Pope sends message to pro-life pilgrimage

(August 17, 2012) Pope Benedict XVI has sent his blessing to a pro-life pilgrimage in Poland commending the participants efforts in spreading the Gospel values of life. The Pope sent a message to the 301st Walking Pilgrimage from the Warsaw to Poland’s national Marian Shrine of Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the anti-abortion life initiative called the “Spiritual Adoption of the Unborn Child.” It is a 9-month prayer initiative with the intention of protecting unborn life threatened by abortion. Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw read Pope Benedict's message before the Mass he celebrated on Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption, at the Marian shrine to mark the culmination of the walking pilgrimage. In his message, the Holy Father expressed his appreciation to the people involved in this apostolate, who, with deep faith, promote the Gospel values ​​of life and love to counter the threats of abortion, euthanasia, promiscuity and the problems which affect family life. The Holy Father also hopes that this initiative will profoundly touch the hearts of men to grow spiritually and give support to children whose lives are threatened, to couples who are having difficulty accepting a new life and to families tempted to abort. The “Spiritual Adoption of the Unborn Child “ was started in 1987 in Warsaw as part of the Polish national pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Jasna Gora in Czestochowa. The initiative later spread throughout Poland, and then to other countries.