Thousands participated in march for life in Italy

Thousands of people from all over Italy braved the summer heat to join the National Demonstration for Life in Rome on the afternoon of Saturday, June 22.

“Let’s choose life” was the motto of the annual procession, which began at 2:00 pm (local time) in Rome’s Piazza della Repubblica, near the Termini train station, the city’s main train station.

The march continued slowly for about a mile along the Via Nazionale, before reaching the area of ​​the former Imperial Forum, where a meeting with speeches and musical performances was held.

“Without concessions to human life!” said Pope Francis in a message sent to the organizers before the march.

The Holy Father thanked the march participants for their “commitment and public testimony in defense of human life from conception to natural death,” and urged them to “continue courageously despite every adversity.”

“What is at stake, that is, the absolute dignity of human life, the gift of God the Creator, is too high to be the subject of concessions or mediation,” Francis wrote.

The Pope also invited families to bear witness to “the beauty of life and the family that welcomes it”, to build “a society that rejects the culture of throwaways at all stages of existence: from the unborn child most fragile to the elderly who suffer, including the victims of trafficking, slavery and all wars.

Massimo Gandolfini, one of the spokespersons for the annual anti-abortion protest, said earlier this year that the organization is calling on Italy’s political leaders to create “structural public reforms to encourage the marriage of young couples, incentivize the rate of birth rate and support parenting by reshaping taxes and social services to be family-friendly.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.