London, : The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), a leading UK-based pro-life organisation, has thanked His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for linking the protection of human life with the defence of marriage.
SPUC was responding to this morning's announcement that Pope Benedict is abdicating the papal throne due to infirmity.
John Smeaton, SPUC's director, commented: "On behalf of SPUC, I wish to express our gratitude to Pope Benedict for the many times in which he linked the protection of human life with defending the family based on authentic marriage and with the proper use of sexuality. For example, in November 2010 he referred to '[m]arriage in which a man and a woman form a family which generously accepts life and accompanies it from conception until natural end.'
"And in 2008 he linked 'concern for human life' with 'responsible conjugal love', in a statement marking the 40th anniversary of 'Humanae Vitae', Pope Paul VI’s encyclical against contraception. Pope Benedict’s statements were wake-up calls to the whole pro-life movement to campaign against same-sex marriage and similar threats to the life-giving meaning of sexuality."
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