Dear Friends,
Today is designated as Respect Life Sunday. For many people, this immediately brings to mind concern about abortion. Over the course of my life, I have had the opportunity to work in the health care field and have seen how, in some places, indiscriminate elective abortion is almost promoted as a form of birth control. I have worked in campus ministry with college-age students who have grown up in a country where abortion has been legal all of their lives and some see nothing wrong with it. I have also personally known many women, including Catholic women, who have anguished over making this decision in their lives. There is much work and prayer still needed to develop within our society attitudes that respect life from the time of conception. We must also devote time, energy, and money to changing many of the situations that bring women to the decision of abortion. And we must proclaim fearlessly the forgiveness of God whose love knows no bounds, whose love can bring healing, no matter how broken or alone we may feel. For those within our own parish who have experienced abortion, know that you are in my prayers as I write to you. If I may be of help in connecting you with helpful support or in preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, please feel free to contact me.
While consideration for abortion is one aspect of Respect Life ministry, our church teaching emphasizes that we should have a consistent ethic of life. Within our parish, this is going to become part of our Peace and Justice ministry, as we begin to share more about Catholic Social Teaching in general. This is also something we should keep in mind during these weeks we are preparing to vote in the upcoming elections. I would like to share with you some words from the Women's Commission of the Diocese of Joliet, written this month to all pastors: As you are most certainly aware, the Right to Life contingent of our parishes is always in formal and informal prayer for the protection of the unborn. And while this attitude of protecting the unborn is very important, there are so many other issues that need to be addressed in protecting human life and promoting human dignity: avoidance of war, capital punishment, suicide and assisted suicide/euthanasia. Encourage your parishioners to take the time this fall to really study all the issues and the candidates running for office, so that they make an educated vote based on all of the issues not just the abortion issue. As a help to the people of our parish in preparation for voting in the election, next Sunday, after all the Masses, we will be showing a video produced by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This brief video, which will only take a few minutes, is based on the bishops' document, Faithful Citizenship. The film reviews the themes of Catholic Social Teaching that we should consider - not only at election time but throughout our lives as Catholics. The showing of the video will be followed on October 25 by a two hour, more in-depth presentation on Faithful Citizenship by representatives of the Peace and Justice Office of the Diocese of Joliet. October is a month filled with things related to Respect Life Ministry. Both the Joliet Women's Commission and the Bishops of the United States have also asked pastors to draw attention to October being Domestic Violence Awareness month. In their document, When I Call for Help, the U.S. Bishops declare that violence against women, inside or outside the home, is never justified. Violence in any form - physical, sexual, psychological, or verbal - is sinful. The bishops note that even Catholic marriage is not a barrier to escaping domestic violence. They write with concern for those who believe that Catholic Church teaching on marriage requires them to stay in an abusive relationship. Some women fear that if they seek a divorce they cannot remarry in the Catholic Church, says Sheila Garcia, Assistant Director in the USCCB Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth. The bishops encourage these women to consider seeking an annulment, that is, an official church declaration that the marriage bond is not valid. In When I Call for Help, the U.S. Catholic Bishops emphasize that no person is expected to stay in an abusive marriageViolence and abuse, not divorce, break up a marriage. For those members of our parish, women, men, or children, who have suffered abuse in their lives, know that you, too, are in my prayers this day. If I can help you to find safety, or if you would like to learn more about the annulment process in the church, please feel free to contact me. During this time that the church designates as Respect Life Sunday, let us be aware that there are many ways in which human life is diminished or destroyed. Let us work to build a society in which all of human life, created in the image of God, is valued and protected. Let us pray for and help all of those who are vulnerable. In the days to come, may we learn more about a consistent ethic of life, pervasive throughout Catholic Social Teaching, that we may be strong Catholic leaders in society, in our workplaces, and in our homes, who can make a difference for life in our world. And let us be people of compassion, loving one another as Christ calls us to do. Mary M. Foley Pastoral Life Coordinator