Respect Life Sunday

10-03-2021Pastor's CornerRev. Robert J. Deehan, V.F.

Today is Respect Life Sunday, which kicks off Respect Life Month. Each October, the Church in the United States observes Respect Life Month as a time to consider more deeply why every human life is valuable and reflect on how to build a culture that protects life from conception to natural death. With our prayers, advocacy and action, each of us can make a difference in this effort. Last Monday, Pope Francis spoke to the Members of the Pontifical Academy for Life and said that to understand what abortion is, it helps to pose two questions: “Is it right to eliminate, to take a human life to solve a problem? Is it right to hire a hitman to solve a problem? That's what abortion is."

Pope Francis said that the elderly today are also viewed as "waste material" and "of no use" in today's throwaway culture. The pope added that both abortion and euthanasia "deny hope" by negating "the hope of children who bring us the life that keeps us going, and the hope that is in the roots that the elderly give us… They are the roots of wisdom of our civilization, and this civilization discards them." Inserted in today’s bulletin is information about two deeply troubling bills our MA legislature is considering, which would legalize Physician Assisted Suicide. It is an affront to life and a dangerous precedent for determining end of life issues. Physicians are trained to care for the ill, not to hasten their death. Please read the insert, share this information with others and take the steps recommended to say NO Physician Assisted Suicide.

With reference to the throwaway culture Pope Francis mentioned, have you noticed a more extreme attitude today among abortion proponents than a few years ago? There’s been a shift in attitude from keeping abortion “safe, legal and rare” to a cavalier “my bodymy choice” attitude that implicitly denies the regrettable and heart-wrenching reality involved in obtaining an abortion. It’s not a tumor; it’s called “my baby” when it’s wanted! How tragic to note that adoption, a difficult, yet life-affirming option for women facing an unwanted pregnancy, is no longer even considered in discussions about the “choices” available. With many infertile couples longing to have a family, wouldn’t this be a blessed option for both the mother and the couple? For more information about these issues and what you can do to promote life in your circle of influence, visit: https://www.usccb.org/respectlife.

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