Respect Life and Pro-Life Ministries

                                                                                                                                                                                   
To a woman facing an unexpected pregnancy in difficult circumstances, adoption is sometimes felt to be worse than aborting her child. In reality, placing a child for adoption is a loving, generous, and sacrificial option that demonstrates a woman’s profound, long-term motherly care. In considering and choosing whether to place her child for adoption, a mother seeks what is best for her child, making a selfless act of love. Still, a woman considering adoption may experience a number of conflicting emotions. It is essential that she be supported throughout and after the process, whether she decides to place her child with another loving family or to raise her child herself.
 
Learn more about how you can support women by reading “Accompanying Expectant Mothers Considering Adoption.”
 

The prophetic papal encyclical Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life) was written by Pope John Paul II in 1995 to reaffirm the value and inviolability of every human life and to appeal to all people to respect, protect, love, and serve every human life. Click here for a brief overview of this important document.
 

What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking violates the sanctity, dignity, and fundamental rights of the human person. The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines it as "the recruitment, transportation, harboring or receipt of persons by means of force, fraud or coercion…for the purpose of exploitation." 

Every year, millions of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers in their own countries and abroad. No sector or industry is immune from human trafficking. Calculated as a 150-billion-dollar industry, modern day slavery has become the fastest growing source of illicit profit for criminals worldwide.

Truth: Every person can help to bring an end to human trafficking. Request a free toolkit from our Become a SHEPHERD program to learn more about the signs of trafficking and how to educate others. Each one of us can take steps to become more involved in the growing movement to end modern-day slavery.

Read more and watch a video here. 

 

Our Blessed Mother shows us how the way we live today can prepare us, in hope, to also enter into heavenly glory at the end of our lives. Are we open to God’s precious gift of new life? How do we support expectant mothers and parents of young children? Do we prioritize showing our love and care for loved ones who are ill or aging?


Click here for the August PRAY FOR LIFE prayer guide.





 

The dates of National Natural Family Planning Awareness Week highlight the anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae (July 25), which articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, married love, and responsible parenthood. Couples’ stories, sample intercessions, homily notes, a media kit, and more can be found here.