Thousands of Catholic parishioners from all over Santo Domingo took part in a march yesterday, 25 November called “One step for my family” which started early in the morning and went on until after midday along a large part of George Washington Avenue. Thousands more in Santiago and other cities marched at the same time.
The meeting in the capital was headed by Nicolas de Jesus Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez, the Vice President of the Republic, Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, the First Lady, Candida Montilla de Medina, the Papal Nuncio, Jozef Wesolowski and the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese, Pablo Cedano. Religious personnel from all over the city also took part.
The event sought to raise consciousness of the need to restore values and strengthen faith as a first step towards tackling domestic violence, murders, suicides, gender violence and social disintegration.
In his sermon, Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez stated that “within the general atmosphere of the country there are signs that the sense of family unity has been lost” and that the Church is alarmed by “a wave of irrational violence, by a perverse and unjustified series of crimes, specifically against women.” The prelate declared his support for the “Zero Tolerance for Violence against women” campaign.