EUROPE/ITALY - Overseas Catholics in Italy unite to support Italian believers: “With their abstention Italian Catholics protected life and remained faithful to Church teaching”

Rome (Fides Service) - The Italian Catholic world demonstrated great unity in the referendum battle. And the results show that Catholics are united with regard to fundamental values starting with the supreme value of life which must be protected from any sort of political or state manipulation. The ideological campaign launched against the Church turned the referendum into an attack on the Catholic world threatening its unity and credibility.
This led Catholic immigrants in Italy from many different countries to give full support to the Italian Catholic community. Among the many opinions expressed we mention that of Fr. Alberto Guevara, Filipino priest resident in Italy chaplain to the Filipino community in Rome. “In this referendum on fertility treatment in Italy- said Fr. Guevara - Catholics chose to protect life from the moment of conception, confirming the dignity of the embryo and the principle that a child is not a laboratory product but rather the fruit of an act of love”.
Fr. Guevara recalled that for every Catholic “the birth of a child is a gift from God which must come after the union of a man and a woman who in an act of authentic love become co-creators and with God’s blessing bring a new life into the world”. He also recalled that “a child has the right to his or her own biological mother and father”.
“This is what Italian Catholics said with their non-vote- Fr. Guevara said -. They affirmed that human life cannot be a subjected to a referendum. And as the Church teaches it must be protected from conception to natural end”.
Fr. Guevara said that in the Philippines the people and the bishops are very pro-life. He said the questions of abortion, divorce and defending life and the embryo as a human person are very strongly felt. (Agenzia Fides 13/06/2005 Righe: 32 Parole: 325)