Bishop Solis invites the faithful to a Day of Prayer for the legal protection of unborn children

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The Utah Knights of Columbus provide an honor guard during the annual Mass for the Unborn at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

All dioceses in the United States are called to observe a Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on or near Jan. 22, the anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion throughout our nation.

The Church sets it as a day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life as well as a day of penance for all violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion.

In the Sacred Scriptures, the Book of Genesis mentions the beautiful story of creation, how God in his divine design “created man in his image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God saw that it was good.”

Psalm 139 declares, “We are fearfully and wonderfully made by God” as the crown of creation. The evil act of abortion takes away this precious gift of life from God.

Abortion is a manifestation of how we, as individuals and as a society, fail to recognize the dignity of each child, knit within the womb of his or her mother. We allow our hearts to be hardened, and our culture disregards our duty to recognize the undeniable truth of the humanity of unborn children, who deserve our love and protection.

To help us remember and pray for the millions of innocent lives killed in the womb, our diocese will celebrate a Mass for the Unborn on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. in the Cathedral of the Madeleine, 309 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City. I urge everyone to come to the Holy Mass and also observe this day through penitential practices of prayer, fasting and/or almsgiving.

 Let us join all the other dioceses in continued prayer for the legal protection of all unborn children, offer penance for all violations against the dignity of human life and, in a special way, pray for all women and men who suffer from participation in abortion, that they may find healing, peace and reconciliation with God.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

The Most Rev. Oscar A. Solis

Bishop of Salt Lake City