As we mark another year of
the ongoing assault on unborn life initiated by the infamous Supreme
Court decisions, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, we mourn
the loss of almost 50 million brothers and sisters in Christ who have
died prematurely through abortion. We cannot retreat from the fight to
gain recognition of each baby in the womb as a unique individual created
by God and not just a body part to be discarded at will.
Laws are created to
ensure a just and civil society, recognizing the common good but also
guaranteeing the rights of individuals. The human being is to be
respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and
therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be
recognized, among which first and foremost
is the inviolable right of every
innocent human
being to life.
In each of the last two
years, reported abortions in Florida numbered over 90,000. National
polls indicate a continuing decline in support for unlimited access to
abortion, and we are hopeful that laws passed in Florida will soon bear
fruit by reducing the numbers of abortions in this state as they have in
others.
As we have for many years, we
invite all women who need help in their journey during pregnancy to
contact the Church for referral to the Gabriel Project or a crisis
pregnancy center. You are not alone - men and women of good will have
and continue to love and care for pregnant women and children. Pope
Benedict XVI, in a 2006 New Year’s address to civil authorities in Rome,
stated, “care must be taken that pregnant women in difficult conditions
do not lack material help, and that drugs which in some way conceal the
gravity of abortion are not introduced as an anti-life choice.”
Since we are all imperfect
human beings, we sometimes fail to make right choices in life. God’s
mercy, love and forgiveness are offered in the sacrament of
reconciliation. We urge all men and women who have participated in an
abortion to seek the peace God offers to all who ask Him. We commend
Project Rachel and Rachel’s Vineyard for those who have been involved in
an abortion.
As a sign of our
ongoing commitment to change hearts and minds and speak the truth about
the evil of abortion, we have produced a presentation available at the
Florida Catholic Conference Website (http://www.flacathconf.org/aboutabortion/).
Please visit this site to learn more about the facts and Catholic Church
teaching on abortion. May God bless our efforts and answer our prayers,
ending the destruction of human life. We will not rest until this day
arrives.
Archbishop John C. Favalora
Archdiocese of Miami |
Bishop John J. Nevins
Diocese of Venice |
Bishop John H. Ricard, SSJ
Diocese of
Pensacola/Tallahassee |
|
Bishop Robert N. Lynch
Diocese of St.
Petersburg |
Bishop
Victor Galeone
Diocese of St.
Augustine |
Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito, JCL
Diocese of Palm
Beach |
Bishop Thomas G. Wenski
Diocese of Orlando |
Coadjutor Bishop Frank J. Dewane
Diocese of Venice |
Auxiliary Bishop Felipe J. Estévez
Archdiocese of Miami |
Auxiliary Bishop John G. Noonan
Archdiocese of Miami |
Florida Catholic Conference
201 W. Park
Avenue
* Tallahassee, FL * 32301-7760
Phone (850) 222-3803 * Fax (850) 681-9548
