Mexico City, Mexico, Apr 3, 2007 / 09:01 am
During his homily on Palm Sunday, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Archbishop of Mexico City, strongly defended the right of the Church to express her opinions publicly, especially regarding threats or attacks against human life. He also called on the faithful to take action and speak out in defense of the right to life.
Both during his homily and in a message read after Mass, the Cardinal rejected all attempts to legalize the killing of the unborn.
In recalling the second anniversary of the death of the Servant of God John Paul II, Cardinal Rivera said, “John Paul II repeats again to mankind today his reprobation of everything that is opposed to life, echoing thus the teachings of the traditional and official Magisterium of the Church.”
“The beloved John Paul II opposed everything that violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilations, physical and mental torture and even attempts at psychological coercion that offend human dignity,” Cardinal Rivera stated. He recalled that the Servant of God “always denounced the ignominy and gravity of abortion by calling it an ‘unspeakable crime’ and underscored the moral gravity of this issue, as he said, this is a matter of homicide.”
Forceful statement
At the conclusion of Palm Sunday Mass, Auxiliary Bishop Marcelino Hernandez of Mexico City read a statement reiterating the Church’s position against abortion and its legalization.
“Let us have the conviction that without detriment to the dignity and rights of women, there are no causes that can justify the rejection of the precious good that is the life of a child, regardless of how she was conceived, of her condition or of the state of her development,” the statement indicated.
“May no Mexican dare to attack the life of a human being that is developing in the womb of his mother,” the statement warned, emphasizing that a woman who aborts is not making a decision about her own body, but about the life of a human being that can never be considered an unjust aggressor.