October is Respect Life Month. I hope with the recent memorials of the
Events of September 11, 2001, still fresh on our minds, we might renew our efforts
To cherish and celebrate the gift of life. When the Church teaches on Reverence for life
Issues, it speaks consistently on abortion, contraception, the death penalty, embryo
Research, end of life issues, reproductive technology, persons with disabilities,
Euthanasia, racism and discrimination, and sexual morality. The Church’s positions
Are unchangeable even if national policy decisions remove or erode our basic moral
And ethical principles and standards. As your bishop, I assure you that I and my
Administrative Staff, fully embrace all the teachings of our Roman Catholic Church.
In preparation for the 2011-2012 Respect Life Program, His Eminence, Cardinal
Daniel Di Nardo, Chairman of the Secretariat of Pro-Life activities, has forwarded some
Wonderful materials to help us in our dioceses and parishes. One of the series of the
New Life Matters series treats the profound meaning of love and marriage.
Many of us have grown up with the realization that a family is made up of at
least three persons: father, mother, and child. Or is it? These days we speak of “one
Parent families,” and that one parent, more times than not, is a mother. Where is the
Father? Even in some “two parent” families, the children at times have to ask, “where Is dad?”
Marriage is a unique communion of persons because God designed it to bring
Together the whole man and woman—body, mind, and soul—in an enduring “one-flesh” Union (Gn 2:24). The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2363 reminds us: “in creating
Man and woman for each other, God made marriage to be love-giving and life giving. We
Call these two purposes of marriage the unitive and the procreative. They are ordered to
Each other and cannot be separated without altering the couple’s spiritual life and Compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family.”
Many people feel that we have lost something in our society regarding the
Beneficial effects of a loving and devoted father within a family. A loving, masculine Influence tends to be lacking. No matter how dedicated a woman is, she should never be
expected to be both mother and father to her children. Statistics show that only 45% of U.S. teens have spent their entire childhood with an intact family, with both their birth
Mother and their biological father legally married.
According to the Jewish custom of the day, Jesus learned his prayers from
Joseph. When he saw Joseph at work in his carpenter’s shop, Jesus came to recognize
The value and dignity of hard labor. In a way, Jesus experienced in Joseph the meaning
The beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, before he preached them himself; he saw
Joseph as the man who was happy in being poor, in being meek, in being merciful.
From Joseph he came to appreciate the importance of following the liturgical customs
Of his people.
Joseph was a dedicated father to Jesus. Jesus felt the warmth of Joseph’s
Fatherly embrace after he had been lost in the temple for three days. Above all, the
way he spoke to Joseph is the way he taught us to address God in prayer as “Abba,” Father. Along with Jesus, we owe honor to Joseph, and I believe that Joseph would be
honored if fathers were to accept him as their model.
Our Catholic faith tells us that marriage is not a human invention: “Marriage is … the wise institution of the Creator to realize in mankind His design of love.” (HumanaeVitae, no. 8). Marriage is a blessing that God gave men and women for the good of
Each other and the good of society. We believe that so essential is this blessing that
Christ redeemed and elevated it to become one of the seven sacraments of the Church
Dear Friends in Christ,
