By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
ITALY, September 25, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a meeting with Nicaragua’s new ambassador to the Holy See at Castlegandolfo yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI congratulated the Nicaraguan government for maintaining the country’s absolute prohibition of abortions in the face of heavy international pressure.
The pontiff expressed his “recognition to Nicaragua for its position in international forums on social topics, especially the respect for life in the face of not insignificant internal and international pressures.”
The pope was referring to Nicaragua’s decision to impose criminal sanctions on all abortions in 2006, which was renewed in a historic 66-3 vote in the nation’s National Assembly earlier this month. Although numerous international organizations and whole countries have pressured the small Central American nation to change the law since it was first passed in 2006, the country has remained firm (see recent LifeSiteNews coverage at: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/sep/07091308.html).
Benedict XVI also encouraged the Nicaraguan government to help women with difficult pregnancies. “It should be seen as very positive that during the past year the National Assembly has approved the repeal of therapeutic abortion. In this respect, it is indispensable to increase government aid and aid from society itself to women who have serious problems with their pregnancy,” he said.
He also noted that life and family values are under attack in Nicaragua, as they are in other countries. There is, he said, “an urgent necessity to rescue and promote human and moral values in the face of so many forms of violence, even in homes, often the fruit of the disintegration of the family or the degradation of customs.”
See related LifeSiteNews coverage:
Nicaragua Overwhelmingly Renews Total Abortion Ban in 66-3 Vote
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/sep/07091308.html
Sweden Cuts Aid to Countries that Oppose its Pro-Abortion Stance
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/aug/07083106.html
EU Threatens to Withdraw Aid to Nicaragua if Pro-Life Law Remains
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07020902.html
Nicaragua Congress Passes New Law Outlawing All Abortions
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/oct/06102604.html