Pastor’s Corner — June 28th, 2022

“The End of Roe: Responding to This Moment”

Parish Family, 

When I first saw the news of the Supreme Court on Friday that both Roe and Casey were overturned, I was simply overwhelmed and offered a joyful and tearful thanksgiving to God. It’s been several days since this decision was handed down and I’m honestly still stunned. How good and merciful God is! That this would happen on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is so fitting because to God each of us is sacred and he loves us so much that he died for us. 

I want to offer the parish a few points on how we can continue to respond in this historic moment both in salvation history and in the history of our country:  
 

1) Continue to Praise and Thank God for This Victory. No matter the political and personal challenges we will face as pro-life Catholics, we really need to continually thank and praise God for this landmark decision, which some estimate will save thousands if not millions of lives. People have been praying and working hard in the pro-life issue for forty-nine years for this decision and it’s here. While it might not seem like it if you watch the news, millions of people are rightly celebrating this as one of the greatest victories of justice we’ll see in our lifetime. Our response to this first and foremost should be thanksgiving and praise for hearing our prayers.


2) Be Merciful to People who are Pro-Abortion. Like I said in my homily “Abortion, SCOTUS and God’s Mercy” the occasion of this court decision will bring up the painful issue of abortion in our culture. Since so many men and women have been severely hurt by abortion, we shouldn't be naive about the fact that one of the major reasons why people are "pro-choice" is because they or people they know have had an abortion and they are trying to resolve their own personal guilt that only God's mercy can give them. We need to remember that God's mercy is the only way to peace. Fr. Miguel reiterated some of my points in his homily from this weekend.

1.Changing the laws of abortion won't changes people's hearts about abortion.
2. Don't take personally any attack you receive for being pro-life.   
3. Nothing is more relevant than God's mercy.
4. Be apostles of mercy and never stop speaking about God's love. 

Re cognizing the potential painful conscience of abortion supporters is a good first step to loving them. This involves acknowledging both the often hidden attempt to live in denial of the evil of abortion and the desperate rationalizations that often cause them to advocate for greater access to abortion. We need to remember that pro-abortion supporters have been lied to by the world, the flesh and the devil. Most of us have been inundated for years with seductive and empty ideologies that promise freedom but only deliver destruction, misery and death. As a result, unwed or vulnerable pregnant women are lied to when they are put into very difficult positions by men who do not support them, thinking that abortion is the only answer. So to borrow a phrase, abortion supporters are not of the devil, they’ve just been fooled by him. If you get into an argument with an abortion supporter, just listen to them and love them.

The world needs God’s peace more than ever. In our post Roe world, I truly believe this is a prophetic moment for the Church to be a witness that Jesus is our peace precisely because he is our mercy.

3) Resist the Over Politicization of the Moral Issue of Abortion. Just as well-meaning Catholics fell into politicizing the issue of abortion before this landmark decision (and in my opinion some Catholics made a shipwreck of their faith by subordinating their faith to their politics and not the the other way around), there will be continual temptations for us to see the SCOTUS decision primarily through a political lens. Yes, there are serious and decisive implications of this decision on politics and it should be this way. After all, the decision of Roe v. Wade was a terrible jurisprudence in the first place that never should have happened.  

However, this issue is much bigger than its political ramifications. In the face of the political posturing for votes we are already seeing on this issue, we must remember that the moral issue we’re facing with abortion is much bigger than politics and who gets elected. The battle about whether or not each person has inherent dignity is ultimately a battle of good against evil. This value of each human life is so foundational to civil society and to God’s justice that fighting for life is a hill to die on. My prayer is in our pursuit of justice that we carefully and cautiously guard against aligning ourselves with any political party in fighting against abortion.  Our battle is primarily spiritual in nature.


4) Know Your Stuff about Dobbs. While this is a huge victory for life, the abortion issue/debate will rage on in our culture which is confused about what it means to be human. As Catholics we need to be well-informed and articulate on this issue and that starts with knowing what actually happened in the SCOTUS case and what it means for pursuing the protection of human life moving forward. The sheer ignorance out there even about what Roe was about and what the decision means speaks volumes about where the public is regarding this issue. It’s not clear if some “misinformation,” such as fears about banning ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages, circulating now is the result of people simply not knowing what they are talking about or deliberate deception for the sake of political posturing. Regardless, please read these important articles that address the common myths circulating today:

1.How to Debunk 7 Common Myths about Overturning Roe v Wade (National Catholic Register) 
2. Three Myths You Shouldn’t Believe About Dobbs Overturning Roe (Washington Examiner)
3. Life After Dobbs: What Happens Next, A Pillar Interview (The Pillar)  

5) Resist Doublespeak and Euphemisms about Abortion. As we see the fight around abortion increase in local communities and in our state, remember that speaking the truth about abortion helps people see abortion for what it is. Proponents of evil throughout history usually abuse language and re-describe evil in different non-evil terms to make their actions appear morally acceptable. We should avoid such doublespeak and euphemisms as much as we can. Here are some examples about abortion:

- Abortion is not “terminating a pregnancy”; it’s the intentional killing of an innocent baby. 
- Abortion is not “healthcare.”  The killing of a healthy baby growing in the womb of its mother is not about health for either the pregnant woman or the unborn child. (Needing to kill a baby to save the life of a mother is exceedingly rare)
- Abortion is not about “reproductive rights.”  In the case of a pregnant woman, reproduction has already happened; so this is not about reproduction at all, but about wanting the ability to choose to get rid of the child who came to life through the sexual act that led to reproduction.  
- Abortion is not about “choice.” Emphasizing the freedom of the woman’s choice begs the question as to what kind of choice it is. You support choosing what exactly? To kill an innocent helpless child? Pro-abortion is a more accurate term. 
- Abortion is not about “women’s rights” or “women’s bodies.” Not only is such a right not found in the constitution as Dobbs indicated, no one has a right to kill an innocent person, no matter how difficult the circumstances of a given pregnancy is. Moreover, the issue of abortion is precisely not about the pregnant woman’s body, but the body of the child growing within her. 
- Abortion is not “pro-woman.”  Advocating for a woman to succumb to an ideology that celebrates her ability to kill the fruit of her womb and leave her to suffer for life is not pro-woman. Nevermind the fact that half of the babies killed in abortion are girls who never have a chance to become women. To be pro-woman is to be pro-life. 
- There’s no such thing as “pro-choice” Catholics (Christians).  People who say this are usually going through a kind of personal crisis of faith or are very confused. What they are not is logically consistent. To be Catholic is to recognize and promote the inherent dignity of each person from conception to natural death. To be Christian to means to be pro-life. 

6) Continue to be Pro-Life by Caring for the Vulnerable and Needy. As Catholics we need to show that being pro-life is about more than just about caring for outlawing the ruthless practice of abortion. It also means caring for pregnant women and providing them medical care, education and resources they need to care for their child. We also need to show the world that being pro-life means we continually fight for the dignity of the poor, the marginalized, the immigrant, the sick and the elderly. I’m proud of belonging to a Church that takes caring for these people very seriously.  We need to remember that the culture of death trivializes, downplays and downright ignores the dignity of all of these people or worse even uses them for worldly gain. As Christians, it’s our unique privilege to declare and affirm boldly the priceless value of each person, including each of us who is reading this.


In light of Dobbs, we need to assert strongly in our day and age that all life is precious regardless of the circumstances of its conception. We need courageous Christians who are willing to stand in principle regardless of the opposition we face. We need Christians who are capable of being icons of God’s mercy to people Jesus died for. God made us, he loves us, and we have the privilege (and the duty) to bring his message of this love and mercy to everyone. 

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Mathias