Olympic ambassador wins top pro-life award

James Park with gold medalist Jason Gardner

Italy’s prestigious annual pro-life award has for the first time in 2013 been awarded to a British Catholic. Since its inception in 2003, the award, presented by the Movimento per la Vita Italiano (Italian Movement for Life), has always been conferred upon an Italian national. However, on its tenth anniversary, the award has been given to James Parker, Catholic Executive Coordinator for the 2012 Games, for his statement and comments made during London’s Paralympic Games calling for Christians and others who value human life to “challenge leaders and politicians with renewed effort to change Britain’s discriminatory and outdated abortion laws”.

The award was presented during a live televised music festival called Cantiamo la Vita (Let’s Sing Life) from the city of Pavia’s celebrated Fraschini theatre in the company of Iva Zanicchi, well-known singer, politician and presenter of Italy’s version of The Price is Right, and popular Italian boyband Zero Assoluto.

Also on stage to help present the award was the Rt Revd Giovanni Giudici, Bishop of Pavia, who thanked the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales for their “thoughtful and noble engagement with the sporting world, which” he said, “has caused the international Church to consider how it might better get involved with the sporting world”.

After receiving the award, Parker spoke of how many people in Britain had enjoyed the 2012 Paralympics more than the Olympics, predominantly due to the incredible potential and moving stories connected with each participating disabled athlete. “Why then,” he said, “do the laws in Britain and across Europe continue to vehemently and shockingly discriminate against any new life in the womb that might be even slightly affected by a physical handicap, genetic problem or mental defect? There is clearly an ability present within those with ‘disabled’ bodies to bring to the world a fuller picture of life and its challenges than seemingly exists within the lives of those with ‘able’ bodies.”

Parker spoke about the work being done in the Catholic Church in Britain, in part through the Church’s legacy project the John Paul II Foundation for Sport, to provide a more unified service to all those affected by disability. “It is much more than merely ‘including’ those with disabilities in our communities” he said. “This is about providing a real and lasting place of ‘belonging’ where we are all equally parts of Christ’s broken and redeemed Body.”

He continued: “In decades to come we will be sorely lacking in such noble witnesses should we continue to prevent ‘disabled’ people from being born, affirmed and celebrated.” He then concluded by saying: “when we hide, reject or abort people with disabilities – or anyone for that matter – we reject our own richness and beauty. It is our countries, and the world in general, that then become poorer. It is the responsibility of those of us without any visible disability to stand up for and protect the most vulnerable whoever they might be through every stage of life.”

Gianni Mussini, patron of the event, shared why the work of the pro-life movement is now more important than ever: “All of us together need to give a fresh and positive outlook to human life in all its expressions. When we talk about the equality of all people, whether from a truly secularist point of view or as a democracy, we cannot ignore the conception of a child. We have a duty to ensure that all women and all couples are offered the freedom not to have an abortion. We are grateful to the centres in Italy that support life which every year help more than seven thousand women to continue their pregnancies.”

Source: CCN