Pro-life Asia Pacific Congress

SAM PHRAN, THAILAND (UCAN) - The sacredness of life as a gift born of God's love was highlighted as and international congress on the meaning and value of life got underway here.

"For Christians, human life is a gift from God. It is, therefore, a sacred and inviolable thing, as life is born from God's love," Archbishop Louis Chamniern Santisukniran of Tharae-Nongsaeng, Thailand, said in his keynote speech. The Nov. 12-14 Asia Pacific Congress on Love, Life and Family is being held at Bangkok archdiocese's pastoral training center.

"To proclaim fully God's love and God's plans of love" is "good news," Archbishop Chamniern told 250 bishops, diocesan and Religious priests, nuns and laypeople. Filipinos formed the largest group and Thais the second-largest.

The participants from 15 Asian countries, many of whom are involved in pro-life work, had come to share their understanding, commitment and dedication to the theme of the congress, "Interfaith Dialogue and Solidarity on the Value and Meaning of Life." Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Protestant speakers were among the scheduled presenters.

Human Life International Asia, a non-profit Catholic educational organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the sanctity of life and the dignity of the family, has organized the event at the Church center in Sam Phran, Nakhon Pathom province, 30 kilometers west of Bangkok.

Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu of Bangkok presided at the opening Mass for the two-and-a-half-day program. Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, apostolic nuncio to Thailand, and other bishops and priests concelebrated.

The nuncio also read out Pope Benedict XVI's greetings to the congress and reminded the Catholics to be people of prayer and to hold faithfully to Church teachings on human dignity and the inviolable rights of the individual.

During the second half of the day, delegates from each country presented reports on how their local Churches are responding to the challenges posed by "the culture of death," societal norms that allow or sanction abortion, contraception, euthanasia and other acts opposed to life. As part of this they detailed efforts to promote a culture of life.

Participants UCA News spoke to said they hoped to learn more about how to take an active pro-life stance during the congress.

Twenty-four-year-old Wang Yuling, who works in a hospice for orphans in China, told UCA News: "Since I am serving dying children, I know how important life is. ... I hope that through this congress I can know more about the meaning of life and spread God's love to families and to the world."

Teuanchai Sayaboun, 27, from Laos expressed joy to be attending the congress. "I am a teacher and I have been serving families for seven years. I hope I can learn a lot about being pro-life in this congress and share it with others, especially my students."

Ray and Marie Traynor, a couple from Britain who serve as volunteer teachers at Lux Mundi (light of the world) National Seminary in Sam Phran, told UCA News they are "concerned" that in Britain today, the dignity of life is being threatened "in many ways" such as abortion.

This anti-life stance is sometimes supported by the government, they said, often for economic reasons.

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Republished by Catholic Online with permission of the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News), the world's largest Asian church news agency (www.ucanews.com).