On 24 October, SPUC held its annual Candlelight Procession through the streets of Glasgow, Scotland.
Up to 500 people attended the peaceful procession in Glasgow to remember the ten million lives lost to abortion in Britain since the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act.
The event began at George Square, where the Rosary was recited publicly, followed by a candlelit procession to St. Andrew’s Cathedral where the evening concluded with Holy Mass.
This year’s procession was the first to be held since buffer zones came into effect in Scotland on 24 September. The public may face fines of £10,000 or more if they violate exclusion areas around abortion facilities.
Even prayer vigils are outlawed, including silent prayer that is said to “influence” women about to have an abortion.
Last week, army veteran Adam Smith-Connor was found guilty of praying silently for his dead son outside an abortion facility in Bournemouth, England. “All I did was pray to God”, Smith-Connor said after the ruling.
Buffer zones in that also outlaw silent prayer in England and Wales will be enforced from 31 October.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “It was moving to see so many pro-life men and women of all ages and backgrounds come together to commemorate the millions of lives lost to abortion.
“This year’s event had extra poignancy after the imposition of censorious buffer zones in Scotland in September. Even silent prayer is now outlawed around abortion facilities, which is as much an assault on religious expression as it is on the right to help women in crisis pregnancies.
“The sincerity and peaceful nature of the pro-life community in Scotland was on display at last night’s procession, holding up a flame of hope in an enveloping pro-abortion darkness. So long as people are willing to testify to the truth about abortion, that darkness will never be total.”
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