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FIRST ON FOX: The leader of an international pro-life movement praised the Nativity film produced by the Vatican that highlighted more than 25,000 babies that were not aborted this year as a result of the group’s outreach efforts.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, the CEO of 40 Days for Life and founder Shawn Carney said that the Vatican contacted his organization about creating a Nativity scene that represents children who were saved by the group’s struggle for life, including prayer and vigils outside abortion clinics.
“It’s really good,” Carney said.
“The artist made grass in the manger where the Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are,” he continued. “The grass is made up of 25,000 ribbons. Each ribbon represents a baby boy or girl who was saved from abortion during the 40 days for life campaign.”
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Nativity scene donated by Costa Rica, where the Madonna is represented pregnant, in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. (Getty Images)
Designed by Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz Soto and donated by the Central American country, it features the Virgin Mary pregnant, Joseph and thousands of colored ribbons dedicated to babies who were not aborted.
Pope Leo XIV he said at a recent meeting with the donors of the Vatican Christmas decorations that the sign of life was visible in the scene of the Nativity in the audience hall of the Vatican, which he described as a sign of “faith and hope.”
Each ribbon adorning the scene “represents a life saved from abortion thanks to the prayer and support given by Catholic organizations to many mothers in need,” said the pope, who personally blessed the parade.
Leo also thanked the singer for the message confirming that “life is protected from pregnancy.”
Carney said the Nativity was “inspiring” and “good news,” especially amid a string of recent bad news in the US and around the world.
“It’s very encouraging, and frankly, we’ve had a lot of bad news lately in America and around the world, and this display represents good news,” he told Fox News Digital.
Pope Leo XIV prays in front of the Nacimiento Gaudium, a nativity scene of the Madonna depicted pregnant, in Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. (40 Days of Life)
“It represents the children saved from abortion, and the artist who is a participant of 40 Days for Life from Costa Rica, has done a great job. He has done a wonderful job in making this beautiful exhibition that really shows the dedication of many pro-life volunteers around the world who take time in the hope of saving a child. And now those saved children in the world, which is the most important place in the world, which is the most important place representing the saved children, which is the most important in the world. what we put our hope in, that Jesus appeared in the womb, that he came through the family to save us from our sins,” he continued.
“So it’s good news, good news, and I think it’s well-received news because we’ve had a lot of bad news in the last few weeks,” Carney added.
Carney went on to explain that the Nativity is “at the heart of Catholicism and all Christians, and certainly at the heart of the pro-life movement.”
“That’s why we do what we do,” he said. “Our Lord could have come out of the acorn and saved us from our sins. He did not do that. God chose a family, a holy family, a 14-year-old girl, to bring his son to the world through the womb, which according to statistics is now the most dangerous place in the world. He chose the womb, he chose the family, and the family is attacked, but I think that the manifestation of the heart is good for Christ. I hope for the world, which looks to hope for us to overcome our sins, and we certainly hope that we can end the disaster and the environment abortion barbarism in our world. America is at the forefront of that.” “We just had a landmark year for the pro-life movement in 2025, and I think 2026 will be even better,” he added. “This demonstration certainly inspires so much hope and conviction that if we pray, if we fast, if we are faithful and come to work, we can end abortion anywhere.”
Carney emphasized that the Nativity of Mary pregnant with the unborn Jesus “speaks to the scientific truth of the unborn child and the biblical truth that Our Lord came from the womb.
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Ribbons representing lives saved from abortions according to Catholic organizations are seen at Nacimiento Gaudium, the Nativity scene in the Paul VI hall in the audience led by Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican. (AP)
“The birth of Jesus is one of the most symbolized scenes in the history of the world, and it represents that great meeting between Heaven and earth, Christ coming to earth as a child nine months after the Annunciation,” he said. “So it’s great. It underscores the way we treat our unborn children with the 72 million abortions around the world every year. It’s the biggest moral crisis of our time, and we have to respond to that. We have to respond with great hope, and you don’t get a greater hope than Jesus coming to earth and being with us on Christmas Day.”
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The pro-life leader said the pope “will have a stronger voice than most people think” on the issue of abortion.
“I think he’s righting the ship,” Carney said. “I think he’s speaking more clearly than what we’ve seen from Pope Francis. Pope Leo has been very supportive of the pro-life movement. He’s certainly been very supportive of 40 Days for Life with this Nativity in the Vatican, so I’m very encouraged.”
