Catholic Bishop: The Real Pro-Woman Stance is Pro-Life
National | Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge | Oct 2, 2023 | 4:30PM | Washington, DC
Since 1973, the Catholic Church in the United States has observed October as “Respect Life Month.” This year, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities invites Catholics to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Respect Life Month by embracing “radical solidarity” with women facing difficult or challenging pregnancies.
Bishop Burbidge echoes Saint John Paul II, who coined the term “radical solidarity” in reference to the care owed to vulnerable pregnant women: “In firmly rejecting ‘pro-choice’ it is necessary to become courageously ‘pro woman,’ promoting a choice that is truly in favor of women. … The only honest stance, in these cases, is that of radical solidarity with the woman.”
While our efforts must remain strong to end legalized abortion, Bishop Burbidge affirmed the personal responsibility of all Catholics to “thoroughly surround mothers in need with life-giving support and personal accompaniment.”
Read Bishop Burbidge’s full statement, “Living Radical Solidarity” below:
RESPECT LIFE MONTH
STATEMENT LIVING RADICAL SOLIDARITY
October 2023
Most Reverend Michael
F. Burbidge
Chairman, USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities
Since 1973, the year
the Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide in Roe v. Wade, the month of
October has been set aside by the U.S. bishops as a time to focus on protecting
God’s precious
gift of human life. While we thank God that the terrible reign of Roe has
ended, we also recognize that abortion still continues in most states and is
aggressively promoted at the federal
level. A great many prayers, sacrifices, and good works are still desperately
needed to transform a culture of death into a culture of life. Our public
witness, our marching, and our advocacy must
continue, yet laws alone will not end the tragedy of abortion.
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While ending legalized abortion remains our preeminent priority, the most immediate way to save babies and mothers from abortion is to thoroughly surround mothers in need with lifegiving support and personal accompaniment. This is radical solidarity.
St. John Paul II first
defined “radical solidarity” in this way: “In firmly rejecting ‘pro-choice’ it
is necessary to become courageously ‘pro woman,’ promoting a choice that is
truly in favor of
women. … The only honest stance, in these cases, is that of radical solidarity
with the woman. It is not right to leave her alone.”1
Being in radical
solidarity with women who are pregnant or raising children in difficult
circumstances means putting our love for them into action and putting their
needs before our
own. Pope Francis reminds us that solidarity “refers to something more than a
few sporadic acts of generosity. It presumes the creation of a new mindset,” a
transformation within our own
hearts.2
This new mindset
requires that we come alongside vulnerable mothers in profound friendship,
compassion, and support for both them and their preborn children. It means
addressing the
fundamental challenges that lead an expectant mother to believe she is unable
to welcome the child God has entrusted to her.
This includes
collective efforts within our dioceses, parishes, schools and local
communities, engagement in the public square, and pursuit of policies that help
support both women and their
preborn babies. It all the more so requires our individual, personal commitment
to helping mothers in our own communities secure material, emotional, and
spiritual support for embracing
the gift of life. Radical solidarity means moving beyond the status quo and out
of our comfort zones.
Our parish-based and
nationwide initiative, Walking with Moms in Need, for example, provides
easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions to help transform our parishes into
places of welcome,
support, and assistance for pregnant and parenting mothers facing difficulties.
Melissa, a North Carolina mom3 with young children and a busy job, attended a
parish informational session for
Walking with Moms in Need, thinking she might help out here and there. But she
felt the Lord’s call and “by the end of the session she had volunteered to be
the ministry’s coordinator.”
Her parish now holds
“Hand Up Days” once a month during which families can “shop” free of charge for
baby and toddler items they need that have been donated by parishioners.
Melissa shared some powerful words of
encouragement: “I think for too long we have been comfortable leaving the work
of accompanying women in crisis situations – pregnant or
parenting – to others in the nonprofit and government sectors. It is very clear in
the Gospel that this is our job — all of us! A woman in a pregnancy center once
told me that most women
considering abortion are wrestling with a financial matter less than $250 and
that has really stuck with me. If we can lighten the burden just a little, what
a difference we can make — it is literally
life or death.”
God has given each of
us particular gifts, and with those gifts He entrusts us with a role and duty
within the Body of Christ. Embracing an attitude of radical solidarity calls us
to honestly reflect
on some challenging questions and to consider specific actions we can take to
foster an authentic culture of life. Some questions we might ask ourselves
could include: Do I know what efforts are
happening in my area to help women who are pregnant or parenting in difficult
circumstances?
What are the needs?
What are my gifts and talents? How can I adjust my schedule or budget to assist
efforts to help moms in need and their children? Radical solidarity can be
lived out in
countless ways, including volunteering at your local pregnancy center; helping
an expectant mother find stable housing; babysitting so a mom can work or take
classes; providing
encouragement and a listening ear to a mom without a support system; or
speaking to your pastor about beginning Walking with Moms in Need at your parish.
In addition to
enshrining pro-life laws and policies, the transformation of our culture also
requires continual conversion of our own hearts, so that we can recognize in
every person the
face of Christ and place their needs before our own.
And so, this October,
I invite all Catholics to think about building a culture of life in terms of
radical solidarity. We are the Church. Our prayers, witness, sacrifices,
advocacy, and good works
are needed now, more than ever. We are the hands and feet of Christ in the
world today and we each have a personal responsibility to care for one another.
For more information on how to celebrate Respect Life Month and stand in radical solidarity with moms in need, please visit respectlife.org/celebrate.
1 Pope John Paul II,
Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 207.
2 Pope Francis, Evangelii gaudium (The Joy of
the Gospel), no. 188.
3 Elizabeth Ascik, “One of the Best Ways to Walk with Moms in Need,” Aleteia,
March 23, 2023,
https://aleteia.org/2023/03/22/one-of-the-best-ways-to-walk-with-moms-in-need/.
Excerpts from Evangelii gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), © 2013. Libreria Editrice
Vaticana. Used with
permission. All rights reserved. Pope John Paul II. 2005. Crossing the Threshold of Hope. Edited by Alfred A.
Knopf. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2023,
United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.
