by Bishop Gerald Kicanas

When something is important, you need to take a stand, speak up and make your opinion known.

We see people doing this in their neighborhood when someone is peddling drugs or manufacturing meth. They get up in arms. They report. They get drug houses closed
We see people doing this in their city when the education system is floundering and children are falling behind. They demand change. They challenge leaders to act.

And, we see people doing this in a nation in which the courts have determined that the unborn do not have a right to life. They pray. They march. They advocate for the dignity of all life from birth to natural death.

In the 24 years that have followed the Roe vs. Wade decision, countless prayers have been raised to end abortion on demand. Many protests and marches have been held seeking a reversal. Much has been written on the moral dimensions of taking innocent life.
The protection of life from conception to natural death has been consistently upheld, defended and taught by the Catholic Church through numerous statements by the Bishops of the U.S.

Some Catholics in our Diocese are very focused on ending abortion. They wear pins, carry banners, pray, march, distribute pamphlets and write letters. Other Catholics in our Diocese care just as deeply about a consistent ethic of life and speak up about a wide range of issues that uphold the dignity of life.

Still others in our Diocese are more reticent about abortion and other life issues, perhaps not fully convinced, perhaps just more reserved, perhaps just not interested in getting actively involved. They are perhaps greater in numbers than their brothers and sisters who are more visible in their activities and views.
Yet, whatever our reservations may be, when something is important we cannot just sit on the sidelines.

Each January, on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, we are given an opportunity to take a stand, to speak up, to express our moral convictions.

I will again this month be taking part in the March for Life, which this year will take place on Saturday, Jan. 20, beginning with a Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral at 9 a.m. and followed by a prayerful march to Holy Hope Cemetery, a sacred place of burial.
I invite you to join me this year.

The march, which includes people of other faiths who share our beliefs in the dignity of life, reminds our community that nothing can condone the taking of innocent life.

The march is also a statement that opposing abortion does not mean condemning or ignoring women who are struggling with unwanted pregnancies, women who fear bearing a child with disability, women who are not ready to be mothers and women with grave health conditions whose lives might be in jeopardy because of the life in their wombs.

The message of the march is an invitation to help, to be in solidarity with the fears, struggles, even desperation of women seeking abortions. There are alternatives. There are people willing to help. The message of the march is a reminder to our parishes that ministry to a woman who is in crisis because of pregnancy must be a priority.

We have just celebrated the birth of Christ. Who could have imagined what this tiny child would accomplish and the love He would be capable of? We know that His gifts would have been lost by Herod’s slaying of the innocent.

The March for Life calls for alternatives to the taking of innocent life and for respect for all the potential and possibilities of those yet to be born.
Even though you may not be comfortable with public demonstrations, society needs to hearfrom you.

I look forward to walking with our priests, religious, deacons and laity – and, I hope, with you.