Cardinals urge British Catholics to build culture of life

Published: 2007-10-23

LONDON (CNS) -- An English cardinal and a Scottish cardinal urged Catholics in Great Britain to build a culture that respects the value of human life. Cardinals Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster, president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and Keith O'Brien of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, president of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, released an Oct. 22 letter marking the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act. They said that occasion offered Great Britain "an important moment for reflection" and "an opportunity to seek to cherish human life and to support women in difficult circumstances." They also described the act as an "unjust law" and said that it was "important for those in public life who oppose abortion on principle to work and vote for achievable incremental improvements" to it. They said that the scale of abortion in Great Britain -- 200,000 each year -- "can only be a source of distress and profound anguish for us all." The cardinals said, "Ultrasound scanners today can reveal in extraordinary detail the development of a human life in the womb" which was not fully appreciated when the law was enacted.

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