Church officials lead thousands in marching for life in Berlin

Thousands gather in the German capital of Berlin to show their support for the right to life from conception to natural death in this year's March for Life in Berlin on Sept. 24, 2016. (EWTN)

As some countries move towards the culture of killing innocent babies inside their mothers' wombs, some nations are still standing up for the right to life.

Led by Church leaders, more than 7,500 residents of Berlin, the capital of Germany, took part on Saturday in the annual March For Life. The attendees of the march, organised by the Federal Association for the Right to Life, carried one message in their posters and banners: "No child is unsuitable."

The participants of the march, who included both Roman Catholic and Protestant believers, were united in their call that the right to life should be protected from conception to natural death.

Right to Life Association President Martin Lohmann noted an increase in the number of participants in this year's march compared to last year's. He also observed that Church leaders have become more active in the demonstration, prompting him to say that the pro-life movement is "growing — and that's a good thing."

Among the Church leaders who spearheaded the event were Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg, who also celebrated the closing ecumenical Church service, Berlin's Archbishop Heiner Koch, and Auxiliary Bishops Matthias Heinrich of Berlin, Dominikus Schwaderlapp of Cologne, and Florian Wörner of Augsburg.

During the march, Archbishop Koch enjoined the demonstrators to help in every effort to ensure "that every human being can develop well, from their first moment in the womb to their final breath," according to the Catholic News Agency.

Interestingly, the March for Life coincided with a pro-abortion demonstration organised by the Alliance for Sexual Self-Determination. In contrast with the thousands of people that joined the pro-life march, the pro-abortion event only drew 1,500 participants, according to Berlin police.

The police also eventually stopped the pro-abortion event after deeming that it is blocking the peaceful event of the pro-life demonstrators.

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