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Respect Life Resources

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Respect Life

Statement

I came that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:10

The Respect Life Program of the Diocesan Office of Justice & Peace is deeply and faithfully committed to building and sustaining a “culture of life” and upholding our Christian conviction that all human life is sacred and inviolable – God’s own gratuitous gift, freely bestowed on us from the moment of conception until natural death. (First used by Pope John Paul II during his 1993 apostolic visit to the US, the term "culture of life" means “respect for nature and protection of God’s work of creation ... it means, respect for human life from the first moment of conception until its natural end.)

From the first moment of existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. (CCC 2270)

Through supporting parish respect-life ministries, and providing resources for Catholic prolife organizations, youth groups, Catholic campus ministries, and the faithful of the diocese of Richmond, we seek to transform society by upholding a “consistent ethic of life” across the entire spectrum of life which cuts across issues pertaining to respect for human life at the embryonic stage to critical care for terminally ill patients. (Coined by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin in 1983, the term "consistent ethic of life" expresses moral, social, and religious perspectives based on the fundamental understanding that all human life is sacred. The "spectrum of life," in other words, "cuts across the issues of genetics, abortion, capital punishment, modern warfare, and the care of the terminally ill." )

Our Christian vocation behooves us to actively and prayerfully support the cause of life relying on the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit and the magisterial teachings of the Catholic Church.

Pastoral Plan

Applying the United State’s Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities (2001), the Office of Justice and Peace through its Respect Life program, implements a four-point strategic plan for Respect Life Ministry and strongly encourages parishes to be actively involved in each of these four areas. For a comprehensive overview of this plan, review the USCCB's Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities: A Campaign in Support of Life.

Education

To deepen understanding of the sanctity of human life in all its stages, the dignity of the human person, and the mission of the Church to witness to and serve all human life.

Review a list of selected Church Teachings and Statements for education pertaining to the sanctity and inviolability of human life.

Promote Respect Life Sunday to renew parishioner convictions regarding the sanctity and dignity of human life. This is observed in January to maximize its impact by linking it to other significant Respect Life-related events during that month: our diocesan Respect Life Collection, the national March for Life in Washington, and the Virginia Catholic Advocacy Day.

Promote the annual Respect Life Collection which is held on Respect Life Sunday. This is an excellent opportunity to educate parishioners about the church’s efforts in defense of life as well as raise funds for a wide range of non-profit organizations protecting human life and dignity.

Pastoral Care

Pastoral Care encompasses a broad range of services provided with competence, compassion, and dignity. It includes spiritual assistance and essential material help, and may include supplementary services beyond those available in the community. Providing pastoral care to the needy is a primary way that the Church expresses its love for all God's children. (USCCB)

We seek to meet the pastoral needs of the faithful in need through provision of pregnancy services and care; post-abortion healing and reconciliation; care for those who are chronically ill, disabled, or dying; and care for prisoners, those on death row, and victims of crime.

Pertinent resources:

Project Rachel: Project Rachel is a program to help you receive the healing grace of God. It allows you, in a caring and supportive environment, to move toward reconciliation - with yourself, your unborn child, your family, your Church, and God.

Rachel's Vineyard: Rachel's Vineyard is a safe place to renew, rebuild and redeem hearts broken by abortion. Weekend retreats offer you a supportive, confidential and non-judgmental environment where women and men can express, release and reconcile painful post-abortive emotions to begin the process of restoration, renewal and healing.

Rachel's Vineyard can help you find your inner voice. It can help you experience God's love and compassion on a profound level. It creates a place where men and women can share, often for the first time, their deepest feelings about abortion. You are allowed to dismantle troubling secrets in an environment of emotional & spiritual safety.

Rachel's Vineyard is therapy for the soul. Participants, who have been trapped in anger toward themselves or others, experience forgiveness. Peace is found. Lives are restored. A sense of hope and meaning for the future is finally re-discovered.
(Rachael's Vineyard Ministries)

Public Policy

Protecting and promoting the inviolable rights of persons is the most solemn responsibility of civil authority. As Americans and as religious leaders we are committed to governance by a system of law that protects human rights and maintains the common good. (USCCB’s Pastoral Plan for Prolife Activites)

We are reminded that "the Church must be committed to the task of educating and supporting lay people involved in law-making, government and the administration of justice, so that legislation will always reflect those principles and moral values which are in conformity with a sound anthropology and advance the common good" (The Church in America, no. 19, quoting Synod for America, proposition 72.).

We focus our efforts on restoring legal protection to the unborn as well as ensuring that the lives of others, particularly persons with disabilities, the elderly, those with terminal illnesses etc, are not further jeopardized.

Virginia Catholic Conference (VCC): In consonance with the diocesan bishops of Richmond and Arlington, the Conference advocates for respect life, social justice, and education issues through contacts with state and federal legislators, grassroots advocates, and media outlets. Visit the VCC website to read Political Activity Guidelines for Catholic Entities in Virginia join the VCC advocacy network. Parishes are encouraged to distribute a VCC action alert sign-up form in the parish bulletin, and encourage parishioners to urge people to sign up for this quick and easy way to work for more just and humane laws in Virginia.

To find and contact your legislators, see "Who is my Legislator?"
USCCB - Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
National Committee for Human Life Amendment

Prayer and Worship

Prayer is the foundation of all that we do in defense of human life. Our efforts, whether educational, pastoral, or legislative, will be less than fully fruitful if we do not change hearts and if we do not ourselves overcome our own spiritual blindness. (USCCB Pastoral Plan for Prolife Activities)

We direct our efforts to participation in the sacramental life of the Church, and in programs of communal and individual prayers, that we might build and sustain an authentic and enduring culture of life.

Parishes are encouraged to “include in the petitions at every Mass a prayer that ours will become a nation that respects and protects all human life, born and unborn, reflecting a true culture of life.”

Resources from the USCCB:

Respect Life Commission

The commission serves in an advisory capacity to the Office of Justice and Peace (OJP) on the development of pertinent respect-life initiatives and the implementation of best practices for the promotion of Pastoral Plan for Respect Life Ministry across the diocese.

The commission plays a key role in the review and award of respect-life grants/funds generated from the annual respect-life collection in January. Grants are strictly awarded to qualified parishes and Catholic organizations within the diocese, based on the merits and anticipated outcomes in the areas of respect-life education, direct pregnancy counseling and care, and advocacy.

Members

OJP lead staff for Respect Life
Rev. Mr. Robert J. Durel, Ph.D, Parish – Holy Spirit, Virginia Beach, VA
Rebecca Ing, Parish – Christ the King, Abingdon, VA
Candra (Candy) Parker, Parish – Holy Rosary, Richmond, VA
Margaret R. Marcenelle, Parish – St. Catherine of Sienna, Clarkesville, VA
Bob Humkey, Parish – St. Joseph’s, Martinsville, VA
Kaitlynn Graff, Parish – St. Mary’s of the Presentation, Suffolk, VA
Dr. Christine D. Martinez, Parish – St. Matthew’s, Virginia Beach, VA
Olga Lucía Mages, Parish – St. Augustine, Richmond, VA
Rachel Peterson, St. John the Apostle, Virginia Beach, VA
Marcia Hurley, Holy Trinity, Virginia Beach, VA
One more member to be possibly recruited – perhaps, a male candidate.