Quito, Ecuador, Mar 27, 2007 / 10:50 am
The participants of the 1st Pro-Life and Family Congress in Guayaquil, held from March 22-25, issued a “Declaration in Support of Life” in which they reiterated “the clear and decisive choice in support of life from the very moment of conception, and above any other circumstance, until its natural end.”
“Every Catholic, whatever his vocation, should work to rescue the value of human life, understand it more, make others aware of it and defend it,” the statement said.
It encourages parents, “as the primary and principal educators of their children” to ensure that the true value and meaning of human life is taught in their homes. The statement also said schools should teach “the truth about the value of human life from the scientific, philosophical and religious point of view” and that the media should be transformed from “promoters of the culture of death to promoters and defenders of life”
The statement urged Catholic professionals to be “courageous witnesses and effective promoters of the Gospel of life against the culture of death,” and that “clergy and religious, with the testimony of their own lives and words, should show themselves to be completely identified with the Gospel of life.”
On March 24 some five thousand Ecuadorians marched through the streets of Guayaquil as part of the activities of the 1st National Pro-Life and Family Congress. Several bishops joined in the event, including Bishop Nestor Herrera of Machala, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Ecuador.