My dear friends, 

This week, once again we see a profound commitment to life on the part of tens of thousands who took part in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. This march is both saddening and encouraging.  The occasion is saddening because it is held to mark a grim anniversary, 35 years of legalized abortion in this country.

  At the same time, it is encouraging because so many people are continuing the fight for the vulnerable who have no voice – the unborn who are the most helpless of all victims. Everywhere there are signs of hope as more and more people are becoming aware of the life of the unborn. In the last few years, some real advances have been made is this fight: a federal ban on partial-birth abortions, laws which prosecute those who harm the unborn child when a pregnant mother is assaulted, parental notification laws and other such victories.

Nevertheless, we cannot rest on these laurels. The Gospel calls us to speak out for the rights of all whose lives are at the disposal of others, and so long as legalized abortion, the death penalty, and the specter of euthanasia hang over this land our victory is not complete, our battle not finished. This is why the American bishops have asked us to set aside January 22 as a day of prayer and penance; because only with the help of God will this victory be accomplished. If perhaps you were unaware that Tuesday was such a day, you might set aside some small sacrifice in the near future, a Friday abstinence from meat, for example, coupled with extra prayer, imploring divine favor on this most noble of causes.

In all our efforts for life, both spiritual and temporal efforts, let us keep the love of God and neighbor at the fore. In our prayer, for example, let us pray for the unborn, certainly, but also expectant mothers, mothers and fathers who have lost children to abortions, politicians whose work will either help or hinder the cause of life, and finally doctors and other personnel who work in this atrocious industry, that the love of God will so inflame their hearts that they will recognize in the unborn the least of Jesus’ brothers and sisters and embrace them as fellow human beings. May God bless the ministry of those who serve the cause of life, and may the culture of death be relegated to the annals of history, Amen. 

I am yours in Christ, 

Most Rev. Joseph F. Martino, D.D., Hist. E.D.
Bishop of Scranton