In a memorable address to more than 600 young activists at our pro-life festival in Madrid, Cardinal George Pell of Sydney has called on young people to persevere in the battle to protect human life.

Cardinal Pell was addressing a packed pro-life conference - the Viva La Vida Festival - hosted by Youth Defence as part of the 2011 celebrations of World Youth Day in Madrid. "Every age is called to a battle between good and evil. Different generations are called to face different tasks and challenges," said Cardinal Pell. He stated that abortion is the most important battle between good and evil facing this generation, and urged young pro-life activists to engage the public on life issues.

"I encourage you in your perseverance – not just for the next few months, but for the next 40-50 years," said Cardinal Pell. "We can't afford just to be talking to one another. We are convinced with the moral implications of this issue, thus we must work and do everything in our power to protect the most vulnerable." The Cardinal ended with a call to the Bishops of the Church saying, "If there is a total silence of Bishops on important life issues, that is damaging and I'm tempted to say, disgraceful."

The Cardinal also drew laughter and cheers when he said that: "The role of young people is to set the world on fire. The role of old people is to make sure you don't burn the place down!"

The Viva La Vida Festival also featured other exciting speakers including Live Action's President Lila Rose, Dr Eoghan De Faoite, and Fr Stan Fortuna, C.F.R. Presentations were also made by representatives from various pro-life groups throughout the world, including: Abort 67(England), Generation Life (USA), CCBR and Calgary Campus (Canada), Youth Defence (Australia), Derecho a Vivir (Spain), Sisters of Life (USA), Jugend Fur Das Leben (Austria), Young and Pro-Life (New Zealand), Fundacja PRO (Poland), Survivors (USA), and Youth Defence (Ireland).

Live Action's President Lila Rose also addressed the conference said, "We are all called to be active in the pro-life movement. We are all called (as St Catherine of Siena said) to set the world on fire. We must set our nation on fire for life. Together we will change the world and we must join together in this battle to protect all human life."

Her call was echoed by the conference hosts, Youth Defence, who said the conference aimed to unite and motivate young pro-life activists and to build the most dynamic and exciting movement for life possible. "We cannot become apathetic, we must stand firm against the culture of death. We will not back down, we will not be silent... we will bring an end to abortion worldwide," said Dr Eoghan De Faoite.

"Viva La Vida works to educate, inspire, and bring young people from around the world together to encourage each other and work together to put an end to abortion throughout the world," said Kate Bryan, an organizer of the pro-life Festival. "It was such a beautiful experience to see young people from all over the world speaking to one another, sharing their experiences, and making plans to work together in the future. We can end abortion throughout the world, but we must work together to end abortion worldwide and to build a culture of life."

LINKS

• Read more on the Viva la Vida Festival here
• See photos from the Viva la Vida Festival
• Read how a baby was saved at a vigil during the Festival
• Viva la Vida Leaflet distributed during the Flash mob encouraging people to defend life