Pope Francis sent a message on March 5 to those on a pilgrimage with the Italian Movement for Life, calling on them to “take the side of the unborn child.”
The Italian Movement for Life was established in 1975. According to the USCCB, the organization is very active in pro-life work in Italy, as “members of the movement staff 350 assistance centers across the country, run a 24-hour hotline, staff homes for pregnant women in difficulty and for new mothers and their babies and have helped establish 64 ‘baby hatches’ at public hospitals where mothers in difficulty can leave their newborns.”
Thousands of people had gathered at the Vatican to celebrate the organization’s 50th anniversary.
Still recovering from an illness at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the pope sent his message through Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who addressed the pilgrims at a mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“Continue to place your trust in women, in their capacity for welcome, generosity, and courage,” said Pope Francis in his message. “Women must be able to count on the support of the entire civil and ecclesial community.”
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“Along with concrete solidarity, lived in the style of closeness and proximity to mothers in difficulty because of a difficult or unexpected pregnancy, you promote the culture of life in a broad sense. And you seek to do so with frankness, love and tenacity, keeping truth closely united with charity toward all.”
He also emphasized the need to advocate for the preborn, who have no voice.
“The unborn child represents, in the fullest sense, every man and woman who does not count, who has no voice,” he said. “Taking their side means standing in solidarity with all the discarded of the world.”
Pope Francis lamented that the “throwaway culture has spread,” saying, “more than ever there is a need for people of every age who concretely give of themselves to serve human life, especially when it is at its most fragile and vulnerable.”
“[Life] is sacred, created by God for a great and beautiful destiny,” he said. “A just society is not built by eliminating unwanted unborn children, elderly people who are no longer self-sufficient, or terminally ill patients.”
