‘Mary, Mother of Life’ is theme for 2026 Respect Life Month

As Respect Life Month gets underway, the diocesan Office for Human Life launched a resource page and Tony Dipre, office director, spoke at the kick-off rally for the annual 40 Days for Life fall campaign at St. John Vianney Parish in Mentor.

Dipre also said a contingent of students from Archbishop Hoban High School and Chesterton Academy, both in Akron, will travel to Columbus on Oct. 2 to participate in the Ohio March for Life. Oct. 4 is designated as Respect Life Sunday.

In his Sept. 21 presentation to 40 Days for Life, Dipre shared information on two important ministries in the diocese: Walking with Moms in Need (also called WWMIN) and the Gabriel Project, both of which support pregnant women, mothers, fathers and their children. He said the parish-based ministries embody Jesus’ example in the Gospel of seeing someone in need and offering help.

“Christ saw the person first. He saw someone who was a beautiful gift from God … That same outlook guides those called to serve in our Walking with Moms in Need and Gabriel Project ministries,” Dipre said.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops launched WWMIN in 2020 to mark the 25th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s encyclical, “Evangelium Vitae (the Gospel of Life).

In the Cleveland Diocese, there are eight active parish ministry teams: St. Mary, Wooster; St. Ambrose, Brunswick; St. Raphael, Bay Village; St. Christpher, Rocky River; St. Julie and St. Peter, North Ridgeville; St. Mary, Hudson; St. Joseph, Cuyahoga Falls and Holy Family, Stow. A ninth team, a collaborative effort among multiple parishes in Lake County, is being developed.

“Across our eight-county diocese, they form one unified mission serving any pregnant or parenting mother or father facing a challenging or unexpected situation,” Dipre said. “For us as a Church to witness fully and faithfully to the Gospel of Life – to embody our vocation of being pro-life – we cannot only voice our condemnation of the evil of abortion. We must, at the same time, be willing to extend our hands in support of those who feel as though abortion is their only option.”

He said the broader culture, referred to as a “culture of death” by Pope St. John Paul II and the “globalization of indifference” by Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV, reinforces individualism and choosing whatever seems easiest. “It convinces too many people that the way to deal with an unplanned pregnancy is to discard the life of the unborn,” Dipre added. Sometimes these decisions are shaped by difficult socioeconomic circumstances, he said, and having a person willing to give time and to journey alongside another will make a difference.

“Walking with Moms in Need and the Gabriel Project are all about seeing the person, not merely ‘the issue’ or the sin,” Dipre said. “That can lead to a powerful moment – not only for the person being helped, but also for the one helping.”

He encourages people to continue praying outside abortion clinics – or in their homes if that’s not possible – for the next 40 days. “Pray for more help and more volunteers. Share this ministry with the mothers, fathers and grandparents you encounter. If you have a business, service, skill or area of expertise that could be useful in serving others, consider sharing that gift … Volunteer to assist with the mission,” Dipre said. “You never quite know what the needs of a particular mother might be … We cannot do it all, but we can do something.”

In addition, the Catholic bishops of Ohio issued “A Renewed Commitment to a Culture of Life,” a pastoral letter on the protection of children in the womb and the accompaniment of women. They write that “Threats to human life and dignity require a coherent and compassionate public witness. The foundation of our Church’s social doctrine – that all human life from conception to natural death, possesses God-given dignity – counsels us vigorously to defend the unborn child, resist any efforts to legalize physician-assisted  and to work toward ending the use of the death penalty in our state.”

Read the entire letter here in English or Spanish.

The USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, chaired by Toledo Bishop Daniel Thomas, is also asking for prayer and action to help stop the spread of the abortion pill. Read the statement here in English or Spanish.