Argentine cardinal: defend the unborn unto death

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sep 4, 2005 / 22:00 pm

The Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, encouraged Catholics this week to untiringly defend the unborn against abortion even if “they persecute or kill you.”

Amidst a debate in the country over the legalization of abortion being sought by non-governmental organizations and by some members of the government, Cardinal Bergoglio recalled that the faithful have the duty to defend life “from the beginning until the end.”

Catholics should persevere in this mission, he said, even if “they persecute you, calumniate you, set traps for you, take you to court or kill you.”

The cardinal compared the “egoism of the culture of death” with “weeds that begin to grow and invade and kill the trees, their fruit and their flowers. They kill life.”

Likewise, he called on Catholics “to be astute” in defending life and not allow themselves to be made fools of by those who promote the culture of death.

 “No child should be deprived of the right to be born, the right to be fed, the right to go to school.  No elderly person should be left alone, abandoned,” the cardinal said in remarks to a group of pregnant women.