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Although America no longer lives under the “regime” of Roe v. Wade, the nation has been badly damaged by it, said the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in its annual message for Respect Life Month, which is October.
“What we now see is that 50 years of virtually unlimited abortion has tragically created a national mindset where many Americans have become comfortable with some amount of abortion. This allows the abortion industry to continue to provide any amount of abortion,” wrote Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-life Activities, in the statement.
Bishop Burbidge noted that because the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, “elected officials are now empowered to reduce or end abortion.”
But the mindset that has grown since Roe became the law of the land in 1973 has resulted in the backlash against Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the 2022 case that overturned Roe.
Many individual states, rather than restricting abortion, have expanded the legal right to the procedure. This fall, 10 states have ballot initiatives that would do so.
“In a tragic way, abortion has become the pre-eminent priority for others,” wrote Bishop Burbedge, who is bishop of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia. “We see many politicians celebrating the destruction of pre-born children, and protecting access to abortion, even up until the moment of birth. Few leaders are standing up to limit the harm of chemical abortion (abortion pills) to mothers and children, which is now the most common form of abortion. And heading into the November elections, as many as 10 states face gravely evil ballot initiatives that would enshrine abortion in their state constitutions.”
The statement urged Catholics to vote for candidates “who will defend the life and dignity of the human person.”
Prayer and compassion
At the same time, it said, the Church must call for policies that assist women and their children in need, while also continuing to help mothers through local pregnancy help centers and a nationwide, parish-based initiative, Walking with Moms in Need, the statement continued. “We must likewise continue to extend the hand of compassion to all who are suffering from participation in abortion, through the Church’s abortion healing ministries like Project Rachel Ministry.”
Most importantly, the statement said, Catholics must pray fervently on behalf of life. The statement offers a prayer that Catholics can adopt.
This year Americans are largely focused on the upcoming national elections, and abortion rights – even after the fall of Roe v. Wade – are very much in the middle of election season. But this year, too, Catholics in the United States have heard much about – and participated in – the National Eucharistic Revival. It is Christ who gives life, Bishop Burbidge said.
“Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist, gives us the fullness of life,” the bishop wrote. “He calls each of us to respect that gift of life in every human person. While we live in a society that often rejects those who are weak, fragile, or vulnerable, they are the most in need of our care and protection. Pope Francis reminds us that ‘every child who, rather than being born, is condemned unjustly to being aborted, bears the face of Jesus Christ, bears the face of the Lord.’”
Since 1973, the Catholic Church in the United States has observed October as “Respect Life Month.”
Here is the prayer to join with the bishops in asking for respect for all human life:
Jesus, you came that we might have life —
and have it in abundance. Together with the
Father and the Holy Spirit, you form us in our
mothers’ wombs and call us to love you for all
eternity. As your most precious gift of human
life is attacked, draw us ever closer to your Real
Presence in the Eucharist. Dispel the darkness of
the culture of death, for you are the light that
shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot
overcome it. By the power of your Eucharistic
Presence, help us to defend the life of every
human person at every stage. Transform our
hearts to protect and cherish all whose lives are
most vulnerable. For you are God, forever and
ever. Amen.
