“The defense of LIFE from the trench of death”
The European federation “One of Us” denounces the war in Ukraine and states that “Europe and Western civilization need a true moral rearmament of its principles, its fundamentals, and its values. This “rearmament” begins with the defense of the life of every human being”
- The president of the One of Us European Federation, Jaime Mayor Oreja, appeals to “the need of the “moral rearmament” of Europe and Western civilization. The absence of principles, values and foundations are signs of a weakness that has been exploited for Putin’s declaration of war in Ukraine. This “moral rearmament” must begin with the defense of each human being, the essence of the existence of the One of Us Federation and its members”.
- Marina Casini, President of the Italian Movimento Per la Vita (MPV): The moment that Europe is going through is dramatic, the pain, the agony, the cold of war are enveloping us. Peace! Peace! It is the cry of the peoples of Europe. But how can peace truly be achieved without respect and acceptance of human life, of every human life? Mother Teresa, the Saint of Calcutta, on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize said: «If we accept that a mother can kill the fruit of her own breast, what is left for us? Abortion is the principle that endangers world peace «. «If we really want peace – she said speaking to the UN in 1985 – we will approve a strong resolution: do not allow a single child to live without love and we will eliminate abortion because it is the greatest destroyer of peace and a terrible murder». What does abortion, so «silent», so «invisible», so «private», have to do with the tragedy of war, with its well-experienced pain, with the deafening noise of explosions, with its «collective involvement «Of peoples?
The question – wrote Carlo Casini – is to discover the foundation of peace which is not fear […] builds peace who is willing to give his life for the other […] is the value of man, sacredness of his life the profound and true reason that makes the organization of death which we call war feel extremely contradictory. […] The question […] challenges all men, calls them to implement their peace projects, signed by all peoples, who have just emerged from the horror of the last world war. […] The question wants us to reclaim peace, to return it to our hands. We can concretely be builders of peace every day. The measure is human life, any («every») saved life, that is, recognized, accepted, valued, removed from the anonymity of «not counting», in short, loved for itself, as human life and for us Christians as a word of God’s love «.
- Julio Tudela Cuenca, Director of the Bioethics Observatory of the UCV, member of One of Us has stated: “The culture of death unfolds all its cruelty on the weakest and most innocent. The defenders of life in Ukraine, who have fought for so long on the side of the faceless weak, the unborn exterminated by abortion, now give themselves up for the faceless weak, orphaned, wounded, lost children, along with broken families, decimated, tortured by pain. Those who are on the side of life, of all life, now give themselves body and soul for the victims of war with the same commitment as they do for the unborn, the victims of euthanasia or, simply, the discarded. Those who love life do so with a strong love, stronger than fear, stronger than death. Those of us who love life, respect for dignity and freedom fight with them. Beside each victim, each mother, each womb, each sick person, each poor person. Because our only hope is to love. Forever».
- Philippe de Saint Germain, from the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation and coordinator of the One of Us cultural platform, says “The European federation One of Us is with the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and with all the families affected by the war. It calls on the opposing forces to rediscover the sense of their unity in their common Christian roots, which they share with all the European nations. The defenders of life are always on the side of the defenders of freedom and the rights of nations. The freedom of nations is a condition of peace. The European federation One of Us supports all initiatives in favor of peace. It calls for finding solutions that respect everyone’s interests, in justice and law.
- Christian Frei, thinker of the One of Us Cultural Platform: The peace dividend after the end of the Cold War has been used up. Putin’s aggression has brought the war of states back to Europe. Violence, hunger and soon disease threaten the weakest. More than a million people are already on the run. Countless people are waiting in air-raid shelters while their homes are shot to rubble. All this because a small circle of rulers in Russia is not prepared, for geostrategic reasons, to recognize a fundamental human right – namely the right of self-determination of the citizens of Ukraine. Ukraine only wanted to freely determine its future. It posed no threat to Russia. Yet it is being subjected to war by Russia in violation of international law. We feel for those who have to fear for life and limb in this war. We raise our voices for them, we demand their right to life, physical integrity, security, and freedom. Their dignity is inviolable. We can only condemn this war. The peace-loving European states must once again face up to the harsh conditions of the paradoxical logic of war and peace. Freedom and peace are not free. They must be won repeatedly. One of us will stand up for the dignity of human life wherever it is threatened for whatever reason.
- Leontine Bakermans, from One of Us Netherlands: “The dignity and defense of each life is above any social, political, or military interest. Each Life is precious and unique, there is never a reason to eliminate a human life “
- Jakub Bałtroszewicz, Secretary General of the ONE OF US Federation and President of the Polish Federation of Pro-life and Pro-Family Organisations: “I am very proud that my country – Poland – has opened the doors so widely to refugees from Ukraine. The unprecedented solidarity and hospitality of my country citizens is a true pro-life attitude that should be an example for Europe and the world. Now let’s do everything we can to stop the madness of war and let’s not forget Ukraine and its children when the war – hopefully – is over.
- Elisabetta Pittino, member of the One of Us Executive, points out that: “One of Us stands with the Ukrainian people, with those who go to great lengths to care for children and women, confident that every woman who wears a son brings peace. «If you want peace, defend life», said Saint Paul VI already in 1977 on the X Day of Peace. We, the defenders of life, are ontologically for peace, that is why we always choose peace. We want to be builders of peace every time we transform a child in his mother’s womb from an «enemy» to a son, aware that war can only be transformed into peace through the acceptance of that human being as One of Us”
- The Foro de la Familia, through its president, Ignacio García Juliá, puts its emphasis on the family stating that: «The people of Ukraine demonstrate that the family defends life both in peace and in war«.
- The Spanish Federation of Pro-Life Associations, through its president, Alicia Latorre, highlights its “support for pro-lifers in Ukraine in these dramatic moments of war, fear, and desolation. War is one of the bitterest fruits of the culture of death, as it is the abortion, that everyday leaves tens of thousands of deaths in the world without almost anyone crying for them or being scandalized. It is also necessary to denounce today a terrible fight for pro-lifers in Ukraine. They not only defend life from conception to natural death, they not only defend it in situations contrary to the dignity of the person such as war, poverty, domestic and extra-family mistreatment, but they also must live with a macro business of trafficking in human beings, buying and selling babies to order, with women used as factories of human life. Sadly, Ukraine is the country that concentrates the largest number of cheap rental wombs, and it is an opportunity to denounce it and for everyone to raise their voices to put an end to this dirty and degrading business.
The One of Us Federation is today as always with the victims of war. We tirelessly defend the value of every human life, born and unborn, men and women, children, and the elderly, and we ask for respect and care for all human life, from the first moment of its existence. For all this we thank you pro-life Ukrainians and people of good will who daily show the culture of life and raise our voice and hands for the cessation of the culture of death in Ukraine and in the whole world.
