Respect Life
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RESPECT LIFE MONTH, OCTOBER 2020
Live the Gospel of Life
Respect Life Month Statement, October 2020
Most Reverend Joseph F. Naumann
Chairman, USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities
As Catholics in the United States, we will soon mark our annual observance of October as Respect Life Month. It is a time to focus on God’s precious gift of human life and our responsibility to care for, protect, and defend the lives of our brothers and sisters.
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.
This past November, the U.S. bishops reaffirmed that “the threat of abortion remains our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed.” While we noted not to “dismiss or ignore other serious threats to human life and dignity such as racism, the environmental crisis, poverty, and the death penalty,” we renewed our commitment to protect the most fundamental of all human rights – the right to live.
This past January, I shared with Pope Francis that the Bishops of the United States had been criticized by some for identifying the protection of the unborn as a pre-eminent priority. The Holy Father expressed his support for our efforts observing that if we fail to protect life, no other rights matter. Pope Francis also said that abortion is not primarily a Catholic or even a religious issue, it is first and foremost a human rights issue.
The Gospel of Life provides a blueprint for building a culture of life and civilization of love. The important work of transforming our culture begins by allowing the Gospel of Christ to touch and transform our own hearts and the decisions we make. May we strive to imitate Christ and follow in his footsteps, caring for the most vulnerable among us. Through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, may Our Lord grant us the grace to live courageously and faithfully his Gospel of life.
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project dresser - caring for the unborn in our community
Dear Friends,
As these uncertain times continue to affect us all in a multitude of ways, we cannot forget the impact that they are having on those in our community living through what would be tremendous times of transition even in normal circumstances! Over the past six months, Our Lady of Loretto has committed to supporting local women in crisis pregnancies who have made the brave and loving decision to carry their children to term and welcome them with joy into their families. These moms need our help now more than ever.
This Fall, OLL’s Project Dresser will be providing for babies #5…6…7 and 8!!!– We’ve got one girl and three boys scheduled to make their arrivals during the months of October and November and we are committed to supporting their brave mothers and flooding them with support! Follow these links to the sign-up sheets for each of our 4 Fall babies:
Baby # 5 (Girl) Thank you for your donations! Baby #5, Aurora, was born on October 7, healthy and strong! From her mother:"All of this is amazing. I wasn't expecting so much. We are all grateful to have been given all these gifts. I was blown away! Thank you all so very much."
Baby #6 (Boy) Sweet Diego was born on October 18! From his mother: "I feel very happy and grateful to everyone for such a beautiful and appreciable gesture. I have no words to thank for everything we have lived though , on behalf of my family and especially me , I want to thank you for such beautiful gift."
We are still collecting donations for babies # 7 & 8 - please have your donations delivered by October 30. Thank you so much!
Baby #7 (Boy)
Baby #8 (Boy)
As the parish offices are still operating on a limited schedule, all donations can be delivered to 74 Ranch Drive, Novato.
**Thank you to those of you who signed up earlier in the year to help us build this ministry and provide a formal structure for this outreach. There will be a meeting in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Piazza at OLL on Wednesday 9/30/2020 at 11am for all interested in learning about the many ways that you can help. If you are unable to attend the meeting, but would still like to participate, get in touch with us and we’ll give you a job!
Any questions can be directed to Annie Troy – annie@ollnovato.org; 415-328-3231.
With many thanks,
The OLL Project Dresser Team