This week marks the forty-third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion in all fifty states. As tens of thousands gather in Washington to call for the legal protection of the unborn, Catholics across Rhode Island stand with them. Followers of Jesus Christ are unambiguously and unequivocally pro-life.
Pope Francis explains: “Precisely because this involves the internal consistency of our message about the value of the human person, the Church cannot be expected to change her position on this question….It is not “progressive” to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.”
Today there are signs of hope. More and more young people recognize the dignity of the unborn. Contemporary science makes unmistakably clear that from the time of fertilization, the unborn child is a living member of the human species. The only question that remains is should we love everybody?
A large element of our culture—and most of the political and intellectual class—believes that there is indeed a segment of our population, namely, the innocent unborn, who deserve no legal protection.
We say otherwise. We believe that everybody is a somebody, that every child, at every stage, in every place has a dignity—and in Christ a destiny—beyond our imagining. Each year January 22nd offers a reminder of how much there is left to do. We can never rest until the voiceless are protected. We can never stop until every child is given protection and welcome and love.
