The spokesman for the Archdiocese of Mexico, Hugo Valdemar, said this week the ruling PRD party is resorting to typical strong-arm tactics to ram through passage of a new law in the Mexico City assembly that would legalize abortion for almost any reason in the Mexican capital.

“We think passage of this criminal law is imminent,” Valdemar said, noting that lawmakers of the Legislative Assembly have not engaged in any dialogue with the Catholic Church about legalizing abortion, which he said, “is not democratic.”

At the end of Mass on Sunday at the Cathedral of Mexico City, Valdemar said, “Although the war has been lost, we must fight the battle, because at the public level we have to create awareness that this is a criminal law.”

He noted that Pope Benedict XVI has called on Catholics not to vote for candidates who support such initiatives, and he announced that this week the archdiocese would begin a period of prayer in support of human life and the archdiocesan newspaper would dedicate a special section to the issue.