LISBON, Portugal (LifeSiteNews) — A leftist agitator threw a Molotov cocktail at pro-lifers during the Portuguese capital’s first annual March for Life (Marcha pela Vida) last weekend, but it was diffused before it could go off.
During the closing ceremony of the March 21 Portugal March for Life in front of the Portuguese parliament, where many families with young children and babies were gathered, an unidentified 39-year-old man threw a Molotov cocktail (a bottle filled with petrol or gasoline) onto the stage.
The man was quickly stopped by march participants before the police arrived, and the fuse was detached from the bottle without igniting. While several children and their parents were drenched with gas, no one was hurt.
The otherwise peaceful first annual March for Life Lisbon had drawn a whopping 4,000 pro-lifers who witnessed to the unborn.
“We had no prior warning or knowledge of any threats leading up to the March,” Nuno Marques Afonso, the general coordinator of the March, told LifeSiteNews. “This event was meant to be a peaceful revival of a movement that had been losing its strength and seeing dwindling numbers for years.”
The suspect had been spotted with a few other protestors earlier in the day. Police believe these same individuals were also involved in committing vandalism during a December protest of labor laws. Afonso told LifeSite the March for Life strongly believes these individuals are also tied to Antifa.
“All previous pro-life demonstrations were peaceful and were not violently disturbed. We hope they remain as such in the future,” the coordinator added.
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Despite the incident, Portugal’s first March for Life, a rebrand from the country’s annual “Walk for Life” (“Caminhada pela Vida“), was a major success, with about 4,000 pro-lifers from across the country participating.
In Portugal, abortion is currently legal up to 10 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest, or so-called “risk to women’s health” and “severe fetal abnormality.” It should be noted that abortion, the murder of an unborn child, is never medically justified or necessary.
Afonso encouraged pro-life activists not to be afraid of leftist agitators, such as those present in Lisbon this weekend, but to have the courage necessary to stand up for the unborn.
“We are now seeing that social intimidation is escalating into actual physical violence, like this horrific Molotov attack. They want to scare us off the streets,” he said. “I know it is incredibly hard to stand up in the face of this, but true change only comes through courage.”
“I know that when just one person is brave enough to raise their voice against injustice, three more voices also find the courage to join them,” he added. “Do not let fear win. Be the light of the world, and let your courage be the example that empowers others to do the same.”
Archbishop Rui Rui Valério, the Patriarch of Lisbon, in a statement to the Pillar, underscored that Saturday’s attack and similar acts of violence are “gravely unacceptable.”
“(V)iolence is never the way. It does not build up, it does not dignify, it does not serve the truth,” the archbishop said. “And it is all the more painful when it threatens the more fragile among us, especially children, who should always be a sign of hope, and not exposed to fear.”
“The March for Life is born precisely from the belief that all human life is an inviolable gift, from conception to natural death,” he added. “Therefore, any act of violence, especially against a peaceful demonstration, must be firmly condemned.”
In recent months, pro-lifers and Christians have been viciously attacked by leftists across Europe. In February, a young Catholic activist named Quentin was murdered by members of Antifa during a violent protest outside a political conference in Lyon, France. In March, participants at a German pro-life campaign rally were viciously attacked by pro-abortion extremists, with one pro-lifer even suffering a “traumatic brain injury.”
READ: Pro-lifer suffers ‘traumatic brain injury’ after brutal attack by leftists in Germany
