Pro-Life Commentary
Twenty years ago, a large crowd gathered outside a hospice in Florida where they held a 24-hour round-the-clock prayer vigil. Inside the hospice lay Terri Schiavo, a 41-year-old woman who some years before had suffered a severe heart attack, leaving her severely disabled. Among those present in the crowd, were Schiavo’s parents and her brother…
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“On some positions, cowardice asks the question: Is it safe? Expediency asks the question: Is it politic? Vanity asks the question: is it popular? But conscience asks the question: Is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic nor popular, but he must take…
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When Pope St. John Paul II released his extraordinary pro-life encyclical Evangelium vitae, he fittingly did so on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation. On this day, the Universal Church celebrates two great mysteries: The moment when the Godhead first took on human flesh, and became incarnate within the womb of Mary; and Mary’s…
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Last week in Spirit & Life, I wrote about the importance of giving witness in the public square to the intrinsic and incomparable value of human life in the womb. On Friday, January 24th, tens of thousands of pro-lifers from across the United States will gather at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the…
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During the Angelus before Christmas Day, Pope Francis reminded the world that “no child is ever a mistake…a child is a gift of life.” The Holy Father continued with this message during his New Year’s Day homily, where he called for “a firm commitment to promote respect for the dignity of human life, from conception…
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Recently, Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill sent letters to pregnant women to encourage them to choose life and welcome their children. The letters are part of an initiative organized by the “Hello, Mom!” project with similar letters planned to be distributed to moms across the country. Amid plummeting birthrates, some of the lowest reported in…
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“How precious must man be in the eyes of the Creator, if he gained so great a Redeemer, and if God ‘gave his only Son’ in order that man ‘should not perish but have eternal life.’” ― Pope St. John Paul II, Redemptor hominis, no. 10 Christmas is about celebrating the most precious gift of Life—the…
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On December 12th the Catholic Church celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas and the Preborn. How desperately does modern society need the profound truths contained in this apparition of Our Lady—a message of prayer, love and compassion. In Mary’s motherly love we find the courage to emulate her faith…
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“Always be inspired in your decisions by the conviction that life should be nurtured and protected from its conception until its natural end. You will be recognized as Catholic doctors by your defense of the inviolable dignity of every human person.” ― Pope St. John Paul II, Letter to the Italian Catholic Physicians’ Association Despite…
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What Easter Teaches Us About Human Dignity
“In a world where everything is on the same level, everything becomes sadly equal. A profane, I would even say a profaned, world is a joyless world. Basically, the loss of the sense of the sacred is reason for sadness. How enchanting it is for a young altar server to approach the altar for the…
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