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| Cardinal Burke joins SPUC/Voice of the Family team at Italy's March for Life in Rome last Sunday |
His Eminence joined pro-life marchers on Sunday, giving great encouragement to us all by his presence.
Earlier in the day, Cardinal Burke joined our Voice of the Family Rome Life Forum held in the Vatican and listened attentively to His Eminence George Cardinal Pell, who addressed our group of 120 pro-life leaders from around the world:
I had the honour of chairing the event and of introducing Cardinal Pell. He spoke on "Parents as the best educators". His comments in answer to questions on the forthcoming Ordinary Synod on the Family were typically robust and were founded on the constant, unchanging teaching of the Catholic Church. His words were re-echoed, I'm pleased to say, in news reports around the world, including The Washington Post which reported:
"Church teaching, he said, referencing papal documents such as those of St. John Paul II on marriage and family, can’t be “abdicated, (because) it’s based on the teachings of Christ.”Earlier, during my own address to the Forum, I explained why the Synod on the Family is of fundamental significance for the pro-life movement. I told them why the Council of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children had voted, without anyone opposing, to support marriage and to oppose same-sex marriage. I said:
" ... When it comes to October’s Synod of Bishops on the Family, the cardinal said he expects “the synod will massively endorse the tradition” of the Church’s teachings on these issues.
"There is a great desire to help people and to be compassionate, and these are things everyone wants, he noted, saying he believes synod delegates “will recognize that the Christian tradition of St. John Paul the Great, Benedict, the Council of Trent, is well established … and I don’t anticipate any deviation of that.”
"The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), as a pro-life organization, decided to fight against “same-sex marriage” legislation for two reasons. First, statistical evidence on abortion clearly shows that marriage as an institution protects children, both born and unborn.To find out how you can help the Catholic Church at this critical moment in history - to assist the Church in re-proposing to humanity her unchanging teachings on marriage and the family, please visit Voice of the Family which provides a commentary on Synod news including full account of the Extraordinary Synod and the disturbing reports published by the Synod authorities last year.
"Secondly, “same-sex marriage” represents an attempt to redefine marriage, thus undermining marriage and family life, as a growing body of academic research clearly shows. It is this undermining that lessens the protection for unborn children that true marriage provides ...
" ... The destruction of traditional family structures has very grave consequences for all members of society, but it is children, born and unborn, who are especially vulnerable. Government statistics show that in Britain children conceived outside of marriage are 4 to 5 times more likely to be aborted than those conceived within marriage.
"Historically, our nations’ laws protected unborn children from being killed, and so, quite logically and rightly, pro-life movements worldwide have worked tirelessly to restore, or to uphold, such laws.
"By the same token, historically, families based on the indissoluble union in marriage of a man and a woman, have provided children, both born and unborn, with their best hope of life and fulfilment in life ... so, quite logically and rightly, pro-life movements worldwide must work tirelessly to defend marriage and the family.
"The pro-life movement cannot possibly succeed in its efforts to end abortion if the family based on marriage between a man and a woman is destroyed."
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