Skip to content

We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.

Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.

Help Now >

Text of the USCCB statement for Respect Life Sunday 2007

Free World Class Education
FREE Catholic Classes

In a statement issued Sept. 21 and embargoed until Sept. 24 for the Oct. 7 observance of Respect Life Sunday throughout the United States, Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called upon Catholics to pray and "renew their resolve" to bring about a culture of life.

He pointed to partial-birth abortion and the ongoing killing of unborn human life, the destruction of human embryos for stem-cell research and the denial of food and water to the terminally ill in a "vegetative" state as among the threats to human life.

"We ask Catholics and all people of good will to witness to the truth about the incomparable dignity and right to life of every human being," Cardinal Rigali said. "This is no sectarian creed."

Since 1972, the U.S. bishops have designated the first Sunday of October as Respect Life Sunday. The USCCB's annual Respect Life Program provides educational materials for parishes to distribute for the observance.

"The Infant in My Womb Leaped for Joy" is the theme of the day, which was chosen, the cardinal said, to point to the moment described in the Gospel of Luke (1:39-56) when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, greets her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who is about to give birth to John the Baptist.

The following is the text of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' statement for Respect Life Sunday:

- - -

Since 1972 the Catholic bishops in the United States have set aside the first Sunday in October as Respect Life Sunday. On Oct. 7, Catholics will again pray for - and renew their resolve to bring about - a culture of life and an end to the killing of innocent human beings, especially those who are vulnerable due to their age, size, health or dependency.

The theme of the 2007 Respect Life Program - "he Infant in My Womb Leaped for Joy" - calls to mind an extraordinary scene in Luke's Gospel (1:39-56). Mary, newly pregnant with the Lord Jesus, is visiting her elderly cousin Elizabeth whose son, John, will soon be born. The moment Mary's greeting reaches Elizabeth's ears and John's, the tiny prophet announces to his mother the Messiah's arrival, as if his entire being were exclaiming: Behold! The Lamb of God! There was no confusion as to what and who were nestled under their mothers' hearts. Yet 2,000 years later, many well-educated people do not know - or claim they do not know - the truth about human life before birth.

In April the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal ban on partial-birth abortion, in an opinion that explicitly recognizes the humanity of unborn children and the grief women experience after abortion. Yet the killing of unborn children at any stage of pregnancy remains legal, provided that the lethal act is performed while the child is mostly inside his or her mother's body.

In June, President Bush vetoed a bill to fund stem cell research requiring the destruction of human embryos, and directed his administration to investigate alternative means of producing pluripotent stem cells "by ethically responsible techniques." Yet some supporters of embryonic stem cell research continue to dismiss concerns about destroying human embryos, because they are "no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence."

We will not see the day when all human life is respected and defended unless we address a deeper problem. As Pope Benedict XVI has said:

"If truth does not exist for man, then neither can he ultimately distinguish between good and evil. And then the great and wonderful discoveries of science become double-edged: they can open up significant possibilities for good, for the benefit of mankind, but also, as we see only too clearly, they can pose a terrible threat, involving the destruction of man and the world. We need truth" (Homily at Marianzell, Austria, Sept. 8, 2007).

Days after Pope Benedict's homily, the New Jersey Supreme Court claimed to have no way of knowing the truth about "when human life begins." Dismissing a lawsuit against an abortion clinic which concealed the truth about abortion from women, the court claimed there is "clearly no consensus" on whether, as matter of "biological fact," the unborn child is a "human being." The court cited "moral, theological, [and] ideological" disagreement to ignore biological fact. We need truth.

Some ethicists suggest that patients who apparently lack conscious awareness - although otherwise healthy and not imminently dying - can be dehydrated and starved to death because their lives are not fully human but "vegetative." This ignores the insight expressed in 2004 by Pope John Paul II and recently reaffirmed by the Holy See under Pope Benedict XVI, that "the intrinsic value and personal dignity of every human being do not change, no matter what the concrete circumstances of his or her life. A man, even if seriously ill or disabled in the exercise of his highest functions, is and always will be a man, and he will never become a 'vegetable' or an 'animal.'" We need truth.

On this Respect Life Sunday, we ask Catholics and all people of good will to witness to the truth about the incomparable dignity and right to life of every human being. This is no sectarian creed. The "recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world" (Preamble, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989). And that is the truth.

Contact

Catholic Online
https://www.catholic.org ,
- ,

Email

Keywords

More Catholic PRWire

Showing 1 - 50 of 4,716

A Recession Antidote
Randy Hain

Monaco & The Vatican: Monaco's Grace Kelly Exhibit to Rome--A Review of Monegasque-Holy See Diplomatic History
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.

The Why of Jesus' Death: A Pauline Perspective
Jerom Paul

A Royal Betrayal: Catholic Monaco Liberalizes Abortion
Dna. Maria St.Catherine De Grace Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.

Embrace every moment as sacred time
Mary Regina Morrell

My Dad
JoMarie Grinkiewicz

Letting go is simple wisdom with divine potential
Mary Regina Morrell

Father Lombardi's Address on Catholic Media
Catholic Online

Pope's Words to Pontifical Latin American College
Catholic Online

Prelate: Genetics Needs a Conscience
Catholic Online

State Aid for Catholic Schools: Help or Hindrance?
Catholic Online

Scorsese Planning Movie on Japanese Martyrs
Catholic Online

2 Nuns Kidnapped in Kenya Set Free
Catholic Online

Holy See-Israel Negotiation Moves Forward
Catholic Online

Franchising to Evangelize
Catholic Online

Catholics Decry Anti-Christianity in Israel
Catholic Online

Pope and Gordon Brown Meet About Development Aid
Catholic Online

Pontiff Backs Latin America's Continental Mission
Catholic Online

Cardinal Warns Against Anti-Catholic Education
Catholic Online

Full Circle
Robert Gieb

Three words to a deeper faith
Paul Sposite

Relections for Lent 2009
chris anthony

Wisdom lies beyond the surface of life
Mary Regina Morrell

World Food Program Director on Lent
Catholic Online

Moral Clarity
DAN SHEA

Pope's Lenten Message for 2009
Catholic Online

A Prayer for Monaco: Remembering the Faith Legacy of Prince Rainier III & Princess Grace and Contemplating the Moral Challenges of Prince Albert II
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe

Keeping a Lid on Permissiveness
Sally Connolly

Glimpse of Me
Sarah Reinhard

The 3 stages of life
Michele Szekely

Sex and the Married Woman
Cheryl Dickow

A Catholic Woman Returns to the Church
Cheryl Dickow

Modernity & Morality
Dan Shea

Just a Minute
Sarah Reinhard

Catholic identity ... triumphant reemergence!
Hugh McNichol

Edging God Out
Paul Sposite

Burying a St. Joseph Statue
Cheryl Dickow

George Bush Speaks on Papal Visit
Catholic Online

Sometimes moving forward means moving the canoe
Mary Regina Morrell

Action Changes Things: Teaching our Kids about Community Service
Lisa Hendey

Easter... A Way of Life
Paul Spoisite

Papal initiative...peace and harmony!
Hugh McNichol

Proclaim the mysteries of the Resurrection!
Hugh McNichol

Jerusalem Patriarch's Easter Message
Catholic Online

Good Friday Sermon of Father Cantalamessa
Catholic Online

Papal Address at the End of the Way of the Cross
Catholic Online

Cardinal Zen's Meditations for Via Crucis
Catholic Online

Interview With Vatican Aide on Jewish-Catholic Relations
Catholic Online

Pope Benedict XVI On the Easter Triduum
Catholic Online

Holy Saturday...anticipation!
Hugh McNichol

Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.

Catholic Online Logo

Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.

Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.