The Catholic Bishop’s Conference has published a list of the
themes chosen for the 2013 ‘Day for Life’, which will be held on next Sunday
October 6th, and have
published a pastoral message from which the following extracts have been
taken.
The full text can be found on this link.
Day for Life is celebrated annually by the Catholic Church
in Ireland, Scotland and England and Wales. It is a day dedicated to celebrating
the dignity of life from conception to natural death. This year’s Day for Life
will be celebrated in Ireland on Sunday 6 October and will focus on the theme:
Caring for Life.
This year’s message begins with the words of Pope Francis
taken from a homily in 2005 on the Feast of the Patron Saint of expectant
mothers and midwives, when His Holiness spoke simply and beautifully about what
promoting a culture of life really means:
“Jesus teaches us to care for life because it is the image
of God, who is absolute life. We cannot announce anything else but life, and
from the beginning to the end. All of us must care for life, cherish life, with
tenderness, warmth……..to give life is to open (our) hearts for others…… Caring
for life from the beginning to the end. What a simple thing, what a beautiful
thing…. So, go forth and don’t be discouraged. Care for life. It’s worth it!”
Day for Life 2013 will place particular focus on:
Care for unborn children and their mothers
Care for people who are elderly
Care for those who are suicidal and their families
Bishops invite the faithful to read the short pastoral
message ‘Care for Life: It’s Worth It’ which is now available on
www.catholicbishops.ie in the Irish, English and Polish languages.
Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013
Bishops discussed the sacredness of human life in the
context of the enactment of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Act
2013. They expressed their deep
gratitude to everyone who showed their concern in a respectful way when
challenging the passage of this legislation. In particular bishops acknowledged
those national public representatives who did so at great political risk to
themselves. Bishops reiterated “to
legislate for abortion does not make it morally acceptable, and the direct and
intentional ending of the life of an unborn child, at any stage of pregnancy,
is always gravely wrong.”
Bishops discussed the need to support women in crisis
pregnancies and the vital roles that fathers have to be supportive particularly
in such circumstances. Bishops
encouraged expectant mothers and fathers facing a crisis and/or unplanned
pregnancy to avail of the support offered by the Church’s crisis pregnancy
agency Cura on 1850 622 626 and on www.cura.ie
Bishops welcomed the recent comments made by Pope Francis in
his address to the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations
and Catholic gynaecologists on 20 September 2013, when he said “so often we
find ourselves in situations where we see that what is valued the least is
life. That is why concern for
human life in its totality has become in recent years a real priority for the
Church’s teaching.”
Pope Francis went on to express support for the work of the
medical specialists reminding them that there is no human life more sacred than
another. He said “the credibility
of a healthcare system is not measured solely by efficiency, but above all by
the attention and love given to the person, whose life is always sacred and
inviolable.”
