ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ: all of you present in this National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and all of you united in this Mass through the Eternal Word Television Network, to whom we express deep gratitude,

Today, a day of penance, we gather together in sorrowful remembrance of one of the most tragic events in the history of the United States—the Supreme Court decision of January 22, 1973 legalizing abortion on demand in our country. But we gather together, as people of hope, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. We gather together with deep gratitude to God for the immense energy of so many young people present here this morning who are committed to the renewal of our country—so many young people who have accepted the appeal to respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life!

It is less than a month ago that we knelt before the crib of Bethlehem and proclaimed the mystery of the Incarnate Word. We acknowledged the identity of the Child whom we found in the arms of His Virgin Mother Mary and cared for by His foster father Joseph. We proclaimed this Child true God and true man: divine like His Father in heaven, human like His Mother and like us. The Eternal Word, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity took on human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. While remaining God He became one of us. And in doing so He established a new relationship with every human being, with everyone with whom He now shares humanity, including the unborn. The One we found in the crib is also the One who brings peace to the world. He is called the Prince of Peace. The message at His birth proclaimed by angels was: "Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth." The Child is likewise the One who brings justice to the world. In the words, just proclaimed, of the prophet Isaiah it was said: "Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace forever." And again, "He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. From fraud and violence he shall redeem them, and precious shall their blood be in his sight."

This same Jesus whom we encountered on Christmas in the crib we encounter today in the great gift of the Eucharist, in the word of God, in one another. Yes, we encounter Jesus, the Son of God, in all those who share humanity with Him.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks to us important and encouraging words. He says to us: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." He speaks these words to us as we are gathered in this National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, about to embark once again on our peaceful and respectful march for life.

In the midst of a great crisis in our nation over the taking of human life, and in particular the life of the unborn, we turn to God, to the Lord of Life. We ask Him for help; we ask Him to change the hearts of those who practice, promote and support abortion. We pray that millions of unborn children will be given the opportunity to live, and that the scars of abortion can be removed from the lives of their parents. Are we not convinced in our hearts, dear Friends, that peace in our society, peace of conscience for millions of women and men cannot prevail until justice is done for the unborn, until life is victorious?

In our reading today the Prophet Isaiah prophesies that peace will prevail because "justice will bring about peace; right will produce calm and security." So many times in his long pontificate, Pope John Paul II spoke about these challenges. Seven years ago this month, during his visit to St. Louis, he made this appeal: "America first proclaimed its independence on the basis of self-evident moral truths. America will remain a beacon of freedom for the world as long as it stands by those moral truths which are the very heart of its historical experience. And so, America: If you want peace, work for justice. If you want justice, defend life. If you want life, embrace the truth—the truth revealed by God."

Pope John Paul II went on to state forcefully: "There are times of trial, tests of national character, in the history of every country. America has not been immune to them. One such time of trial is closely connected with St. Louis. Here, the famous Dred Scott case was heard. And in that case the Supreme Court of the United States subsequently declared an entire class of human beings—people of African descent—outside the boundaries of the national community and the Constitution’s protection.

"After untold suffering and with enormous effort, that situation has, at least in part, been reversed.

"America faces a similar time of trial today. Today the conflict is between a culture that affirms, cherishes, and celebrates the gift of life, and a culture that seeks to declare entire groups of human beings—the unborn, the terminally ill, the handicapped, and others considered ‘unuseful’—to be outside the boundaries of legal protection. Because of the seriousness of the issues involved, and because of America’s great impact on the world as a whole, the resolution of this new time of testing will have profound consequences.... My fervent prayer is that through the grace of God at work in the lives of Americans of every race, ethnic group, economic condition and creed, America will resist the culture of death and choose to stand steadfastly on the side of life."

Because we are conscious of this time of trial, of this test of our national character, we have assembled to pray, to reflect on God’s gift of human life, and to invoke His help in the crisis facing our nation and our civilization. And, in this assembly of prayer, we draw grace and strength from the Lord to bear witness to our convictions and to proclaim publicly the sanctity and inviolability of every human life. And so we are prepared to march!

What is at stake then is the truth about human life and human dignity, justice for the unborn, peace for millions of consciences, and liberation from the tyranny of the culture of death.

On January 22, 1973 an attack from within was launched against life in our country—an attack that has proven to have worldwide echoes. On that day a terrifying assault on life in the womb was perpetrated, and the twin towers of life and truth seemed to crumble before our eyes. Their collapse has taken the lives of over forty-five million innocent babies—in this country alone. And the victims of this crime—as always happens in such catastrophic disasters—include also those left behind: countless mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters and grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends. The truth about the beginning of human life seemed to crumble in our midst, as the lives of a whole class of human beings was immediately and lethally imperiled.

On this thirty-third anniversary of the tragic decision of the Supreme Court, we are prepared to join, in just a few hours, thousands upon thousands of our fellow Americans—young and old, men and women from every walk of life, from diverse religious traditions and a variety of ethnic backgrounds—to give a united witness to our passionate desire for public policies that will again protect the most fundamental of all God-given rights—the right to life. Today, with all the Bishops in the United States, we reiterate what has been said for years: "Roe v. Wade cannot stand." It must be reversed.

During these years millions and millions of parents have become so consumed by misguided fears as to believe that their best interests were served in the killing of their own child. Advocates for permissive abortion policies have succeeded in playing upon these fears to pit parents against their own children. We know, however, that the well-being of parents and children are always inevitably and irrevocably linked.

It is not only the deaths of more than forty-five million of our children that we mourn today. We do not just grieve for the loss of all the talents, all the abilities and all the unique gifts these children would have brought to society. We cannot but also wonder about everything that we have lost as a people by the destruction of our children.

Today we also grieve over the scars created in the hearts of parents who, often under duress and in moments of crisis, choose to abort the child whom God had entrusted to their care. The death of a child is always a profound tragedy for a parent, but this tragedy is multiplied when parents are later tormented by the truth that they chose death for their child.

Another aspect of the tragedy is that many in our nation who themselves do not actively support abortion have become comfortable with the fact that abortion is legal. They are able with the assistance of some compliant media to ignore this enormous tragedy that scars the soul of our great nation.

Disrespect for human life continues to spread like a cancer attacking the traditional mores of our country. We are saddened by the increased effort to legalize assisted suicide, and by the concerted effort to foster public acceptance of euthanasia—the intentional killing of the aged, the severely disabled and the terminally ill.

We also find troubling the attitudes resulting from the emergence of "reproductive technologies," namely that children can be manufactured to fulfill perceived needs. We are saddened by the direct killing of human life that is done under the façade of such terms as "pregnancy reduction" and the discarding of the so-called "extra human embryos". The desire of some to clone human life is supremely disconcerting, as are all the efforts to promote embryonic stem-cell research, while neglecting the wonderful opportunities actually opened up through adult stem-cell use.

It is understandable, in view of this array of issues, how some people have lost hope and have been overwhelmed by fear. But in the midst of deep darkness there emerges a point of incandescent light, a beacon of great hope. Our faith in Jesus Christ, the Child of Bethlehem, the great Healer of humanity—indeed the very Son of God—and our hope in His victory over death do not permit us to indulge in discouragement, much less despair. As disciples of the Risen Lord, we look squarely at reality, with all its sinful dimensions, but we are sustained by the sure hope and certain truth that through the power of Christ’s Paschal Mystery life will be victorious.

Dear Friends, though the forces supporting the culture of death may seem so powerful and strong, let us remain undaunted. In our Eucharist, we possess the full power of the Risen Christ who tells us to have confidence because He has overcome the world. In the strength of His Spirit, this Risen Christ, this Lord of Life, sends us forth as witnesses to His Gospel of life, destined to share, in a limited but important way, in the victory of life as it unfolds day after day. This victory of life over death has, however, already been achieved by the Lamb of God, who is the first-born from the dead, the "King of kings, and Lord of lords" (Rev 19:16). He is the Eternal Son of God, the Word of God made flesh, the Child of Bethlehem, the Son of Mary, the person who identifies himself as "the one who lives" (Rev 1:18) and who tells His Church: "There is nothing to fear!" (v. 17).

Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ: "To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood ...to him be glory and power for ever and ever" (v. 5). Amen.