Make Our Voices Heard!
This Tuesday, January 22, hundreds of thousands of people, young and old, students, single, and married with children in tow, will undertake the annual “March for Life” to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC. I will be there alongside a large number of pilgrims from our diocese, who will have boarded buses at Midnight to arrive in our Nation’s Capital on time.
January 22, as you know, is the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in our country. It is a jarring reminder to Catholics and all those who value life that we need to be vigilant and proactive.
Following in the footsteps of Christ, the Catholic Church not only teaches the value of life and the evil of abortion but also provides so many services of education and charity to needy families and to their children. In our culture, the Church is an authoritative witness to the value of life, working and praying to accomplish the imperative of replacing the culture of death with the culture of life.
It is because God so loves and values each human life from conception until natural death that the Church authoritatively teaches the evil of abortion and seeks the full, legal protection of the unborn. For the same reason, the Church calls upon her members to challenge those running for office and in office to protect human life.
This is especially important as we enter upon an election cycle. Abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research, assaults on marriage and family in which human life is to be cherished – these are not issues that merely stand side by side with other issues. These make a special claim on our consciences and we have both the right and the duty to make our voices heard in the public square and at the ballot box.
It is up to us to unmask the false teaching of those who use misleading words to disguise the truth about the evil of abortion and thus afflict the gravest injustice upon unborn children, upon their mothers, and upon society as a whole. Abortion is a demon to be cast out of our society by the power of reason but, above all, by the power of God’s love, living with us.
I hope to see you in D.C.!
Hey Bishop! It’s me, Andrew! The one who wants to be a priest that you recently confirmed at St. Jerome’s!
I know you know me, but I just wanted to clarify… Anyway… I am going to the March for Life! I hope to see you there, too!
Good Evening, Bishop Lori: Am listening tonight to Fr. Groeshel on EWTN via my computer. Fr. has Msgr. Phillip Reilly on as a guest, discussing the Pro-Life movement and Tuesday’s March in D.C. I have lived in three states in the past 10 yrs. and have had access to EWTN on TV; that ended when I moved to CT. What can the Diocese of Bridgeport do to get the cable stations to broadcast EWTN in our area? Such a valuable teaching tool for Catholics is being squandered- Let’s make this a diocesean wide push to get the cable company to listen to the voice of the Catholic customers who want and need this programing. Joel Olsteen is fine on Sunday night,but I’d rather be listening to the wonderful educational and spiritual programs that EWTN offers. Safe trip on Tuesday. Keeping you in our prayers. Respectfully, Paula