Greetings in the Lord, the New Year is underway! After two weeks of Montana vacation and a Bishop’s retreat in Tucson, I am glad to be back. I hope you are staying safe and warm. You have been in my prayers.
The March for Life is an annual rally held every year in major cities across the US, around the anniversary of the tragic 1973 court decision Roe v Wade. Its purpose is to unite, educate and mobilize the faithful in the cause of Life, and to demonstrate solidarity with those whose lives are not granted the full dignity or protection of civil law. As Catholics we firmly hold to the truth that all life be held sacred, from conception to a natural death.
"As Catholics we firmly hold to the truth that all life be held sacred, from conception to a natural death."
Our diocesan participation in this year’s Right to Life March involves members of various parishes attending the huge event which is being held today in Denver. I will be concelebrating Mass there and I ask for your prayers as you read this, to remember the more-than-70 million children aborted since ’73, their mothers and fathers, for healing and to pray that Roe v Wade be overturned.
Our best local efforts in confronting this evil consist of an approach of love, compassion and courage. There are nineteen pregnancy care centers throughout our diocese which stand ready to support mothers and fathers in unplanned pregnancies. They offer ultrasound experiences, parental training, emotional and spiritual accompaniment, baby clothes, strollers and so on. Their rate of success is astounding. This takes ever more courage in today’s desensitized society where the Respect Life argument is met with contempt, or worse, dismissed with indifference.
"Our best local efforts in confronting this evil consist of an approach of love, compassion and courage."
In solidarity with those who are on the front line, committed to the cause of Life, let us reach out in support and prayer, with renewed love, compassion and courage. I hear many stories of parishes, involved in activities through the January Respect Life Month, in Watches for Life, Rosary Vigils, pray chains, and of course our Denver activities today. One resource being used for group study in Pueblo is the book Unplanned Grace: A Compassionate Conversation on Life and Choice, by Brittany Smith and Natasha Smith. You may wish to check it out. Read, reflect, pray, reach out and support our cause. One day you will meet the baby you helped bring into the world. All things are possible for God!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
+Most Reverend Stephen J. Berg
Bishop of Pueblo
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