Pope says Catholic lawmakers must defend sanctity of life, marriage

Published: 2004-03-01

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Lawmakers, especially if they are Catholic, must not advance measures that go against the basic values of life and marriage between a man and a woman, Pope John Paul II said. "It is part of the church's mission to not give up inviting all men and women of good will to build a society based upon fundamental and irrevocable values" that respect human dignity, the pope said. Pope John Paul made his appeal Feb. 28 in his address to Carlos Luis Custer, Argentina's new ambassador to the Holy See. "Legislators, especially Catholic legislators, cannot help draw up or pass laws that are contrary to the basic and essential norms that regulate moral life," the pope said. He said "a national and world order that is appropriate for the human being" respects and protects every person's right to life, starting "from the moment of conception to one's natural end."

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