Respect Life Month

Building a culture of life requires a Christian to go out into the world and witness to the Gospel of Christ, especially in the midst of what St. John Paul II called “a culture of death.” To support and educate Catholics in the work of this mission, the Respect Life program was initiated in 1972, sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

This year’s theme, “Live the Gospel of Life,” was inspired by the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical The Gospel of Life. Pope John Paul’s masterfully articulated defense of the right to life for children in their mothers’ wombs, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and the marginalized is more relevant today than ever before.


Learn more about the Respect Life Month and the Respect Life program at usccb.org.

'I have come that they may have life and have it to the full'

I am convinced, after almost 65 years on this earth, that all of the problems impacting us in this world of ours derive from a single root cause: the failure to “respect life in all its stages, from conception to natural death.”

Abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment; acts of terror and war; escalating crime; violence and wanton killing of innocents; domestic and sexual abuse; drugs and gang crimes; the immigration crisis; poverty and inequality; discrimination and injustice; racism and hatred; breakdown of the family; blatant disregard for the environment — these are all “life issues” because they tear at the most basic obligation of every human: to respect life.  Think about it for a moment.

To read the Bishop's message in full, click here.
 

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