Down in the city

A new Planned Parenthood clinic in a minority neighborhood of Denver should be taken as an offense, affirmed the archbishop of the city. Archbishop Charles Chaput said this at a prayer vigil and march at the site of Planned Parenthood's new clinic in a primarily Latino and African-American suburb of Denver.

"Here in America, and especially here tonight, we need to remember two basic truths. Here's the first truth; Society has an obligation -- and Christians have a Gospel duty -- to provide adequate and compassionate support for unwed and abandoned mothers; women facing unintended pregnancies; and women struggling with the aftermath of an abortion. It's not enough to talk about 'pro-life politics.' The label 'pro-life' demands that we work to ensure social policies that will protect young woman and families, and help them generously in their need. Here's the second truth. Killing an unborn child is never the right answer to a woman's or society's problems. Acts of violence create a culture of violence -- and abortion is the most intimate form of violence there is. It wounds the woman, it kills the unborn child and it poisons the roots of justice and charity that bind us all into one human family."

(The photo is not of Denver, but of Darling Harbour in Sydney. But the whole of the Western World must be called to bear for its promotion of abortion.)