October 11
Weekend Bulletin
Children’s Bulletin
Blood Drive
Deacon’s Digest
That pro-life thing…
A month ago or so I was in a conversation with another person about the elements surrounding the pro-life issue. She identified herself as pro-choice and told her that I would see myself as pro-life. We had a very civil conversation about the issue until she told me that I wasn’t really pro-life that I was only pro-birth. I had never heard that term before so I asked her what she meant by it and she told me that I was only concerned until the baby was born - after that I really didn’t care what happened. She also told me that I was against women if I was I was pro-life.
Interesting. First, although somewhere there might be a person who truly is only “pro-birth” I can tell you that I don’t know that person. The people that I know who are pro-life are people who serve in many ways. They help at the Banquet, the Dudley House, Feeding South Dakota, and volunteer at hospitals and nursing homes. In other words, they are concerned about the life and dignity of people through the entire span of their lives.
Second, I don’t’ think that a pro-life outlook automatically makes me a chauvinist or someone who is in the business of degrading women. In the world, many of the babies who are aborted are girls. Some cultures (especially China) value men over women, so if an ultrasound shows that the baby in the womb is a girl they will abort. That doesn’t seem like a very pro-woman way of looking at the world, does it? Also, the people I know in the pro-live movement support moms and their children. Agencies like the Alpha Center, Birthright, Catholic Family Services, Bethany Christian Services, Lutheran Social Services and others support women in all phases of their pregnancy and beyond. When I asked this young lady where she got that “pro-birth” term she told me this: “Most pro-life persons would be seen as political conservatives. Most conservatives are against social programs and are against issues that could benefit immigrants - especially at our border. “
Not entirely untrue. As Catholics, indeed as human beings, we need to be those who uphold the sanctity of every life - born and pre-born. A good reminder for me is Matthew Chapter 25 beginning with verse 31. This is where Jesus tells “the nations” who will be sheep and who will be goats. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
October is Respect Life Month in our Church. It is a month to recommit ourselves to all of the ideals of respecting the dignity and life of EVERY person throughout the continuum of their lives. Read those verses from Matthew carefully. They always cut me to the heart as I wonder if I have accidentally sent Jesus away or offended him by the way I have treated someone in need. Being 100% pro-life is a “womb to the tomb” affair so we can say:
YES, I am for babies in the womb and for women!
Yes, I am for all good programs (government and otherwise) that feed the hungry.
Yes, I am for places that provide shelter.
Yes, I am for all who provide clothing.
Yes, all persons deserve care when they are ill.
Yes, all inmates need connections that will assist them in life.
Yes, immigrants and refugees deserve welcome and hospitality.
And yes, I will volunteer to assist in making these things come true in bringing forth a world of true love, peace, justice, and dignity for all.