USCCB: statement for Respect Life Sunday
September 30, 2013
Cardinal Seán O'Malley, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, has issued a statement for Respect Life Sunday, which takes place on October 6.
Since 1973, “over 55 million unborn children's lives have been taken, leaving many millions of mothers, fathers, and family members wounded and grieving their loss,” said Cardinal O’Malley. “Physician-assisted suicide is now legal in three states, allowing doctors to help end patients' lives rather than provide much-needed comfort in times of pain and distress. These laws pave the way for euthanasia by undermining true respect and care for people with serious illness.”
He added:
Only a tender, compassionate love that seeks to serve those most in need, whatever the personal cost, is strong enough to overcome a culture of death and to build a civilization of love. Let us open our hearts and reflect on how God might be calling each of us to witness the sacredness of human life and assist in pro-life efforts. We may be called to help parents welcome their unborn child as a miracle of God's creation, to visit the elderly or aid those who are sick and suffering, to pray and fast for life, to advocate to our elected officials, or to assist educational efforts in our parishes.
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Posted by: dover beachcomber -
Sep. 30, 2013 6:49 PM ET USA
... or, if you're a *bishop*, you might be called to deny Holy Communion to those self-described "Catholic" politicians who persist in manifest grave sin. Not compassionate, I hear someone say. Very compassionate, I say: by preventing the person from adding the sacrilege of unworthy reception to their support for the murder of children.
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Posted by: unum -
Sep. 30, 2013 6:41 PM ET USA
A USCCB press release is useless! Until the bishops start requiring that their pastors preach about Respect Life Sunday, the seamless garment of respect for human life, and the immorality of the U.S. Supreme Court's abortion decision, Catholics will be uninformed and unable to defend the Church's teaching. The silence of the pastors is the best example of the clergy's failure to "teach as Jesus did" in the U.S. Church!
