Diocesan prayer service marks 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Intermountain Catholic

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About 30 people, including Bishop John C. Wester, participated in the Diocese of Salt Lake City Respect Life Bilingual Prayer Service. IC photo/Marie Mischel

SALT LAKE CITY — The annual Diocese of Salt Lake City Respect Life Bilingual Prayer Service drew about three dozen people to Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery Jan. 20 to pray for unborn children to mark the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States. The decision was issued Jan. 22, 1973.

In addition to the intention of unborn children, Veola Burchett, director of the diocesan Office of Family Life, asked that prayers be said for the parents and their families. "It’s a silent pain that they keep to themselves," she said.

"This is the anniversary of a very tragic and misguided decision," said the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, who attended the rosary, "but since then, in these 40 years, there has been some progress, thanks be to God... But at the same time we have to have a sense of tenacity in not ever letting our guard down, because even today we see more and more people who don’t even see abortion as a moral issue. This is a sign to us that we can never let our guard down. We have to keep praying, we have to keep advocating, we have to keep striving to protect life from conception to natural death."

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities called for a nationwide Nine Days of Prayer, Penance and Pilgrimage Jan. 19-27.

"The intentions for these nine days will be for healing and conversion, for elected officials who support abortion and for all people whose lives have been forever changed by an abortion," according to the press release announcing the novena.

"The bishops recognize that prayer is the foundation of all our efforts on behalf of human life," said Tom Grenchik, executive director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). "These nine days of focused prayer and sacrifice are a great opportunity for people across the nation to unite their voices in prayer to God. Through this prayer campaign, I hope that many will be blessed with a new spirit of faith and encouragement in their pro-life efforts."

As part of the Nine Days, a National Prayer Vigil for Life is scheduled for Jan. 24-25 and the Rally and March for Life is scheduled for Jan. 25, both in Washington, D.C.

The USCCB will also feature guest bloggers the week of Jan. 22 providing their personal pro-life testimonials at http://usccbmedia.blogspot.com.

The USCCB is providing an intercession, brief prayers and a reflection, daily suggestions for concrete acts of prayer, penance and charity, and a fact sheet online at www.usccb.org/9days. Request daily emails on the website or by texting "9days" to 99000. The novena will also be posted daily on "People of Life," the USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat’s Facebook page, and tweeted from "USCCB" on Twitter.