respect life

Last night I was in attendance at 40 Days for Life St. Louis' Benefit dinner, and was happy to hear about a new initiative, the St. Louis Coalition for Life, to help put an end abortion in St. Louis (and Missouri!), and to raise awareness about other life issues.

Browse around their website and check out some of their upcoming events. This coming year, the 39th since the passage of Roe vs. Wade, promises to be interesting, as Missouri is one of the states with only one Planned Parenthood providing abortion 'services' (the one at Forest Park Pkwy in the Central West End.

The Coalition for Life will be working with the Archdiocese's Respect Life Apostolate, Thrive, Birthright, Project Rachel, etc. in their efforts.

From Archbishop Robert J. Carlson's "Before the Cross" article for the last Review edition:

God's law in the Old Testament is clear and unambiguous: You shall not kill. Jesus is even more demanding: Every one who is angry is liable to judgment.

Sins against the Fifth Commandment are easy to commit. Any time we think, speak or act out of anger or hatred or jealousy or revenge, we abuse God's commandment that we respect His most precious gift, the gift of life — especially human life.

Human life is sacred because, from its beginning until its natural end, it involves the creative action of God. The Fifth Commandment forbids direct and intentional killing as gravely sinful. God alone is the Lord of life. No one has the right to end arbitrarily what God has begun, and sustained, through the gift of His love.

[...]

You cannot be "pro-choice" (pro-abortion) and remain a Catholic in good standing. That's why the Church asks those who maintain this position not to receive holy Communion. We are not being mean or judgmental, we are simply acknowledging the fact that such a stance is objectively and seriously sinful and is radically inconsistent with the Christian way of life.

Read the rest of the article on stlouisreview.com »