Catholics of Colombo: Lent for unborn children
Colombo (AsiaNews) - "Abortions are
increasing in Sri Lanka.
To protect children and their place in the world, we need to help mothers in
every way possible", said Card. Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, announcing
the decision to allocate the collections of Lent for a fund dedicated to the
unborn child. Launched last March 25, the fifth Sunday of Lent, the initiative
is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Colombo and Caritas. The project is entitled
"Protection of life, to ensure children's right to life" and is part
of a campaign by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka against the
government proposal to legalize
abortion.
The Catholic archdiocese said they were very happy with this initiative:
"Using the Lenten offerings is a great idea. Protecting life is a need of
our age. As Christians, we know that life is a gift from God and we must
safeguard it always, without exceptions. "
Tissa Karaliyadda, Minister for Child Development and Women's Affairs decided to legalize abortion "only" for
minors who are victims of rape, for conceptions the result of incest, for
fetuses with physical deformities.
"The Catholic Church - the Archbishop told AsiaNews - is categorical: human life must be respected and
protected absolutely from its conception to its natural end. From the first
moment of his or her existence, the fetus is a human being and as such has the
inviolable right to life. With its proposal, the government is attempting to
legalize murder. "
Fr. Jude Raaj, Director of Seth Sarana, explains: "Our mission is to
sensitize the people on the value of being human. For this, we are conducting
seminars for teachers and formators on issues of abortion, how to protect life
and how to save life ".
Although abortion is illegal in the country in recent years, the Sri Lanka
Family Health Bureau (a body set up by the Ministry of Health, ed) recorded an
increase of cases: in 2008 there were about 700 cases a day, for a total of 250
thousand; in 2011 the number rose to a thousand, for a total of 300 thousand
abortions a year. The same figures from the Ministry of Health even speak of
500 abortions a day in Colombo,
the capital of the state. The total population of the island is about 20
million.
According to NGO activists and members of secular and religious, these official
figures have been inflated on purpose to support the government bill.
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