The congregation was smaller than usual, but the prayers were just as fervent during the Diocese of Cleveland’s annual Mass for Life on Jan. 22 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. Bishop Nelson Perez, the celebrant, was assisted by Auxiliary Bishop emeritus Roger Gries, two priest concelebrants and a deacon.
The liturgy was streamed live on the diocesan website for those who were unable to attend. (Click HERE to view the archived video.) And that included – as the bishop noted – young people from Catholic high schools across the eight-county diocese. Due to a major weekend snowstorm and frigid temperatures, schools were closed on Jan. 22. “They are with us in spirit,” he noted.
Bishop Perez said in the celebration of the Mass, “we offer the most perfect, the most powerful, most sublime prayer we can” on the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, which has been observed annually on Jan. 22, ever since the 1973 United States Supreme Court decision -- Roe v. Wade -- that legalized abortion across the country.
The bishop said we pray that the Lord will have mercy on us for crimes against human life. He said we also pray that our laws will change “to protect life from conception to natural death.”
“It’s not our place to play creator,” he said, noting that man has been tempted to do so since the time of Adam and Eve. He recalled how God told them to enjoy the Garden of Eden, but to stay away from one special tree. They did not, and ever since man has been nipping at that tree, he said.
“Curiosity killed the cat and almost did us in,” he said -- until God sent his son to be our savior.
With the Roe v. Wade decision, Bishop Perez said “we now decide what life is,” a situation he called “unthinkable. This is not for us to do,” he added.
“Five hundred years from now, our heresy will be radical subjectivism. I decide what is right and what is wrong; when life begins and ends; what I look like and how I behave and what marriage looks like,” the bishop said, adding that “we have stepped up to the mound and into the role of God.”
He said we are a country of laws, yet we don’t like being told what to do. “It’s a love-hate relationship,” he said, and as a result, we find ourselves in a situation where our laws make decisions that are not ours to make. “It is not our place to decide these things – it never was and it never will be,” he said, explaining that “God is the creator and we are not.”
Pope Francis tells us we are to be witnesses of life, therefore, elimination of human beings who have physical or mental deficiencies is wrong, the bishop said, adding that the Holy Father said there must be a value on all life. “Being Catholic entails a greater responsibility. We recognize God’s creative work from the moment of conception.”
Bishop Perez said there is hope that the needle is moving a little. He said some recent polls show even those who are pro-choice feel there should be some restrictions on things like abortion.
“There are signs of hope today and we must grab onto that hope,” he said.
After Mass, a Rosary for Life was prayed.