Prague, Jan 25 (CTK) – Czech and Moravian bishops would like politicians to focus on the family as a source of values in the forthcoming election year, not as an instrument of the election struggle, and they expressed support for the anti-abortion National March for Life in April, in a statement released yesterday.
The Czech Bishops’ Conference (CBK) said support for the march is also a reaction to the concept of family policy as it was presented by the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry.
“In the forthcoming election year, we would like politicians to focus their attention on the family as a place where the most important values on which people base their further life, not as an instrument of the election struggle,” the CBK said in the statement CTK received from Frantisek Jemelka, from the CBK’s press centre.
The bishops mentioned the tax and pension system, an environment friendly to families with small children and support for marriage as the highest form of commitment among the instruments with which society can influence the quality of family life.
The family policy concept, which Labour and Social Affairs Minister Michaela Marksova (Social Democrats, CSSD) presented last year divided the CSSD and the junior government Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL).
The concept authors say the family is changing, it is formed by individuals, childless couples as well as married couples, unmarried or registered couples with children and also single parents with offspring.
According to the ministry, the state should ensure such conditions for people in which they would like to have children.
The Christian Democrats criticise the concept because their idea of the family is different. They also say the concept disadvantages mothers on maternity leave and discriminates against studying mothers.
The CBK said the fundamental things of human life are actually simple.
“We are born to our parents, we receive love, care and perspective from them. We learn what is really valuable and we build our life in the hope that we will be able to pass these values on the future generations,” the bishops wrote.
“We do not want to forget about this simple human experience. The world would become a confused place for life and instead of meaning, it would offer chaos as regards who we are and where we are heading,” the CBK wrote.
The National March for Life is scheduled for April 22. Abortion opponents will cross Prague centre for the 17th time. Last year, more than 4000 people took part in it according to the organisers.
In 2015, almost 21,000 pregnancies were ended by abortion the country.
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