October – Respect Life Month — provides ample opportunities to find out
By Dc. Tom Cuskey
Editor
The answer to the question asked in the headline is as simple as it is complex, as focused as it is multi-faceted. There are many good, correct responses and they together help make for the common mission established in 1972 when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched the Respect Life Program.
Since then, every October has been celebrated as Respect Life Month, kicked off on Respect Life Sunday, the first Sunday of the month.
This year, Bishop Douglas J. Lucia has asked that a homily based on the Church’s commitment to respecting life be given in every diocesan parish the weekend of October 5-6.
What, then, will that homily focus on?
The USCCB articulates the response this way: “As Catholics, we are called to cherish, defend, and protect those who are most vulnerable, from the beginning of life to its end, and at every point in between. During the month of October, the Church asks us to reflect more deeply on the dignity of every human life.” (https://www.respectlife.org/action-guides)
In the Diocese of Syracuse, Lisa Hall, the director of the Office of Family and Respect Life, leads the effort to put the USCCB statement into action. She and her office have shared information as to some of the activities planned.
Scholastic Masses for Life
Education on the importance of respecting life starts in the schools and each year our four diocesan Jr/Sr high schools host Masses, celebrated by Bishop Lucia, and attended by the entire school population to pray as communities for the effort:
Tuesday, 10/1 – Bishop Grimes Jr/Sr High School, East Syracuse @ 8:15am
Thursday, 10/3 – Seton Catholic Central, Binghamton @ 9:30am
Monday, 10/7 – Notre Dame Jr/Sr High School, Utica @ Mary, Mother of Our Savior Parish @ 9:30am
Thursday, 10/10 – Bishop Ludden, Jr/Sr High School, Syracuse @ 9:30am
Sharing information and testimony
Hall’s office annually equips clergy with ample resources via mailings and communications to priests, deacons, parish life directors and parish respect life coordinators that include USCCB Respect Life parish kits. The theme for 2024 is “I Came So That They Might Have Life.”
Other components of the information focus more on some of the individual planks of the respect life platform. This includes the “Walking with Moms in Need” program and information on Project Rachel Ministry where support and healing resources for women who have undergone abortions can be found.
Also available for parents and pastors ministering to them are Grief Handbooks for Miscarriage & Infant Loss.
Project Compassion workshops with Fr. Charles Vavonese provide guidance on end-of-life issues and are scheduled throughout the year.
A unique scholarship opportunity is also available to all public and private high school seniors in the diocese. The Bishop James Moynihan Pro-Vita Scholarships, three awards in all, are given to the students who submit winning entries answering the question “Why are you pro-life and how will you help build a culture of life?”
There is also the “LifeLine “quarterly newsletter mailed to all who request it. The newsletter keeps one informed about programs mentioned here and new opportunities throughout the year.
A Pastoral Plan
Respect life ministry is much more than just a focus on pro-life ministry or some other aspects that attract headlines. The USCCB “Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities” is a handbook for pastoral use that also gives guidance on assisted suicide challenges, jail and prison ministry, dealing with disabilities and more. This all-encompassing document can be found on the USCCB website: https://www.usccb.org/prolife/pastoral-plan-pro-life-activities. More information, podcasts and videos on a wide variety of topics can be found at https://www.usccb.org/resources.
New parish collaboration
Our October 10 edition of The Catholic Sun will feature a story about a new parish collaboration involving Pope John XXIII & Christ the King linked parishes in Liverpool. Laura Ryder, a parish volunteer previously commissioned through the diocesan Formation for Ministry program has been recommissioned this month in a new, additional capacity. She will assist the parishes in learning and praying about beginning-of-life, marriage, family and end-of-life ministries and walking with parishioners who seek assistance in these areas.
Other resources can be found at (diocesan) https://syracusediocese.org/family-respect-life and (national) https://www.respectlife.org/respect-life-month.
