Dr. Ligaya A. Acosta, Director, HLI-ASIA, April 4-15, 2008

India is a country in South Asia and is the seventh largest country, by geographical area, in the world.  Its population is 1.12 billion.  Classified as the second most populous country in the world, India has long been a target of massive population control programs by international death peddlers, which have succeeded in having abortion legalized in this country as early as 1972.  India's total fertility rate has dropped to a dangerously low 2.7, and in some areas, like Goa, it has gone down below replacement level to 1.7.  Apparently, people only see the population number and not the huge land area and the fact that their population density is much much lower than rich countries like Hong Kong and Singapore.  The massive campaign on population control has been dramatized by pictures of the poor living in the streets, despite the fact that three of the ten richest men in the world are Indians, one of whom is the richest. 

Flying 6,151 miles internationally with two domestic flights, this mission took me to three states, Mumbai, Goa, and Bangalore, where I delivered 18 talks in ten days on the theme, "Threats and Challenges to the Asian Family."  Ravaged by the culture of death, India indeed needs to hear the Gospel of Life.  Abortion is rampant and divorce is legal.  Seeing pictures of Margaret Sanger, the killer angel, in poses framed for posterity with the famed former Prime Minister of India, Indira Ghandi, made my bones shiver.  Billboards glorifying small families were seen all over, as well as advertisements of I-pill, an emergency contraceptive.

Reading through documents that some pro-lifers were able to secure, I felt pity on the government, which acknowledges that India is below replacement level and yet talks about the many "unwanted pregnancies" and the need for more massive population control services. Indeed, the enormous brainwashing of international death peddlers, coupled with huge sums of money, blinds people of glaring facts.

So great are the threats and challenges to life and family in India that home-schooling has become recourse to some families, notably those in Goa.  Inspired by talks given by HLI, especially speaker Dr. Brian Clowes, these families have courageously pulled their children out of schools in favor of sheltered learning in the home.

GROWTH OF THE INDIAN PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT

Defense of life and the family is a growing concern in this country.  Inspired by seminars and materials conducted and produced by Human Life International, pro-life groups have mushroomed and are steadily growing.  Thus, for this trip, I am greatly indebted to Milagres Pereira, the multi-talented and indefatigable Coordinator of Pro-Life Option of the Diocesan Family Service Centre (DFSC) in Goa, who made all the necessary arrangements for me, with the invaluable support, of course, of Fr. Socorro Mendes, DFSC Director, both of whom are presently preparing for the 15^th Asia-Pacific Congress on Faith, Life, and Family, which they are hosting for this year.

DEFENDING MARRIAGE IN MUMBAI

In Mumbai, I stayed at the beautiful convent of the Canossian Sisters, who so kindly took me into their guest room.  They were located just across the auditorium where I was going to have my first talk that day. Although there were not as many people as expected  for my first talk, it was definitely a power-group of about 50 attendees.  All the Canossian Sisters attended, and various professionals from Mumbai, including doctors and some health workers, took time out to listen.  After my talk, they expressed so much concern and vowed support to the pro-life movement.  Their comments were heartwarming, and they longed for more. 

My second talk was during the celebration of the Annual Pro-Life Day in Mumbai, which was also the awarding ceremony for the Sr. Annunciata Pro-Life Award, initiated last year by her brother Dr. Anthony J.F. Sequeira.

Prior to my talk, there was one given by a nun who spoke on "Women's Empowerment."  I had concerns about this talk, and my fears were soon confirmed.  The nun spoke like somebody trained by the other side-and she was!  Her talk never mentioned prayer or God and ended in a discussion of divorce, although she said it should be taken as a last resort.  She brought with her a woman who spoke of her anguish with her former husband, from whom she is now divorced, a typical strategy of radical feminists.

In response to this, I departed from my prepared slides to concentrate on the issue of divorce.  I asked the group what vow couples make during marriage, and they all chorused, "For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, till death do us part."  Though not in my script, I shared my own story of how my husband and I survived the worst crisis in our marriage, and how God and Our Lady saved us.  The audience turned quiet during my sharing, and some wiped away tears from their eyes. 

As I started to speak, the bishop arrived with some priests who were going to celebrate Mass.  During his homily, the bishop acknowledged my sharing.  Indeed, how can we preach love of neighbor when we cannot even love the one with whom God made us one in the sacrament of marriage?  How can we be defenders of life and family when we're not willing to walk the extra mile to defend our own marriages?

During my talk, I also spoke of women's empowerment-how it started beautifully, and how it was and is being ruined by radical feminists.

In the middle of my talk, the nun quietly disappeared, and I did not see her again, though I would have loved to have had a chat with her during the long lunch that followed.

THE POPULATION CONTROL THREAT IN GOA

My next stop was Goa.  During the long ride from the airport to my hotel, I saw no children.  Even from the airplane on my morning flight from Mumbai, it was evident that Goa had fewer people.   But still, massive population control is taking place.  I warned the people during my talks that if they continue having no children, there will come a time when there will be more foreigners than Goans.   And, indeed, I saw later in official documents that 35% of residents in Goa are non-Goans.  Everywhere I spoke, people identified with what I was saying.  Response was overwhelming, and people longed for more.  I talked in small and large groups.  People appreciated the open discussion on the killer effects of contraception and the horrors of abortion.  They told me priests should speak more about this.  No one, they said, speaks about contraception and abortion in public, and people need to know.

Since it was vacation time when I came, I could not speak in the seminaries.  Nevertheless, Milagres and I visited Rachol Seminary in Goa and were able to meet Fr. Donato Rodrigues, moral theology professor.  Over breakfast, we discussed the possibility of having a talk with the seminarians, possibly by HLI president, Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, before the 15^th ASPAC.  I was also able to convey a personal invitation for the priests and seminarians to attend the congress.

THE 15th ASIA-PACIFIC CONGRESS ON FAITH, LIFE, AND FAMILY

Preparations are going very well for the 15^th ASPAC, set for October 28-31.  Fully supported by His Excellency Archbishop Felipe Neri Ferrao, the organizing committee, which is chaired by no less than Fr. Mendes, is leaving no stone unturned to have everything go smoothly.  Different committees are in place, and responsibilities clearly laid out.  Posters, program, and video materials have also been prepared as part of the invitation kit.

Although the conference venue and the hotel for participants are separate, busses will be on standby to ferry everyone to the sites.  Everyday, Masses will be held in a nearby church, and similarly, busses will be available for those who are unable to walk.

The conference venue is at the huge and newly-built Taleigao Community Center, which is fully air-conditioned and artfully designed. Accommodations for foreign participants have been reserved at the scenic Goa International Center.  Bishops attending the conference will have separate accommodations at the Diocesan House.

October 28 will be a special pilgrimage to the beautiful Basilica of Bom Jesus where the body relic of St. Francis Xavier lies, still whole inside a glass casket after more than 500 years! 

As I knelt and prayed before him during my visit there, my tears flowed, as I united the work of HLI with him and asked for his intercession for all of HLI pro-life missionaries around the world.

I have no doubt that, just like the previous ASPACs, the 15^th ASPAC this October will gain more soldiers in the battle for life!

PRAYER WARRIORS IN BANGALORE

The last leg of my 12-day journey was spent in the "garden city" of Bangalore, where I spoke to different groups - priests, nuns, youth, family and life workers, and health workers at St. Martha's hospital and the general public.  It was all a show of God's amazing glory.  My first talk was with the contemplative sisters of the Good Shepherd Congregation, who all vowed after my talk to pray much harder for the cause of life and family and for the whole of HLI.  It was such a great feeling ot have gained more powerful prayer warriors for HLI.