Since 1972 the Catholic Church in the United States has dedicated October as “Respect Life Month”.  In a rapidly changing world where the dignity of human life and the holiness of creation is not necessarily a common priority, how important for us to stand up and witness to the holiness of all life.  Is it easy?  No.  Are there political and social complications to many of the issues? Absolutely.  But, as we wade through the issues, how important is for us to witness to our belief in the sacred nature of all life. 

So, in order to be “pro-life”…

• We pray that women in painful situations will not seek to abort their unborn child but will find the help, support and healing needed to choose life.
• When someone is seriously ill and near the end of their life we offer them compassion and care, we don’t euthanize them.
• We must recognize how God’s gift of creation has been tragically wounded by industrial abuses and other human activities, we must act more responsibly and work to bring healing.
• Immigrants, migrants and refugees are human beings, not a problem or a statistic.
• For a healthy society, good health care needs to be available to all.
• Racism is unacceptable, it must be removed from our midst.
• Violence doesn’t solve anything.
• Capital punishment is obsolete (and too frequently applied unfairly).
• The family is an important building block of society.
• The human dignity of all must be promoted.

In these, and other challenging areas of life, let us strive to build a world where the gift of life is valued, promoted and protected.   

–Fr. Edwin