RESPECT LIFE MINISTRY
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” –Isaiah 49:16
Respect Life Ministry reflects the Church's firm conviction of the dignity of each and every human life at all stages and helps to bring about a conversion of heart and mind for all to be open to God's special gift of life.
Respect Life Ministry is dedicated to transforming today’s culture of death into a culture of life. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, The Gospel of Life, provides hope and inspiration in the promotion of respect for all life, from fertilization to natural death. The American Bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities: A Campaign in Support of Life provides a framework for the ministry, following the Catholic tradition of prayer, study/education, and action—including pastoral care and legislative advocacy.
Respect Life Ministry focuses on life and death issues involving the beginning of life, end of life, the death penalty, and legislative action on the parish, diocesan, state and national levels.
Throughout the year St. Therese Church is involved in several Respect Life events, including the May Crib Project and the May Baby Bottle Drive (both of which provide diapers, clothing, etc., to the local Pregnancy Help Centers), the 40 Days for Life, and the annual Respect Life Month every October.
For more information about becoming involved, call the Coordinator, Catherine Contreras, at (323) 435-3942.
For information about Guadalupe Pregnancy Services (GPS), click on the link to the left (under RESPECT LIFE MINISTRY).
RESPECT LIFE QUOTES
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"We are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the "culture of death" and the "culture of life." We find ourselves not only "faced with" but necessarily "in the midst of" this conflict: we are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life." (#28) ... "It is impossible to further the common good without acknowledging and defending the right to life, upon which all the other inalienable rights of individuals are founded and from which they develop." (#101) --Pope John Paul II - The Gospel of Life
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"Restoring respect for human life in our society is an essential task of the Church that extends through all its institutions, agencies, and organizations and embraces diverse tasks and goals...Actively promoting a renewed respect for human life is the responsibility of every Catholic." --United States Bishops' Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities: A Campaign in Support of Life
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"The failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the "rightness" of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community. If we understand the human person as the "temple of the Holy Spirit" -- the living house of God -- then these latter issues fall logically into place as the crossbeams and walls of that house. ... All direct attacks on innocent human life, such as abortion and euthanasia, strike at the house's foundation. These directly and immediately violate the human person's most fundamental right -- the right to life. Neglect of these issues is the equivalent of building our house on sand." --Living the Gospel of Life - A Challenge to American Catholics #23 -
A statement by the Catholic Bishops of the United States
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