In an address to a charity that helps women with crisis pregnancies, the archbishop of Vienna said: «For every Christian, commitment to the defense of life, together with concrete help, is an obligation that springs from the Gospel.»
Recalling that «in Austria and in many countries the law now recognizes the patrimonial rights of the unborn but not the right to life,» he advocated the «complete culture of life,» proposed by John Paul II in the encyclical «Evangelium Vitae.»
«At the root of this culture is the manifestation of the wonder and recognition elicited by life itself, received as a gift,» the cardinal said in his address Saturday.
Among the «hopeful signs» he sees, Cardinal Schönborn mentioned the consultation centers that offer help to pregnant women and young mothers in difficulty.
He also cited progress in the medical field, as well as «movements committed to the defense of the right to life of the unborn, opposed to torture and the death sentence, and in favor of the environment and its protection.»
