AMERICA/PARAGUAY - Ecumenical demonstration pro-life and pro-family against proposed national plan of prevention of crimes against sexual autonomy and against minors and assistance for victims

Asuncion (Fides Service) - This evening, 25 May at 7pm in the square in front of the cathedral of Asuncion, Paraguay there will be an ecumenical demonstration pro-life and pro-family against proposed national plan of prevention of punishable acts against sexual autonomy and against minorsand assistance for victims. Objective of the ecumenical meeting is to express suggestions on the theme in discussion and pray that parliament’s decision will be in keeping with the will of God.
In an invitation to take part in the demonstration, which will be attended by pastors and faithful of other Christian confessions, Archbishop Pastor Cuquejo of Asuncion said “the primigenial conscience of humanity confirms the inalterable realty of the union of a man and a woman as mutual complementation and perfecting of the whole of creation. In recent decades this original plan has been relativised. Life is no longer respected in its integrity. The family itself if under attack by a culture which disgregates it”. In this situation said Archbishop Cuquejo, “many countries have passed laws in favour of abortion, irresponsible birth control, equivocal orientations with regard to reproductive health, divorce and same sex marriage”. Mgr Cuquejo says that is the majority of cases the people did not give its consensus for the approval of these laws.
A statement by the ‘Service to Love and Life’ of the Family Pastoral in the archdiocese of Asuncion “The Truth will make you free”, dated 23 May, underlines the danger of the ambiguous working of the proposed law which is an open attack on the family: “The ultimate goal of this legislative proposal is to build a society which has no reference to the family which is this emptied of its content and is replaced with a union of people of the same or different sex; to relativise the value of life, paradoxically in the name of defending life”. He called attention to expressions relative to “sexual autonomy”, “discrimination” and “gender perspective”. The document refers to the possibility of opting for an orientation or sexual identity different from that given by nature, because this would promote homosexuality, bisexuality, change of sexual gender.
It is also said that “the proposed law being discussed contains articles contrary to freedom to exercise one’s profession, by not recognising the right to conscientious objection”. In fact the proposed law authorises the state to sign agreements with NGOs to see the programme is accomplished, which would entail creating a system of control by pro-abortionists, feminists and lesbian-feminists.
Lastly there is concern for a possible massive distribution of oral means of abortion. The proposed law creates a programme framework in which chemical or surgical abortion can be used as a remedy for presumed acts of violence. Moreover the text does not guarantee an investigation to prove the violence, on the grounds that privacy must be respected. (R.Z.) (Agenzia Fides 25/5/2005, righe 37, parole 481)