March for Life in Peru turns into aid for flood victims

There’s more than one way to affirm the sanctity of life, and pro-life activists in flood-ravaged Peru demonstrated that last weekend.

When devastating floods and mudslides in Peru left hundreds of thousands stranded without basic necessities, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Lima decided to cancel the annual March for Life and replace it with a drive to aid the victims of the flooding.

On Saturday over 3,000 pro-life volunteers instead gathered several tons of food and nearly 4,000 gallons of water, according to a CNA report.

Torrential rains and flooding have left 94 dead and 700,000 without homes, according to the Los Angeles Times. The extreme weather, which began in January, is expected to continue with heavy rains forecast through this weekend.

Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Lima explained that organizers of the March for Life, which was attended by more than 750,000 people in 2016, had already set up canteens, tents and medical care in some of the areas hard hit by the flooding.

Fr. Luis Gaspar of Lima thanked “the thousands of Peruvians who today marched not only for the lives of the unborn children, but brought aid for our brothers in need. We are the largest march in Peru and today it was up to us to shoulder our responsibility,” the CNA reported.