Do something pro-life and pro-marriage today.
Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Catholic Archdiocese of Arlington, Va., writes this morning:
Tragically, a majority of Virginians voted this election season to insert an extreme and limitless legal right to abortion into our Commonwealth’s constitution. A majority also lamentably voted to strip objectively good and true language from our state’s constitution that upheld the truth that marriage is a sacred institution uniting one man and one woman. Despite this defeat, faithful Catholics may be consoled by the certainty that each one of us gave God our best efforts, and that he will not allow those efforts to be in vain. We know the truth, and no temporary political defeat changes this reality. Thus, we do not despair. We resolve to continue speaking the truth with love and, together, we persevere in faith and hope.
Whether or not people knew what they were voting for, he makes clear:
As a result of these changes to our state constitution, it is all but certain that health and safety regulations pertaining to abortion will be eliminated. Worse still, unregulated abortion, even of healthy babies up to birth and for any reason, will be possible. Fathers and mothers will be excluded from irreversible, life-altering decisions involving their underage daughters, and even non-physicians may operate unlicensed abortion businesses. Commercial surrogacy will remain free to exploit vulnerable women and violate the rights of children, and the “sex” and “gender” language in our revised state constitution will perpetuate false and life-threatening gender ideology in our daily lives.
These are troubling realities that we must confront together, confident in God’s goodness and in his willingness to pour out his grace to convert the minds and hearts of all people.
And there’s this unfortunate historic truth:
Righteous change often includes setbacks, occurs slowly, yet is finally achieved in surprising and unpredictable ways.
Keep hope alive. Of course, for Christians, hope has a name and He’s Divine and miraculously clear about the value of human life — and for eternity.
Burbidge issues a challenge. People better see it as a challenge. He points to pro-life ministries. It’s far from all-inclusive. If we are pro-life, we simply must be doing something other than voting against a constitutional amendment making abortion throughout pregnancy and up until birth integral to the Old Dominion’s identity. He writes:
We must continue and strengthen our commitment to all our brothers and sisters by speaking the truth in love and by accompanying all those in need, especially mothers experiencing difficult or unexpected pregnancies. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington will continue to serve mothers and all who seek help, including through the Mary, Mother of Mercy Medical Clinic, showing them in word and deed the love of Christ. Our Gift of Life financial assistance ministry, our parish-based Gabriel Project pregnancy support, and our diocesan pregnancy and adoption programs have transformed lives and outcomes for countless men, women, and children, and by the grace of God they will continue to do so. Project Rachel After Abortion Care, meanwhile, stands ready to serve men and women in need of healing from their participation in abortion, offering compassionate and confidential spiritual care without judgment. As she does in every time and place, the Church strives to heal whatever wounds men and women suffer. Yet, as critical as these diocesan ministries are, we should frankly recognize that they are a necessary response to political and legal injustices that must eventually be corrected through better politics and through authentic, life-affirming law and policy.
I’ve asked this before: Do you know your local resources? Do you know where you would direct a young woman or young man — or both, together — who asks for your help with an unexpected pregnancy, a baby they do not feel prepared for? Do you support your local pregnancy-care center and maternity home? Do you actually know what they do, what they provide, and what they need? It may be repairs more than your money. Find out. Be a part of its community. Know the pro-life resources because you have become one of them.
Burbidge finished:
We are “one nation under God,” and this remains true even when faith and morals are defeated at the ballot box. As people of faith resolved to live by God’s divine and natural law, we recognize that fundamental truths, such as the human right to life and the sacredness of marriage, can never legitimately be put to a vote, even in a democratic nation.
Across America, as here in Virginia, advocacy and courage are now needed more than ever. We must look to God for the future presidents and governors, justices and judges, and lawmakers and policy advisors who will champion the reforms American law needs: to abolish the scourge of abortion, commercial surrogacy, and related evils, and to restore the dignity and sacredness of the marital bond in law and therefore in culture. The conversion of nations, states, and peoples is only ever possible by the grace of God, to whom we turn with confidence and hope now and always.
Do something pro-life and pro-marriage today. That may mean scheduling time to watch your neighbors’ kids so the parents can have a date night. It might mean calling a pregnancy center and finding out what they need.
Heartbeat International’s directory can help get you started.
Here’s the Gabriel Project. Project Rachel. Her Plan can get you on a plan to help.
And pray for our nation. Really, truly pray. It matters. It’s even more important than voting.