland; the 10th anniversary of the Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Initiative in Scotland and the 30th anniversary of the Life Care and Housing Trust in England and Wales.
Life is a national pro-life charity which aims to provide an alternative to abortion. Some of those alternatives are housing and caring; education programmes, a natural fertility programme, a helpline service and a text-to-talk service. www.lifeuk.org
The Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics exists to help Catholics and others to explore the Church's position on bioethical issues. www.linacre.org
Initiated by the late John Paul II, Day for Life invites the whole Church to set aside a day to reflect on the sanctity of all human life. John Paul II urged compassion and mercy for women traumatised through having abortions.