CNA Staff, Oct 28, 2020 / 15:11 pm
The Polish bishops on Wednesday emphasized the protection of life and the importance of social peace, as critics of a court ruling against a law permitting abortion for fetal abnormalities have been blocking roads and bridges, and disrupting churches, across the country.
"Today, as a wave of street protests sweeps through our country, pope Francis addressed important and meaningful words to Poles during the General Audience," the permanent council of the Polish bishops' conference said in an Oct. 28 statement.
They noted that the pope "recalled St. John Paul II, who 'always called for special love for the weak and defenseless and for the protection of every human life from its conception to its natural death. These words are part of the Church's constant call for protection, including legal protection, of the life of every human being, including the unborn, in accordance with the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill'."
Protests across Poland began after the constitutional court ruled Oct. 22 that a law permitting abortion for fetal abnormalities was unconstitutional. The Polish constitution says that the state "shall ensure the legal protection of the life of every human being". The court was asked to examine the law last year by a group of 119 MPs belonging to the ruling Law and Justice party, as well as two smaller parties.