PRAGUE, Czech Republic \u2014 Thousands of pro-life marchers filled the streets of Prague on Saturday, April 11, for the Czech Republic\u02bcs annual March for Life, though organizers say police restrictions on crowd access to the event\u02bcs main gathering point significantly depressed turnout.<\/p>\n
The event began with a Mass in St. Vitus Cathedral, where around 2,000 people gathered before joining the pro-life march. Archbishop Emeritus Jan Graubner of Prague said in his homily that \u201cthe path to the revival of the Church and society is not possible without the revival of families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graubner praised a culture based on love, \u201cwhich does not live for itself,\u201d on the acceptance of the Holy Spirit, interior freedom, and forgiveness.<\/p>\n Some resist this culture, Graubner acknowledged, saying that they \u201cconsider their own self to be the center and summit of everything.\u201d Such a perspective \u201cencloses in bubbles and creates boundaries,\u201d he said, adding that it also \u201ccauses poverty because there is a lack of love that can divide.\u201d<\/p>\n It \u201cthreatens peace because there is a lack of love that seeks the good of others,\u201d he continued. Finally, it \u201cleads to depression because there is a lack of hope for eternity and the disappointed person experiences\u201d that \u201che is not the omnipotent god he had\u201d thought, Graubner concluded.<\/p>\n Pro-abortion protesters attempted to block the marchers, screaming and accusing them of denying women the right to choose. Police arrested five people, but no serious incident occurred. Last year, pro-abortion demonstrators blocked the march at one point, so this time participants walked through the city in separate groups to avoid a repeat disruption.<\/p>\n Typically, the number of marchers doubles once they reach Wenceslas Square (V\u00e1clavsk\u00e9 n\u00e1m\u011bst\u00ed), one of the city\u02bcs main squares, where the program\u02bcs final portion takes place. This year, however, police blocked the square and allowed entry only to those who insisted on getting in \u2014 a barrier that was especially difficult for families with small children. As a result, the total number of participants was hard to estimate, and the turnout in Wenceslas Square was much lower than expected.<\/p>\n The organizer, Hnut\u00ed Pro \u017eivot \u010cR (Movement for Life of the Czech Republic), told EWTN News that it is considering a legal complaint against the police department.<\/p>\n \u201cThe leadership of local police disabled a public gathering for which the public has a right,\u201d the organizer said. The group stressed that the march is held to show support for women facing unexpected pregnancies, adding: \u201cWe welcome among us even those with another viewpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n However, those responsible lacked the “political will” to secure the march by blocking the square, while letting \u201cthe radicals run wild and intimidate the participants,” the organizer said.<\/p>\n The press office of the Police of the Czech Republic wrote to EWTN News that it has \u201cno information suggesting that the police officers acted improperly in any way.\u201d The Regional Directorate of Police in Prague did not respond to an enquiry for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PRAGUE, Czech Republic \u2014 Thousands of pro-life marchers filled the streets of Prague on Saturday, April 11, for the Czech Republic\u02bcs annual March for Life, though organizers say police restrictions on crowd access to the event\u02bcs main gathering point significantly depressed turnout. The event began with a Mass in St. Vitus Cathedral, where around 2,000 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":45566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"bron":[41],"class_list":["post-45565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nieuws","bron-cna"],"acf":[],"featured_image_urls":{"medium":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/45565-thousands-march-for-life-in-prague-amid-police-restrictions-and-pro-abortion-protests-300x200.jpg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/45565-thousands-march-for-life-in-prague-amid-police-restrictions-and-pro-abortion-protests-150x150.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/45565-thousands-march-for-life-in-prague-amid-police-restrictions-and-pro-abortion-protests-768x512.jpg","Inhoud breed":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/45565-thousands-march-for-life-in-prague-amid-police-restrictions-and-pro-abortion-protests-860x574.jpg","echo_preview_image":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/45565-thousands-march-for-life-in-prague-amid-police-restrictions-and-pro-abortion-protests-219x146.jpg"},"appp_media":null,"yoast_head":"\nCounterprotesters and police response<\/h2>\n