A new headquarters of pro-life missionaries in India has brought organizers renewed enthusiasm to promote a culture of life, and has received high praise from an Indian government commissioner.
Human Life Goa (HLG), an affiliate of Human Life International (HLI), inaugurated its Pro-Life Centre in the city of Margao, Goa, India on June 26, 2011. Goa Commissioner for NRI Affairs Eduardo Faleiro said that there is a great need for such centres to help educate people on life issues, thereby creating a better society and a better world.
Goa Commissioner for NRI Affairs Eduardo Faleiro
Mr. Faleiro said that the Pro-Life Centre was God’s gift for the people not only of Salcete or Goa, but also adjoining states of West and South India. He applauded the actions and dedication of Goa pro-lifers, including participation in international seminars and conferences, and called on others to support the Centre’s pro-life activities.
Mr. Milagres Pereira, President of HLG, whom Mr. Faleiro praised at the ceremony for his hard work and dedication to promoting life, said that the inauguration of the new Centre was a “shot in the arm” of enthusiasm for Goa pro-lifers.
After a Mass celebrating the inauguration of the new building, Fr. Tony Rebello, SVD, blessed the Centre, and urged the people to stand up for life and the protection of the unborn, and to resist the temptations of contraception. Fr. Rebello told the crowd of about 130 that he regularly tells his parish youth to “use common sense, not condoms.”
Fr. Tony Rebello
The issue of “gendercide” in India has been the subject of numerous news articles of late. Though it is illegal under Indian law, pregnant women often undergo tests to determine the sex of their unborn child, with many women procuring abortions for female babies.
“I recall seeing first-hand this bias against girl children during my trip to India in late 2004,” according to Joseph Meaney, HLI’s Director of International Coordination. “One aggravating cultural problem in India is the traditional Hindu burden of providing a marriage dowry for daughters. In the early 1990s those who sold sex detection tests advertised on thousands of billboards around the country; ‘Pay five hundred rupees [US$14.00] now rather than five lakhs [500,000 or $14,000] later.’”
Organizers of HLG’s Pro-Life Centre hope to inspire the people of India to respect and protect all human life.
The Pro-life Centre conducts awareness meets every Tuesday at 7.30 pm. The meeting room gets packed. The last meeting had 0ver 30 people in a 22 sq. m area!
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE OPENING OF THE MUCH- NEEDED PROLIFE CENTRE. MAY IT BEAR ABUNDANT FRUIT. OUR BLESSINGS AND PRAYERS AR WITH YOU AND OUR SUPPORT FOR THE PROLIFE CAUSE.
Thanks Auriel. Life has been very different after the inauguration. Lots of activity at the Centre.. Milagres
Congratulations Brother, your long awaited dream came true.
Thanks Fatima. May your prayers be with us. Milagres
Congratulations Milagres and staff. It is good to hear that finally a Pro Life center has been established for the Goa population. God is blessing your hard work and dedication. I look forward to visiting Goa again. Be assured of my daily prayers and Mass for the good work you and the Pro Lifers are doing for the unborn babies.
God Bless
Fr. Jerry Novotny, OMI
Pro Life Movement Japan
May God always guide and bless our Pro-life Centre. We pray for Mother Mary’s special protection to all prolifers.