“Francis talks about love more than abortion as a
way to reach non-believers”, was the Boston Cardinal, Sean O’Malley’s
response to traditionalist criticism levelled at the Pope’s preaching. The cardinal said this while speaking to the Knights of Columbus, stressing that defending life is at the centre of Pope Francis’ pontificate.
A sign of this focus is the fact that papal approval has been given for the initiation of the beatification process for the Brazilian pro-life defender Zilda Arns.
In 2015, the Bishops’ Conference of Brazil will submit an official request to the Vatican for the cause of Zilda Arns’ beatification, the missionary and pediatrician who was the founder and coordinator of Pastoral of the Child and who died in the earthquake that ravaged Haiti in 2010.
As the sister of the Fransiscan Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns, she lived her vocation as a doctor “with a true Franciscan spirit”, putting her creativity at the service of those most in need, as outlined by Fides, the missionary news agency.
She was the one to have promoted in Brazil the idea of a “Pastoral of the Child”, which was to have the aim of fighting infant mortality by helping mothers right from early pregnancy.
This project took shape in the slums of Coroadinho and is now active in other parts of Latin America as well as in Asia and Africa. Nowadays, in Brazil alone it provides support to two million mothers and two million infants between the ages of zero and six years, bolstered by the work of almost 260,000 volunteers.
When the Haiti earthquake struck, Arns was walking along the streets of Port-au-Prince accompanied by two soldiers. Zilda Arns, pediatrician, was the sister of the Archbishop Emeritus of Sao Paolo, Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns.
As the mother of five and a widow since 1978, she dedicated her entire life to humanitarian causes and solidarity.
In 1983 she founded Pastoral of the Child, a social works organisation with links to the National Bishops’ Conference of Brazil (CNBB), which has the aim of promoting the wholesome development of impoverished children, while also supporting the children’s families and communities if required.
Pastoral of the Child’s work is carried out in Brazil by 261,000 volunteers, who provide support to over 1.8 million children and 95,000 pregnant mothers in more than 42,000 communities and 4,066 municipalities in Brazil.
In 2001, Zilda Arns was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She had stated that the greatest successes that she had achieved up until that point in Brazil were the “60% reduction in infant mortality and 50% drop in malnutrition, as well as the fall in domestic violence”.
She underscored that in order to achieve good results, “great attention must be paid to the social fabric”.
“The aim is to increase the self esteem and human potential of the poor. Sometimes we come across women who have 4 or 5 children, who are illiterate, who feel like their lives are worth nothing. When Pastoral of the Child pulls them out of this deprivation, teaches them to read and write and gives them hope, they are able to start a new life for themselves and their children”. On the topic of abortion, she stressed that legalising it would not bring about a reduction in the maternal death rate. Instead, this reduction is to be accomplished through providing good quality prenatal care and improving people’s living conditions. “It is possible to work arduously for life while at the same time saving the lives of children who would otherwise be aborted”.