So where does that leave us today? Powerful abortion forces with unlimited finances and influence are targeting states like Missouri to try to overturn our laws protecting human life. Through a ballot initiative and signature collection, they are attempting to codify the right to abortion in our State Constitution. I ask that you DECLINE TO SIGN.
In a letter dated Dec. 11, 2023, the Missouri Bishops stated, “Though several initiatives are being contemplated and none have yet to be finalized for the November 2024 ballot, we encourage all Catholics and people of goodwill to safeguard as much as possible the fundamental principle of the right to life. We also support efforts that seek to reduce or eliminate the underlying social causes for abortion by expanding care and resources available to mothers. Even with legal protections for the unborn, as we have in our state today, more can still be done to build a culture of life.”
If these petition initiatives do materialize, they could have different titles, all trying to get you to support abortion under such jargon as “women’s rights,” or “women’s health care,” or “women’s reproductive rights,” while avoiding the use of the word “abortion.” Whatever title the proposals may take, the end goal is the same – to legalize abortion. Remember, simply put – DECLINE TO SIGN.
Some of these proposals include the elimination of Parental Consent laws, allowances for partial-birth and late-term abortions on demand, the elimination of health and safety standards so that anyone could perform abortions without a healthcare license and taxpayer-funded abortion would become legal. These national efforts have been successful in Minnesota, Ohio, and Kansas, and are now amping up in Missouri. In the coming days, I will be meeting with the Vitae Foundation, Missouri Right to Life, and others to outline an appropriate strategy to counter the efforts of these out-of-state influences with their financial resources. One thing we can do – DECLINE TO SIGN.
JAN. 22 DAY OF PRAYER
To mark the January 22 Day of Prayer, I will offer Holy Mass and the Rosary in St. Agnes Cathedral, 5:30 p.m., on Mon., January 22. Similarly, I will celebrate Holy Mass and the Rosary in St. Mary Cathedral, 5:15 p.m., on Fri., January 26. Pope St. John Paul II said so eloquently, “A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family, and from the heart of every believer” (“Evangelium Vitae,” [“The Gospel of Life,”]). I invite everyone to attend and help pray for the conversion of those in the abortion industry and for a true realization of a culture of life!
And, as part of the “new initiatives” called for by St. John Paul II, I will celebrate Holy Mass on Fri., April 19, followed by the Dedication and Blessing of the much-anticipated LifeHouse Crisis Maternity Home and AfterCare Program in Cape Girardeau. This will truly make a difference in walking with “moms in need,” by increasing support for pregnant and parenting mothers. I often challenge those who criticize the pro-life movement, saying that we only care about the child at birth and do nothing after birth, to visit LifeHouse and see the programs that are offered, accompanying women for up to two years, in Springfield and now in Cape Girardeau. And remember, DECLINE TO SIGN!
“O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.”
Published in the January 19, 2024 issue of The Mirror.
Photo Credit: Getty Images