Bishops Join Forces Across The Airwaves To Defend Life

Bishops from across Ireland, Scotland and England & Wales have come together to produce a series of podcasts to celebrate the fifth Day for Life – a day instigated by the late Pope John Paul II, dedicated to celebrating the sanctity of human life from its very beginning to its natural end. This year’s day will celebrate the life and presence of disabled people in the Church and in society today. In Scotland, it will be celebrated on Sunday 28th May 2006. Already thousands of leaflets have been sent to parishes across Scotland, encouraging parishioners to listen in and respond to the call to promote the sanctity of life.

The first in the podcast series comes from the Archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti, speaking about how the Church places those who are living with disability at the centre of its life: “It has always been the Church’s desire to ensure that a person’s value is not based on physical integrity, but on their human dignity as children of God, as members of the human family. Much work has been done in parishes throughout Scotland to make sure that Churches are a place of welcome for all – that loop systems are available for the hard of hearing and that there are access ramps and spaces available for those in wheelchairs.”

The new Day for Life website – www.dayforlife.org - will also feature a series of different Video Nations – video clips which take a look at the lives of people with disabilities in their parish, in their local community and in society. The Scottish video features Francis – a lady who has always been disabled, having tried to walk when she was very young, but due to the pain decided that walking was an ‘overrated pastime’. She has been involved in Disability Awareness Work in the Church, and feels passionately that the Church should be a place where people with disabilities feel that they have come home. At times she has asked where God is in her situation, but every day, she asks the Holy Spirit to inspire, protect and guide her.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

t. 0141 221 1168 | f. 0141 204 2458 | e. mail@scmo.org | w. www.dayforlife.org

Notes to Editors

www.dayforlife.org - a newly created lively, upbeat website which includes video and audio interviews (podcasts) celebrating the dignity of human life –from its very beginning to its natural end.

Day for Life 2006

• To celebrate the life and presence of disabled people in the Church and in society today.
• To promote a more just and humane society in which all can reach their full potential.
• To defend the lives of the disabled often threatened before birth by genetic screening and procured abortion, or by being denied necessary medical treatment when ill or old.

Information about Day for Life in general

In his Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) Pope John Paul II proposed that "a day for life be celebrated each year in every country." The primary purpose of this day should be "to foster in individual consciences, in families, in the Church, and in civil society, a recognition of the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition." (EV#85).

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