Various events planned for Respect Life Month

Friday, Jan. 13, 2023

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Catholics have several opportunities to participate in activities that promote the sanctity of life during January, Respect Life Month. Bishop Oscar A. Solis and Crystal Painter, director of the Office of Family Life, are encouraging Catholics across the state to get involved in these efforts.

“Although Roe vs Wade has been overturned, it doesn’t mean that abortion has been eliminated,” Painter said. “Here in the state of Utah, we have this hold up in the court system [a stay on a 2019 law imposing a ban on abortions after 18 weeks], and so babies are being aborted every day here in Utah, so the fight is not over. The work, in my mind, is just beginning and there are so many women and families that need our support. These are all opportunities to pray not just for the law but for changing hearts, for converting hearts and for helping people see the dignity of every human person.”

Several events being held later this month in the Salt Lake Valley to encourage a respect for the sanctity of life are listed below.

Bilingual Rosary for Life — to pray for a conversion of hearts and a culture of life, 2 p.m. at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, 275 U St., Salt Lake City, in front of the Monument for the Unborn. In case of rain or snow, the venue will be the mausoleum. 

Diocesan Mass for the Unborn — an observance of the “The Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children” (observed nationally Jan. 22). Bishop Oscar A. Solis will preside. 6 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, 309 E. South Temple St., Salt Lake City; a Ceremony of Lights will follow.

Memorial Service for the Preborn in Utah — to honor the babies that have been killed by abortion since Judge Andrew Stone placed an injunction on Utah’s trigger law. Several parish groups and Knights of Columbus councils plan to participate in this event, which will be hosted by Pro-Life Utah. Father Samuel  Dinsdale, Respect for Life Commission spiritual director, will offer the closing prayer on Bishop Solis’ behalf. 12:30 p.m. at the Utah State Capitol. A memorial gathering will begin 30 minutes prior to the service.

In the past, this event included a March for Life, but that will not be held this year. Instead, after the memorial service, those in attendance will process to the Memorial for the Unborn at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery (275 U. St.) to place flowers on the monument. Participants are asked to dress in black or funeral attire. No signs or protesting will be permitted. Visit http://prolifeutah.org/ for information.

Diocesan Respect for the Dignity of Life Day Seminar — will include a talk on “Human Dignity and Building a Culture of Life” (speaker TBD). Also, Amy Davis, a mental health counselor who is the diocesan Project Rachel counselor, will speak on “Mental Health Awareness: Accompanying Those Who Suffer.” 

“Respect for the Dignity of Life Day has always been focused on respect for life in general,” Painter said. “Catholic social teaching teaches that from conception to natural death, human dignity covers all human life. So, although abortion is obviously a priority in the Catholic Church, we also do need to look at all the other areas, and mental health is a big one.”

The final speaker, diaconate aspirant Michael Edwards, will share information about The Joshua Project, which is a diocesan initiative being led by Fr. Gustavo Vidal to help youth ages 14 to 18  stay involved in their faith and formation in the local Church and to help address the root causes of teen suicide in Utah. Crystal Painter will also give participants a legislative update.

The event will begin with Mass at 9 a.m. and go until noon at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 9757 South 1700 East, Sandy. This free event will be both in-person and virtual; registration is required. Register at https://www.dioslc.org/events/56. For information, call the Office of Family Life, 801-328-8641 ext. 324.

This hybrid format has been very successful, and the diocese plans to continue to live stream the Respect for the Dignity of Life Day Seminar going forward, Painter said. “I feel like this really opens this event up to people who are in the far reaches of the diocese, in St. George and eastern Utah, especially in the winter when it is really hard for them to travel here to come to these events,” she said. 

In addition to these local events, parishioners may sign up online for two events being sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: the Holy Hour for Life on Jan. 19-20; for information, visit https://www.usccb.org/national-prayer-events-for-life; and the annual 9 Days for Life Novena, Jan. 19-27. Sign up for daily text or email reminders, or download the entire novena at https://www.respectlife.org/9-days-signup