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In 1997 in Rimini the Motherhood Under Threat Service was started with the aim of coordinating the initiatives of the Pope John XXIII Community for the defence of the unborn child, the poorest and most defenceless of all human beings and the most at-risk stage of life.
The aims of the service are to help parents welcome their child into a life of dignity, sensitise the whole of society to one of the major injustices toward the unborn and make mothers-to-be feel they are not alone. The association works to spread a culture of welcoming human life from the moment of conception, to value the gift of motherhood and to support the woman or couple, enabling them to live with an understanding of their sexuality and role as parents from the moment the child is conceived.
The experience of our family homes teaches us that disability is not a mere encumbrance to the existence of the people with the disability or their family, but it is an irreplaceable resource. We condemn eugenic abortion whose aim is to do away with any human foetus with a problematic or merely inconvenient prenatal diagnosis. We don’t stop at condemning and raising awareness of the problem, we also provide practical support to those mothers, to those parents who intend to welcome life in any circumstances. The Community has a strong commitment to ensuring such parents feel welcomed and supported and are not left to face their life alone.
We are aware that the basis for living together is mutual respect and this is facilitated by knowledge of both oneself and the other person. The natural methods of regulating fertility create a lifestyle that helps the married couple have an untroubled and respectful sexual relationship, making both partners responsible for each other and for the children that they knowingly and lovingly welcome into the world. Couples can choose these methods to space out births or to favour conception of child when this is proving difficult. The Pope John XXIII Community has many teachers of these natural methods, all of them available in current schools.
We stand close to every family and every mother suffering the heart-rending experience of losing their child during pregnancy. We wish to express how well we understand their mourning and wish to be close to them in prayer.