Conception to Natural Death

Last weekend, while people inside the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception joined in a prayer vigil for life, the group Catholics for Choice projected pro-choice slogans on the church tower. “See how they love one another!” Well it appears Catholics can be as polarized as the rest of society these days. Enough for one group to resort to sacrilege to yell at everyone. And at a time when we need to work harder than ever to build a society that chooses life. The long prayed-for goal of overturning Roe v. Wade seems to finally be within sight, but there is much more that we need to do for abortion to become truly unthinkable.

The thing I found most disturbing about what was projected on the shrine was the claim that 25% of abortions are sought by Catholics. Disturbing because it is true. I found that to be the case in studies consistently through the years. And I came across an even more disturbing number. It seems among Catholics a higher percentage of abortions than usual are sought by married mothers!  Catholic mothers could account for close to 5% of all abortions. That would mean nearly 30,000 abortions a year in Catholic families.

Yes, these are probably people not so connected to the church, but how bad has our society’s support for mothers, children and families gotten that numbers could be even half that? Even if the Supreme Court overturns Roe this year, there is much to do in the fight for life.

Each year the bishops of Kentucky sponsor a day during the state legislature called Catholics at the Capital. It is a chance to learn and see firsthand how the Catholic Conference of Kentucky works for a just and moral society in our commonwealth through its laws. It’s coming up on February 23rd, and there’s information about it further down in the newsletter. Let’s pray and work for a society that chooses life.

-Fr Lou