Respect Life Month
October is Respect Life Month! Catholic teaching on respect for all life is deep, abiding and consistent in its protection of the dignity and sanctity of every human life from conception to natural death. As ballots begin arriving, our understanding of Catholic teaching on respect for all life is critically important.
While secular media focuses on Catholic support for the unborn, our respect for life is not limited to one issue, one solution, or one stage of life. Catholic doctrine requires that we protect every life from whatever threatens it, whether it is abortion, malnutrition that prevents a person from thriving, racial or other discrimination that impacts access to resources or creates fear of physical or other harm, extreme poverty or violence that forces people to migrate from their home countries, medical interventions such as assisted suicide, barbaric punishments such as the death penalty, nuclear war, torture, gun violence, and threats to the natural environment which sustains all life.
Catholics in Washington state face many important choices that will impact human life this election season. As Pope Francis recently reminded us, our Church does not tell us how to vote. Rather, it asks us to spend time in prayerful discernment, informed by our social doctrine, as we each make our ballot selections. It isn’t easy to vote Catholic. But with our strong and consistent ethic of life and centuries of service to the poor and vulnerable, we bring much needed perspective to the table. As we enter the final weeks of the election, the WSCC encourages Catholic voters to visit wacatholics.org for resources to aid you in your prayerful preparation before you exercise your right to vote.
We also encourage Catholics to review the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' resources for Respect Life Month to assist us in understanding and valuing the gift of human life and engaging in the building of a culture that cherishes every human life. Visit respectlife.org/respect-life-month!
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