A pro-life stance includes helping the sick and the poor and advocating for those whose rights are threatened, as well as being anti-abortion, according to the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin.
Dr Martin made his comments yesterday in a message to priests of the diocese to celebrate Day for Life 2007.
In his letter to priests, Dr Martin said that being pro-life could take may different forms, from development work in poorer parts of the world, to highlighting the horrors of war, to the promotion of respect for the environment.
"The Church has long recognised, however, that there are times when the value and dignity of human life is especially likely to be obscured or neglected.
"In today's world, that applies in a special way to the defence of the value and worth of human life in the womb," the letter states.
Day for Life is celebrated every year by the Catholic Church in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales and is a day dedicated to raising awareness about the meaning of life at every stage and in every condition.
Archbishop Martin paid particular tribute to the Cura organisation which he said had been "in the frontline of the Church's concern for women experiencing crisis pregnancy for over three decades".
Day for Life 2007 will be celebrated at Masses throughout the country tomorrow, with the reading of a joint pastoral letter by the Catholic bishops of Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales.