STRASBOURG, Dec. 21 /Christian Newswire/ -- At the initiative of Dr Anna Záborská, Member of the European Parliament for Slovakia (KDH), and Carlo Casini (UDC-MEP for Italy), more than 50 pro-life and pro-family leaders from Germany, Austria, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Slovakia, Italy, Croatia, Belgium, Switzerland, Romania and Poland met in Strasbourg last week during the European Parliament Plenary Session to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Leaders have been gathered by FEFA (European Forum for Human Rights and the Family) with the special involvement of the Italian Movimento Per la Vita and the Familiokratos-Coalition.
Dr Anna Záborská from Slovakia is an outstanding pro- life Member of the European Parliament who leads the informal EU pro-family caucus.
On Tuesday were discussed the essential three pillars of the Familiokratos petition, (See: familiokratosen.blogspot.com ) also quoted by the Holy Father on the 12 may 2008 "the fundamental values of the right to life from conception, of the family founded on the marriage of a man and a woman, of the right of every human being conceived to be born and brought up in a family by his parents," which are part of "the Magisterium of the Church, which has always proclaimed and defended these values as "non-negotiable". Speaking about European election in June 2009, Dr Anna Záborská MEP invited participants to spread among their organisations questions to candidates based on these three pillars. As 2009 has been declared International Year of Human Rights Learning by the United Nations, Záborská also invited all participants to keep on the Familiokratos effort running.
On Wednesday, H. E. Ennio Cardinal Antonelli, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, awarded the first FEFA-Award "Mother Teresa" to the memory of the late Professor Jérome Lejeune, who discovered the principle of genetic origin of many illnesses, including Down syndrome and who was running 8000 patient's consultation in Paris. Mrs. Birthe Lejeune, his wife and Karin Leméné, his daughter, founders of the Lejeune-Foundation, received the award.
Dr Záborská MEP, chairing the meeting, said, "Professor Lejeune is inviting us to be audacious and to use scientific knowledge far beyond what is learned in University: he kept on saving lives that are currently aimed at being destroyed before birth. He teaches us how to look at every human being, even the smallest, the weakest and the most vulnerable, and therefore to reach intrinsic dignity of every human being."