If Development Is The New Name For

[st. Francis] Looked Upon Creation With The Eyes Of One Who Could Recognize In It The Marvelous Work Of The Hand Of God. His Solicitous Care, Not Only Towards Men, But Also Towards Animals Is A Faithful Echo Of The Love With Which God In The Beginning Pronounced His 'fiat' Which Brought Them Into Existence. We Too Are Called To A Similar Attitude.

I Do Not Hesitate To Proclaim Before You And Before The World That All Human Life-from The Moment Of Conception And Through All Subsequent Stages-is Sacred, Because Human Life Is Created In The Image And Likeness Of God.

While It Is True That The Taking Of Life Not Yet Born Or In It's Final Stages Is Sometimes Marked By A Mistaken Sense Of Altruism And Human Compassion It Cannot Be Denied That Such A Culture Of Death, Taken As A Whole, Betrays A Completely Individualistic Concept Of Freedom, Which Ends Up By Becoming The Freedom Of "the Strong" Against The Weak Who Have No Choice But To Submit.

There Are People And Nations, Mother, That I Would Like To Say To You By Name. I Entrust Them To You In Silence, I Entrust Them To You In The Way That You Know Best.

The 25th Anniversary Of The Decision ... Is A Call To People Of Good Will To Reflect. Now Is The Time For Recommitment To The Building Of A Culture Of Absolute Respect For Life.