After Roe v. Wade was overturned this year pro-life groups had to determine their next moves. As we saw, some decided to push for very restrictive statewide laws, which failed everywhere they were presented. The Catholic Church, as most clearly seen in the statements by statewide Bishop’s conferences hailed the end of Roe, but proposed a path for the future which included pre- and post-natal care for the child and basic protections for the mother. This reflected basic Catholic Social Teaching which is often called the Church’s best-kept secret. Catholic Social Teaching is not difficult to understand, but very hard to live out and so is rarely applied. The Dobbs decision, however, demanded that our leaders either state these teachings and their consequences or by their silence deny them. As St. John Paul 2 said we must stand for “the incomparable and inviolable worth of every human life” or fall ignominiously. (Evangelium Vitae: paragraph 2) Simply put, concern for all from womb to tomb. This means that Catholics must be prepared to expand and deepen our commitment to others. We need to be truly pro-life and not just pro-birth.
Continue reading “Homily – 1st Sunday of Advent (Fr. Smith)”
