On 6 April 2024, the 44th Pilgrimage of Human Life Defenders on Jasna Góra was held. It is simply a consequence to the call in the encyclical Evangelium vitae St. John Paul II concluded: “A large prayer for life is urgently needed, pervading the full world.” all year, representatives of pro-life movements and associations and individual pilgrims who pray for the protection of the lives of conceived children participate.
The pilgrimage began at 9.30 a.m. The pilgrims then went to the Hall of St. John Paul II, where prizes were first presented in XX National Youth Competition “Help save life for the helpless” Blessed Fr Jerzy Popiełuszko. – Our competition is simply a very affirmative initiative, aimed at showing how beautiful, fantastic adventure is the prenatal improvement of man and how amazing it is that the man developing in the womb we have, although at first completely dependent on her body, is already complete and he lacks nothing for his humanity – said Magdalena Guziak-Nowak, manager of education in the Polish Association of Defenders of Human Life.
The competition encourages young people to reflect on the value of human life and dignity. Parents and educators give concrete information about what the young generation thinks about pro-life and what arguments it uses in its discussions. The competition is organized in 3 artistic (literary, artistic and multimedia) categories and in 3 age categories (from the 4th grade of primary school to the completion of secondary school). This year a full of 1021 applications were received in all artistic and age categories.
During the pilgrimage, the Polish Life Defenders Association celebrated its 25th anniversary. It was registered in 1999. She's a pro-life educator. It organizes webinars for people who are close to a pro-life attitude and who would like to learn more about the protection of human life from conception. He publishes pro-life libraries, or brochures that give the cognition needed for meaningful conversations. He runs the Pro-Life summertime Academy, during which participants from all over Poland deepen their cognition of the most crucial bioethic issues, and then share it with others. It organizes competitions for children, youth and students and exhibitions. Within the series task Life publishes weekly comments on YouTube channel for current events in Poland and the world. The association besides supports materially in request of pregnant women and families raising children with disabilities. It helps to same - categorize single mothers who leave their single mother’s homes, relief or crisis centers. She runs the Pro-Life Trust telephone for pregnant women who are in a very hard household and material situation. Fathers who anticipate to have a kid and another close relatives of pregnant women who are in crisis may besides benefit from it.
After the awards were presented in the pro-life competition, the pilgrims listened to occasional speeches. Krzysztof Zuba, state delegate of the Knights of Columbus, thanked the association for many years of cooperation. He recalled the words of the founder of the Polish Association of Defenders of Human Life, Dr. Antoni Zięba, who said that life defenders should pray, aid and educate others. Father Dr. Krzysztof Niewiadowski OFMCap, spiritual guardian of pro-life groups gave a lecture on "The spiritual aspect of life defence". My father emphasized that it is an honor to be called protectors of life. He reminded us that we should constantly organize our spiritual life and that it is simply a life work. He described the spiritual aspects of life's defence. He encouraged the assembled to join the Pro-Life Club, or community of life lovers.
In another speech, Magdalena Guziak-Nowak, manager of Education at the Polish Association of Human Life Defenders, referred to the past and the present explained the function of education: – Doctor engineer Antoni Zięba, the founder of the Polish Association of Defenders of Human Life and its long-standing president, started pro-life activities at a time erstwhile communist propaganda fed people manipulations that the kid increasing in the womb was a “galarette”, “maternity tissue”, “maternity content”. On the another hand, censorship effectively blocked pro-life content. It was hard to break into public awareness with the fact that a kid has been a kid since the first moments of its existence, that in prenatal improvement there is no minute erstwhile “something” turns into “someone”. This made it harder to explain that the invisible unborn to our eyes has an unconditional right to life and development. And today? Why are we continuing this line? After all, prenatal improvement present is not a secret. "We entered the individual life of the fetus," scientists wrote, due to the fact that they solved many mysteries concerning prenatal development. A pregnant parent can see her baby on an ultrasound monitor and perceive to his heartbeat. Excellent animations about life before birth are available online for free. So why education if you think you already know? We are not continuing this line from tradition, but from necessity. Proaborative media and politicians, blocking pro-life content in public discourse and propaganda that it may be and is human, but it does not yet have the right to live – all this makes it possible to disable reasoning even in the 21st century.
Wojciech Zięba, president of the Polish Association of Human Life Defenders, then spoke. – 25 years of our association are primarily educational activities, as well as charity for pregnant women, who are in a very hard material and household situation, for parents raising seriously sick children and for single moms leaving homes of a single mother. During that time, we managed to do a lot. This is shown by polls of public opinion polls, which talk about a decline in public support for social abortion. It would be an abuse to say that this is solely due to our association, but we have played a very large function in this. At the moment, support for abortion for social reasons, that is, at a time erstwhile a female is in a hard material situation and declares support for specified abortion, is only 21%. This is simply a large success, due to the fact that 30 years ago support for it declared about 50 percent of the respondents – he said. – Our education is based on a affirmative message. We avoid drastic images. We do not want to punish women for having an abortion due to the fact that we know that they are, alongside the child, her second victim. With this in mind, over 1.5 1000 radio and tv broadcasts have been prepared over the past 25 years. We have produced respective movie reports. Our sponsored articles have been distributed in the press in a combined effort of over a fewer twelve million. We have printed and distributed more than 20 million leaflets and brochures free of charge. We have besides prepared 1,800 affirmative exhibitions on the defence of life, which were publically exhibited in many places, including the European and Polish Parliaments – he added.
In 2023, the association financed the activities of the Legislative Initiative Committee "Stop the Prohibition of Work" which succeeded in abolishing the unfair ban on work for parents raising seriously sick children and simultaneously receiving care. Speaking about the biggest challenges in 2024 facing the Polish Association of Defenders of Human Life, his president noted: "In the current political situation we gotta do precisely what we have been doing for the last 25 years. Educate and educate the young generation of Poles in respect to the life of all man from conception to natural death. aid pregnant women who are in a hard material and household situation, parents raising children with disabilities and single mothers, leaving homes of a single parent who want to become independent. We will besides proceed to conduct political lobbying and observe compliance with the Constitution of Poland, due to the fact that all man has an unconditional right to life, including the unborn one, even though he is suspected of severe illness or disability.
Dr. Adam Kisiel, 1 of her originators and creators and its longtime coordinator, spoke about the Crusade of Prayer in the defence of the Concepted Children. – In consequence to the papal call from Calvary (7 June 1979) and Nowy Targ (8 June 1979), secular Catholics focused at the Pastoral Hospitality of Families and Academic Pastorate in Krakow performed the exhibition “The Life of Man since Conception is Sacred” and decided to organize a prayer in full communion with the Church. The Crusade of Prayer in the defence of the Concepted Children began on 12 October 1980 and lasts over 44 years, although initially scheduled for 3 months. During the 3 months of the Holy Mass, about 1500 people and more than 1,000 sick people who could not attend the Holy Mass took part in the Holy Mass and undertook to recite a part of the Rosary and to offer their sufferings. Prayer and the defence of the right to life is simply a hope for the full world. 13 October 2007 (in the 90th anniversary of Fatima apparitions) at the planet Centre of Divine Mercy in Krakow, during the Second global legislature of Defenders of Life, the planet Prayer Crusade was announced in the defence of Human Life – planet Prayer for Life. The Crusade of Prayer expands in another countries: On 24 March 2006 a akin Crusade of Prayer in the Czech Republic began, on 6 May 2007 in Ukraine and in 2022 in the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, in the United Kingdom.
Currently, about 1500 people participate in the Crusade of Prayer in the defence of the Concepted Children. The current conditions, programme and general intentions can be found at https://cruciata.org/.
The last lecture was given by Fr.Dr. Seweryn Puchala, the guardian of the Crusade of Prayer in the defence of the Concepted Children, who thanked the Crusaders for their stay in prayer. He reminded us that God acted as he wanted and whenever he wanted and asked us to keep on praying.
The movie “There Is Someone! 30 Years of Legal Protection of Life in Poland” was presented after speakers' speeches. The pilgrimage ended with the Way of the Cross on the Jasna Góra Walls.
ag/PESC
