For more information on October Respect Life Month, visit https://www.respectlife.org/ Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge Bishop of Arlington Chairman USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities 1 Pope Francis, “Address of Holy Father Francis to Participants in the Meeting Organized by the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations,” September 20, 2013 (Vatican City: Liberia Editrice Vaticana). 2 Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, Introductory Letter, p.8 (Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2024). 3 Pope John Paul II, Evangelium vitae (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1995), no. 28. • We must renew our commitment to work for the legal protection of every human life, from conception to natural death, and to vote for candidates who will defend the life and dignity of the human person. • We must call for policies that assist women and their children in need, while also continuing to help mothers in our own communities through local pregnancy help centers and our nationwide, parish-based initiative, Walking with Moms in Need. • We must likewise continue to extend the hand of compassion to all who are suffering from participation in abortion, through the Church's abortion healing ministries like Project Rachel Ministry. • Most importantly, we must rededicate ourselves to fervent prayer on behalf of life. I invite all Catholics to join me in a concerted effort of prayer between now and our national elections, by daily praying our Respect Life Month “Prayer for Life to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament”: Jesus, you came that we might have life- and have it in abundance. Together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, you form us in our mothers’ wombs and call us to love you for All eternity. As your most precious gift of human life is attacked, draw us ever closer to your Real Presence in the Eucharist. Dispel the darkness of the culture of death, for you are the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it. By the power of your Eucharistic Presence, help us to defend the life of every human person at every stage. Transform our hearts to protect and cherish all whose lives are most Through the graces of this revival, may we witness, work, and vote so that all children in the womb will be protected in law and welcomed in love, and that all mothers and families will be strengthened by our support and accompaniment.
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