Ayaviri, Peru, Nov 4, 2009 / 02:09 am (CNA).- Bishop Kay Martin Schmalhausen of Ayaviri, Peru reminded the faithful this week that the Church cannot remain silent when human life is attacked, because “it is her duty to raise her voice when it comes to fundamental issues about man.”

Amidst the recent debate in Peru over the legalization of abortion, Bishop Schmalhausen explained that the Church cannot remain silent “when it comes to the fundamental issues of man, when the good of a people or of humanity itself, its present and its future, is in danger.”

“Nobody, no man, no human authority has power over another man to decide the life of another,” the bishop said. “At the root of all debate over allowing abortion and relativizing the primordial right to life of every unborn child is the logic of Cain who, hidden though always culpable, kills his brother.”

On an issue as delicate as this one, the Church is speaking in defense of all of her children, especially all women, Bishop Schmalhausen continued. More than anyone, “the Church understands the joys and sufferings of families, the joys and tragedies of young people,” and especially of women who are pregnant and even women who have experienced abortion, he said.

“Any society that justifies killing its own will end up corrupting itself and will be guilty of the threatening spread of a culture of death,” the bishop stated. It is well known that the strategy of pro-abortion groups at the national and international level is to see that the first legislative concessions to abortion lead to a wider liberalization of the practice, to make it institutionalized in third world countries,” he said.

Bishop Schmalhausen called for improved policies aimed at assisting pregnant mothers and families in difficult situations to prevent them from suffering from the tragedy of abortion.

He praised and encouraged efforts by the Church to reach out to women through assistance centers and other projects aimed at preventing abortion and helping women who are suffering from post-abortion stress syndrome.

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