Dear Parishioners,

Last month, I prayed in front of the Planned Parenthood in Shrewsbury to support the 40 Days For Life effort by our Respect Life Committee. I have been praying in front of clinics like this one ever since I became Catholic, and the issue of abortion really struck my heart. I really do believe that this murder of the innocent is an offense to God, and our nation would be much better off if it were made illegal. Praying in front of the clinic is a little penitential act that in no way makes up for this sin which is so easily tolerated by people, and it is also a great witness to those who do not realize the gravity of this sin. (If you are available the next 40 Days For Life to come pray with us, I hope you do!)

Normally, we might get a couple reactions from people. However, this year more people reacted to our presence at the clinic than I have ever seen in all my years praying there. We couldn’t go 5 minutes without someone honking their horns, yelling at us from their cars, giving us a thumbs down or other gestures. Of course, some people were very positive as well. I could tell leading up to the election, people were more animated by the abortion issue than ever before. I also noticed that someone felt a need to place signs in front of the Choose Life banner that we have on the corner of the church property. These signs called pro-life a lie and stated that we don’t care if women die, and that abortion is healthcare.

In the face of all of this misinformation, Catholics need to support the right of children to live more than ever. The most important fact that we need to keep in mind when talking about abortion is that we are dealing with a real innocent human life with rights, and we should be laser focused on that truth. It is always immoral to murder another; even if someone else would prosper by it, even if one person would live, even if the world is not good enough for that person, and especially not because that life is inconvenient, which is the real most common reason for abortion.

Next letter, I am going to address what I think is the best argument for abortion and why I think it does not work. In the meantime, I highly suggest you pick up the booklet we have available about this topic, “Why We’re Pro-Life” if you would like to read more about it.

God Bless!

Fr. Carter