Homily

January 23, 2006, St. Joseph Parish

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

The Evil of Abortion and Catholic Responsibility

Today, 32 years ago, the Supreme Court of the United States of America basically made abortion legal in this country.

The woman whose rights were allegedly being defended, “Jane Roe,” whose real name was Norma McCorvey, eventually rejected abortion, claimed she was used, and became a member of the Catholic Church on August 17, 1998.[1]

What is abortion? Is it morally wrong? What are my moral responsibilities as a Catholic as regards abortion? Is there mercy for those responsible for perpetrating abortions? Today’s homily will briefly address these questions.

Abortion is the killing of the unborn child in his mother’s womb. Since Roe v. Wade, there have been 46m abortions in the United States alone. This figure does not count the abortions caused by “the Pill,” this term being understood as any drug which uses artificial hormones to keep a woman from getting pregnant or staying pregnant.

The abominable industry of abortion ruins families, drives huge sectors of the pharmaceutical market, attempts relentlessly to force medical personnel to support it, destroys the emotional, intellectual and moral lives of the mothers, and kills babies.

An ancient document from the second century, the Didache, says, “You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.”[2] Abortion is “gravely contrary to the moral law.”[3] Vat. II states, “Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.”[4]

We as Catholics must work without rest to end abortion. It is the failsafe of irresponsible moral and sexual conduct. It brings nothing good to man! We need to fight it in every power of government, legislative, executive and judicial, with intelligence and efficacy. We need to resist it in our hospitals and in the clinics on the streets around town. We need to convince our neighbors of the evil of abortion. We need to pray and do penance for abortion to end in the whole world.

Above all, and I say this to those who have perpetrated abortions or helped or recommended others to do so: turn to the mercy of God, and renounce your sin. Hanging on to it does you no good. God’s mercy is greater than your sin, therefore, come to confession and begin a new life in Christ! And if you have confessed, renew your faith in the power of God to forgive, to rebuild, and to transform the human heart.

I would like to invite all of the parishioners here present to make of tomorrow a day of penance to make reparation for the violations against human life by abortion. All the Dioceses of the USA are observing Monday as a day of penance for this reason. A superb way to do penance is to fast, which is my personal recommendation for tomorrow. Let us fast to make reparation, and ask God to remove this scourge from our midst, especially through the powerful intercession of our loving Mother in Heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary.