Day for Life

My name is Sister Roseann Reddy and I am the co-ordinator of the Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Initiative in Glasgow.

The initiative was started when the late Cardinal Winning made a pledge at a pro-life conference, to offer help to women in a crisis pregnancy situation.

Cardinal Winning launched the initiative on the 9th March 1997, which was Mothers' Day and now this year we're celebrating our 10th anniversary.

From the beginning, the main aim of the project has been to be a crisis pregnancy centre; to offer help to women who, for whatever reason, find that being pregnant causes them problems.

For us, there is a fundamental difference between being anti-abortion and being pro-life. We are obviously against abortion, but there is a deeper reality which is to be for everything to do with life. And not just life, but life in abundance.

Today we're here for the culmination of our 10th anniversary celebrations. It's a mass which a lot of our friends and a lot of people who have been involved in the initiative have come to. And then afterwards we're going to go up to the hall for a buffet and for a big celebration which will continue, I suspect, long in to the night!

Over the past 10 years we've been able to help many women through some aspect of a crisis pregnancy. Just the other day we counted the figures up, and to date we have helped 2222 women.

In our experience, the main problem that women face is not to do with the baby but to do with the issues surrounding the baby. So, lack of support from either the baby's father or from their parents, financial pressures, pressures to do with work.

And what we say to women is: 'If all those problems could be taken away, do you want to have this baby?' The vast majority of them say 'Well, yes I do – but how can I?' That's when our work really kicks in, and when we can say to the women: 'Here is how we can practically, emotionally, spiritually help you.' Often that is enough to make them make the choice to have their child because they know they're not going to be alone.

When Cardinal Winning died suddenly on Fathers' Day in June 2001, we all felt that we had lost a father. But we know that his vision and his inspiration live on - particularly in those 70-odd babies, who I simply do not believe would be alive today if it wasn't for the initiative. That's a great legacy to leave behind of your life.

We continue to be amazed at the great support we get from the ordinary members of the public. Supporters from all over Britain who are inspired by what we do because they see it as faith in action, and they want to help.

Occasionally myself and Paul just come down for an hour or two, just to help out.

Those people that society says they don't want, the initiative is saying, 'We will have you.' And that's what Christ did. That's what the church does, and what it's always done.

Well, it's given the pro-life cause a really high profile. It's probably one of the best initiatives. Just beacause the Cardinal started it in the first place, it's given it a much wider appeal.

What they're doing is absolutely vital. And what this does is bear witness. Here they are, there is this place that offers unconditional support to anyone who requires it, under any kind of circumstance – and that's a great witness.

People, I think, react positively when they see a practical piece of work, a practical compassion, a practical help to those in need. And so, when we preach the pro-life cause, we've also got to serve the pro-life cause.

The main focus of our work is obviously crisis pregnancy care, but we realise that that is really 'mopping up the water' and what we want to try and do is to 'turn off the tap'.

To do that you need to educate people, and educate them from a very young age on all aspects of the right to life and respect for human life.

For us, one of the great pleasures is when we have young people over to visit the centre from schools and from youth groups, so that we can give them a deeper experience of what it means to do crisis pregnancy work. and they love to come to the centre.

- Up here we have all the prams and all the car seats, and then all the toys.
- Look, how cute is he?
- Mr Bean's teddy!

You know, everyone loves babies; everybody loves the whole thing about the help that you can give. The practical help appeals to young people. It appeals to their sense of wanting to do something.

Our wish for the future is just continuing the work that we have done in challenging people to live the pro-life message to the deepest level. To remember that we are there to be compassionate and caring - not to point the finger and condemn, or to judge. But to open our arms and to love as Christ loved. That, for us, is the challenge.