My dear brothers and sisters:
Did you happen to read the article in last week’s Time Magazine about the developing research in “fetal origins”? It tells the fascinating story of how many aspects of our lives seem to be greatly influenced by our first nine months of life in our mothers’ wombs.
I was particularly struck, however, by the author’s concluding paragraph:
As for me, the baby in my belly for these last nine months is now a sandy-haired toddler named Gus. Where did his particular qualities come from? Will he be strong or sickly, excitable or calm? What will his future hold? These are the questions parents have long pondered about their children. More and more, it looks as if many of the answers will be found in the womb.
I was struck by this paragraph because, when I read it, I had just come from chatting and praying with the folks who several days each week stand in front of the Planned Parenthood building on Pleasant Street, seeking to save the babies in the bellies of scores of mothers from being aborted.
It is hard for me to imagine how a woman can abort her child. But, then again, perhaps that is not altogether fair. For I do not know the pain, the anxiety and even the blind panic which can set in when a child has been conceived unexpectedly. Maybe the woman is young, or single, or lives on the street. Maybe the woman has emotional or psychological or even financial problems which cause extraordinary distress.
But no matter how tragic the pain the new mother may experience, it is never sufficient cause to take the life of the baby in her belly. Which is why we need to do everything we can to love each mother to the truth, to save her from a system which often forces people into a life of regret, and to bring about laws which protect the life and liberty of every human being from conception to natural death.
That’s why, with the great help of the Diocesan Pro-Life Office, the Cathedral is sponsoring a Conference for Life on October 30th. The brochure describing this day is included in this week’s bulletin. We will be privileged to have two of the best staffers from the Bishops’ Conference with us: Susan Wills, who directs all educational efforts on pro-life for the USCCB, and Richard Dorflinger, who is the USCCB expert on stem cell and end of life issues. Susan and Richard will present the keynotes, and Bishop McManus and another half-dozen advocates for life from across our community will lead workshops on a variety of life-related topics. The day will conclude with the regular 4:00pm Mass, celebrated by Bishop Reilly, at which I will preach.
Please consider joining us for this day. Details on registration are found in the enclosed brochure. It’s the least we can do for all the babies in the bellies of mothers everywhere.
In the Lord,
Monsignor James P. Moroney
