Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Managua (Agenzia Fides) – Hundreds of Catholic faithful, along with several Nicaraguan Bishops and the Apostolic Nuncio marched through the streets of Esteli (in the north) yesterday, to show their disapproval of abortion on the Day of the Unborn Child. The manifestation occupied a little over a kilometer and ended with an outdoor Mass near the Cathedral of Esteli, 149 kilometers north of Managua. The objective of the march was to communicate the message in favor of life and against death. In accord with the organizers' expectations, over 10,000 people participated in the march. The Mass was presided by the Bishop of the Diocese of Esteli, Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata, with the participation of the Apostolic Nuncio in Managua, Archbishop Henry Josef Nowacki and Bishop Enrique Herrera of Jinotega. In his homily, Bishop Juan Abelardo affirmed that many “claim to defend human rights and then continue promoting abortion.” He also mentioned that the woman should be respected and respect her body, “which implies not only saying 'my body is mine' but rather, responding to the Creator's plan.” In addition to this march, there have been several days of prayer for life in the various dioceses throughout the country. The National Director of the Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights (ANPDH), Robert Petray, informed that along with this activity on the Day of the Unborn Child, a message has also been sent to those who wish to introduce abortion as a form of medical treatment to remind them that the right to life is an inalienable right.
In fact the Nicaraguan legislation prohibits any kind of abortion, as Nicaraguan Parliament, in the Presidential Campaigns in 2006, acted in accord with appeals from the Catholic and Evangelical Churches asking that use of abortion as a medical practice in the case of danger for the mother, which had formed part of the nation's Penal Code for over a century, not be permitted. The legislation called for the use of terminating the pregnancy is it was “determined scientifically, with the intervention of at least three doctors, the consent of the father or the closest relative to the woman, for legal purposes.”
The human rights organization ANDPH is working to have the Supreme Court in the country make a declaration saying that abortion will remain a criminal offense, in response to a women's group that claims that the prohibition is unconstitutional. “We are working to protect the lives of the most innocent,” Petray affirmed. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 26/3/2009)
