Statement from Bishop Burbidge on Respect Life Month
Statement from Bishop Michael F. Burbidge on Respect Life Month
For more than half a century, the Catholic Church in the United States has paused at the start of October to celebrate Respect Life Month. During this month, we give special thanks to God for the gift of every human life, made in his image and likeness. We also acknowledge the dignity of every human life from conception until natural death.
This year’s Respect Life Month theme calls Catholics to embrace “radical solidarity” with pregnant mothers and their children. We live out that solidarity as we walk with vulnerable mothers through Catholic Charities and parish-based ministries like Gabriel Project, both of which surround expectant families with the practical, material and spiritual resources they need to choose life. As Catholics, we are committed to never abandoning mothers in need. With the generous support of clergy, donors and volunteers, we offer spiritual, financial and emotional help to mothers and families across our region through these ministries.
We live out radical solidarity through Project Rachel, a program which invites those hurting from their participation in abortion to experience the healing mercy of Christ and embraces them with compassion. We also show radical solidarity through our adoption ministries, which support birth mothers who choose to place their children in adoptive homes and provide resources to couples who welcome these children into their families.
Finally, we demonstrate radical solidarity when we advocate for policies and laws that enhance family life and protect the vulnerable, particularly the child in the womb.
Sadly, despite the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, abortion remains legal during all nine months of pregnancy in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The government has many responsibilities, but the defense of life is its most fundamental. Defending life requires us to entrust the reins of government only to those who will protect the most vulnerable among us. This is an obligation we must take seriously and carry out prayerfully.
Next month, Virginia will be holding a critical election, as every seat in the General Assembly is on the ballot. I encourage the faithful and all people of goodwill to join in radical solidarity with the unborn, their mothers and other vulnerable persons by voting for candidates who defend life at every stage.
May Mary our Mother intercede for us as we strive to build a future for Virginia in which every life is cherished and protected in law.
For more information on the upcoming election, please see the pastoral letter issued recently by Bishop Burbidge and Bishop Knestout through the Virginia Catholic Conference