ROME, April 27, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — Tens of thousands of pro-lifers are expected to descend upon Rome May 8 to take part in the 6th annual Marcia per la Vita (March for Life).
March organizers want to send two important messages to the Italian government: Stop funding abortion and don’t legalize euthanasia.
“We would like to tell our government that Italy is dying — because we have a birth rate of 1.3, well below the replacement level — and it is almost beyond belief that instead of helping families to have children to increase the birth rate, our government is giving around €200 million annually for killing our babies by abortion, paid for by our taxes,” March for Life spokesperson Virginia Coda Nunziante told LifeSiteNews.
“We are sending a clear message to our government to stop funding abortion and to use that money instead to help families,” she said.
Nunziante said that with the Italian Parliament recently discussing a legal proposal on euthanasia, the government needs to hear the message loud and clear that life, no matter at what stage, is “always sacred.”
“We cannot take life into our own hands. Nobody has the right to kill another person,” she said.
March organizers also have a message for the entire world: “Life, family, and education are non-negotiables and we must defend these as such if we are to get out of the deep moral crisis in which we find ourselves, the consequences of which are an economic crisis.”
The March will take place on Sunday, starting at 9 am. Marchers will depart from piazza Bocca della Verità and plan to arrive at noon to St. Peter’s Square in time for the Regina Coeli, hopefully to be prayed by Pope Francis.
Nunziante said that something new happening this year is an all-night adoration vigil prior to the March organized by a group of pro-life university students. The Saturday evening event will take place at the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva beginning at 8 pm.
“This all-night prayer vigil sends a very strong message, because it comes from the young people, from students. They are the ones who will change the law on abortion. They know they will achieve victory through God’s help and through prayer,” she said.
March organizers are encouraging people concerned about Italy’s survival to attend the event.
“It is only through the firm commitment of public testimony, through standing up publicly to defend life, that we will be able to fight today's culture.”
“The battle for life has taken centerstage in the court of public opinion. Consequently, the support of each and every individual at this March for Life becomes critical to the survival of a society founded on life, rather than death,” a press release for the event stated.