25 March: The Day for the Sanctity of Life in the Church in Poland

On the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, 25 March, the Church in Poland will celebrate for the 25th time the Day for the Sanctity of Life. "The effort to value every human life is still before usˮ - emphasised Fr. Robert Wielądek, Director of the National Centre for Family Pastoral Care operating at the Council for Family Relations of the Polish Bishops' Conference. The Day for the Sanctity of Life was established in the Church in Poland in 1998 and was the response of the Polish bishops to the appeal of St John Paul II contained in the encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" of 25 March 1995. As Fr Robert Wielądek, director of the National Centre for Family Pastoral Care, recalled, referring to the papal document, the main aim of this day is "to awaken, in  consciences, in families, in the Church, in society, the sensitivity to the sense and value of human life at every moment and in every condition". Fr. Wielądek encouraged that on the Day for the Sanctity of Life we should thank God for the gift of life and pray for it to be respected at every stage. He also drew attention to the initiatives taken in connection with the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord. In parishes, on 25 March, it is proposed to begin the Spiritual Adoption of the Conceived Child, a nine-month prayer for a child at risk of being killed in the womb. In many places, Marches for Life and Family are also organised around this day. As the Director of the National Centre for Pastoral Care of Families stressed, this year the Day for the Sanctity of Life will be celebrated for the 25th time. He encouraged people to make it a time to thank God for the good that has been achieved in Poland over the past 25 years in terms of raising awareness of the value of human life. He also pointed out how much more work there still is in this area. "The effort to value every human life is still before us. On the one hand, it is necessary to note a lot of good that has already been done, but it seems to me that this is a task that John Paul II showed us as a constant reality of the life of the Church," Fr. Wielądek said. Press Office of the Polish Bishops' Conference Translation: Sr. Ewa Dobrzelecka / Office for Foreign Communication of the Polish Bishops' Conference