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October is 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 respect life theme is, "Every Life: Cherished, Chosen, Sent." The essence of our identity is that we are created in God’s image and likeness and loved by Him. Nothing can diminish the priceless worth of any human life. Every person is cherished. God creates every person for eternal union with Himself and continually invites us to embrace a loving relationship with Him. Every person is chosen. We are called to be messengers of God’s love, treating one another as cherished and chosen by Him. In doing so, we help build a culture that respects all human life. Every person is sent.
Learn more about the Respect Life Month and the Respect Life program at usccb.org.
Click HERE for a ist of Respect Life Month events happening at parishes around the Diocese of Trenton!
A message from Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M.
"The noble fight to Respect Life"The expression “culture warrior” is used in contemporary conversation to describe people who fight for those causes that run counter to prevailing cultural values and preferences, chief among those causes, the protection of human life in all its stages, from conception to natural death. It is rarely spoken or written in a positive way. And, yet, those who are labeled “pro-life” are, indeed, engaged in a significant battle to convince their opponents and critics that, as Pope St. John Paul II affirmed, “When some lives, including the unborn, are subjected to the personal choices of others, no other value or right will long be guaranteed.”
October is designated in the Catholic Church “Respect Life Month,” with October 7 this year selected as “Respect Life Sunday.” Of course we know that respecting life is a human imperative that cannot and must not be limited to a single month or a single day. It is an everyday and always cause that is not unique to any one religious belief or denomination. For Catholics, however, respecting life, especially the unborn, is intrinsic to our identity as people of faith. It admits no denial, no exception, no compromise. “Every life is cherished, chosen, sent,” as the theme of Respect Life Month expresses...
To read the Bishop's message in full, click here.
If you'd like to listen to a pocast of this message, click here.
Latest Respect Life headlines from The Monitor:
