Forty-seven years ago – on Jan. 22, 1973 – the United State Supreme Court legalized abortion with the Roe v Wade decision. Since then, an estimated 60 million abortions have been performed in the U.S.
On Jan. 22, Bishop Nelson Perez celebrated the annual Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Mass for Life in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. The liturgy was attended by faithful from across the eight-county diocese, including students representing Catholic high schools in the diocese. The Mass was streamed live – and is available for viewing – on the diocesan website.
“We gather first and foremost with a spirit of gratitude. We also gather with a spirit of sadness,” Bishop Perez said, noting the approximately 60 million abortions that have been performed since 1973.
“That’s sad because we human beings have done that. How could it happen?” the bishop asked. If a baby is born alive and killed, the person responsible would face criminal charges and penalties. However, in an abortion, it is legal to kill a baby in utero, he said.
To illustrate how this situation evolved, the bishop asked the congregation to take a look at his life going backwards.
“This is what I look like now at age 58,” he said. However, when he was ordained a priest 30 years ago, he said his hair was jet black and he weighed less. “But it was still me – Nelson.” Twenty years before that, he was a child – shorter, with black hair, not a priest, but “still Nelson.” And a decade before that, he was floating in his mother’s womb. It was a climate-controlled environment, he had everything he needed and not a care in the world, Bishop Perez quipped.
He said he looked nothing like he does now. At conception, he described himself as “A dot – a cell that looked nothing like me today. But in that little zygote was everything that’s me and is still here. I didn’t pick up any extra DNA along the way. In that powerful little zygote was everything I’ve ever become. So how can you say I wasn’t life, that it wasn’t me?” he asked.
The only way to justify something as horrific as an abortion is to say those cells weren’t a person, the bishop explained. “But in that conception it was me,” he added. As a result of legalized abortion, Bishop Perez said 60 million babies were killed and denied a chance to grow and develop.
“We need to pray,” he said.
Bishop Perez asked the congregation to reflect on original sin. He said God created the universe, the world and everything in it, including man and woman -- the only beings that were created in God’s image and likeness. Adam and Eve were given freedom in the garden but were told to stay away from one tree. However, they ignored the warning and made a bad choice that resulted in original sin, the bishop said. “But God loved them unconditionally, despite their sin, and thus began the story of salvation to restore the order that was broken.”
We must respect life in the womb, at the other end of the spectrum and all along the way, Bishop Perez said. “The greatest gift we have is the gift of life.”
He said we make decisions throughout our lives – some good and some bad. But the time of our conception and our death are two things that are not our decisions to make. “God doesn’t consult us. Life is a gift,” the bishop said.
Those at the Mass for Life gathered to recommit themselves to respect the dignity of life all along the way, Bishop Perez said. “It is up to us to respect our dignity and that given to others.”
He said the state is supposed to protect our rights – the dignity that flows from God.
“This is not a political issue – it’s a moral issue. It has nothing to do with politics; it has everything to do with our morality and the protection of our dignity and rights.”
He asked the congregation to pray for the protection of life and to pray for those who will be travelling to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 24 to participate in the National March for Life. He also said 40 Days for Life, an anti-abortion ministry, will take place once again during Lent – Feb. 26 through April 5.
“During Lent, we pray in a particular way for the protection of life and respect for the dignity of all life,” he added.
In addition to Bishop Perez, four priests concelebrated the Mass. Readings were done by an Elyria Catholic High School student and a Culture Project missionary. Another Culture Project missionary read the Universal Prayer.
After Mass, the congregation was invited to stay and pray a Rosary for Life.
Click HERE to read Bishop Perez’s message on the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, which was observed on Jan. 22.