ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Deacons, Religious and Lay Faithful,
especially you, dear Young People,
Dear Friends in our Lord Jesus Christ,

It is a great pleasure to welcome to this Pro-Life celebration all of you on pilgrimage from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  I am also very pleased to acknowledge the presence of the delegation from Knoxville, led by Bishop Richard Stika, the delegation from Kansas City-St. Joseph led by Bishop Robert Finn and all the many other groups.  It is a great joy for us all to come together to pray in the name of Jesus.

As we march today, our group will include people of all different categories, with numerous high school and elementary school students as well as crowds of university students and members of Newman Centers from so many dioceses of the United States. I am grateful for all the sacrifices of the many who have traveled, often at their own expense, to defend the right to life. As we gather, the great promise of Jesus rings true this morning in this great Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: “The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will instruct you in everything, and remind you of all that I told you” (Jn 14:26).  The Holy Spirit teaches us today that the seeds of the culture of life are all around us.

This wide representation here in the National Shrine represents the growing tide of public understanding of that unchanging truth that the right to life is sacred and inviolable from the first moment of conception to the moment of natural death. We gather in unity and march forward in peaceful witness to reach out to our fellow citizens, to leaders of government, to public servants, to those who may be indifferent, to those who suffer because of abortion, to women who have had an abortion, to men who are in pain because of abortion, and even to those who still think that it is acceptable to kill an unborn child.

On our part we proclaim that the child is a gift and must always be welcomed by love. As we march we take to heart the words of Saint Paul, proclaimed only a few moments ago: “Clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.… Over all these virtues put on love, which binds the rest together and makes them perfect” (Col 3:12,14).  If we walk with grace and virtue today, with each stride we will be one step closer to a society which fully respects the right to life of the child in the womb from the first moment of conception.

To preserve the right to life we must dismantle the ideologies of materialism, individualism, consumerism, utilitarianism and hedonism that have grown up around us. To change these ideologies we must offer healing to an entire generation wounded by false promises. These ideologies have given rise to many  evils: abortion, human embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, illicit reproductive technologies, partial-birth abortion, physician assisted suicide, the unjust application of the death sentence, the promotion of human cloning, and as Pope Benedict XVI has warned, the prospect of the systematic eugenic programming of births (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 75). All people of good will can know so much through the light of natural human reason about these practices that always and everywhere offend the inestimable dignity of the human person and the common good of society. The gift of faith affirms the witness of reason: that the child is loved by God. The psalmist testified long ago to God’s special affection for the child when he proclaimed: “He shall … save the children of the poor” (Ps 72:4). 

In a particular way we continue our urgent prayers for our brothers and sisters in Haiti, and for the children of that nation. As Pope Benedict teaches us:   “Openness to life is at the center of true development. When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man's true good.… The acceptance of life strengthens moral fiber and makes people capable of mutual help” (ibid., no. 28). On this basis we insist that health care proposals must always respect human life in all of its stages from conception to natural death.

To heal the wounds of our culture we must engage in that new Evangelization which reveals the truth, beauty and goodness of the message of Jesus Christ to this new generation. We must help this new generation understand that the pro-life struggle is not one of faith versus science, but one of ethical science versus unethical science. Today, and every day throughout the year, we seek to persuade consciences and transform hearts through grace and virtue. Each step in our march today is one step closer to a society without abortion and toward a new dawn of the culture of life that welcomes the child as a precious gift from God.

The child is so important in the new Evangelization and such a preeminent sign of hope. Hope is never an inconvenience, mistake, obstacle, problem or accident, but a joy, treasure and integral part of God’s loving design. When we welcome life we welcome hope! We welcome mothers and fathers! We welcome with compassionate understanding all those who have been harmed by abortion! We welcome doctors and nurses, public servants and citizens to turn again with us to the path of life and to welcome the child, to welcome hope.

As we gather in this Shrine we entrust all our efforts to Mary Immaculate so that our witness will be covered by her mantle and thus transformed by the grace of her Son. Before we march today we gather at this altar to worship God and to receive the spiritual and moral nourishment which comes from the Eucharist. As Pope Benedict XVI has said: “Precisely because of the mystery we celebrate [in the Eucharist], we must denounce situations contrary to human dignity, since Christ shed his blood for all, and at the same time affirm the inestimable value of each individual person” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 89). 

Today, we join the many thousands who will gather to affirm the inestimable value of all human life. We pray to God―the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit―that the living, prophetic and peaceful witness of each of us will help to open the hearts of many of our brothers and sisters to recognize the right to life of the unborn.

Dear friends, dear young people:  your prayers, your commitment to the sacredness of human life and your marching today render honor to the Lord of Life and contribute greatly toward building a culture of life and a civilization of love.  Amen.