In 1970, a woman named Norma McCorvey started down a path
no one had ever taken in life…
and found herself in the midst of a journey she never expected…
with an ending she never could have predicted.
Norma McCorvey was the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit,
which challenged the laws making abortion illegal in the State of Texas.
The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court,
which handed down its controversial decision on January 22, 1973,
making abortion legal in all 50 of the United States.
This is the famous Roe vs. Wade case…
and Norma McCorvey is “Jane Roe,”
the pseudonym she assumed to remain anonymous.
As a result of this case…
abortion on demand is now available throughout the United States.
But the story does not end there.
When her involvement in the Supreme Court case went public,
she did some public speaking, becoming a bit if a celebrity.
In 1995, she was working in a so-called “women’s clinic” in Dallas…
and had a reputation as a “hard-core abortion rights advocate.”
Along the way, in chats on their smoke breaks…
she became friends with the director of Operation Rescue,
a pro-life organization,
which had opened an office next door to the “clinic.”
The man was also a minister, and he began to discuss Christianity with Norma.
After some time, she accepted an invitation to attend church with her new friends.
After experiencing the warm welcome of the community,
and hearing the teachings of Christ…
she was converted to Christianity.
Norma later renounced her ties to abortion rights activism.
She is now a national speaker in support of the pro-life cause,
and a sign of hope for all who work in defense of human life.
The grace of the Holy Spirit
transformed Norma from a persecutor of the unborn…
into a spirited defender of the sacredness of human life.
Her conversion is a sign to us all of what God can accomplish
through the life of one person.
God, in His goodness, works through the lives of men and women…
through the life of the Church…
to bring about the conversion of the world to Himself.
Through the Church…
and through the witness of people like Norma McCorvey…
God is continually calling people back to the truth
about the dignity and sacredness of each and every human life.
Every life is sacred in the eyes of God…without exception…
and this includes the poor…the soldiers at war…those in prison…
and especially the innocent unborn.
Since the earliest days of the Church…
in an ancient document from the second century called the Didache…
and until this very day…
the Church has continually taught that abortion…
because of the very action itself…
and regardless of the circumstances…
is always evil.
The forgotten truth about abortion…
is that the evil it causes is not limited to the death of a child.
Abortion affects us all.
Our Epistle today comes from the Letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
Paul himself was a vicious persecutor of Christians…
until the Lord touched his heart,
and transformed him into an instrument of His will.
He writes that if one member of the Church suffers, all the members suffer.
The loss of any member of the Church causes the whole body to suffer.
Indeed, the loss of any human life causes suffering throughout the world.
Abortion affects all those who come in contact with it.
The suffering and trauma which women experience after having an abortion…
the guilt and sorrow that the men in their lives feel…
the pain which tears apart families…
is immeasurable.
I once saw a t-shirt worn by a pro-life supporter…
black shirt that simply read in white letters:
“Abortion hurts women.”
That is the painful truth of abortion.
The good news is that vast networks of counselors and ministers are springing up…
whose charisms are to offer support to traumatized men and women…
to offer retreats and counseling…
to heal the wounds caused by abortion…
and to show women that there are other, much healthier and safer options.
Since abortion is sadly so common these days…
there is a good chance that some of you have experienced its effects…
in your families or among your friends.
If this is so…
know with absolute certainty…
that God loves you…and the Church loves you…
and that the Church cares for those who suffer.
Someone famous once said…
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
Abortion is evil…and it is slowly triumphing…
so what are we going to do about it?
We can start by praying.
Pray the Rosary, and ask Mary to convert the hearts of all men and women…
to see and embrace the truth about the sanctity of human life…
just as the heart of Norma McCorvey was converted.
When you come to Mass…
come a little early and pray to Jesus present in the Tabernacle…
asking Him to comfort those who suffer.
Pray constantly that the world will once again respect the dignity of all human life.
Second, we can witness to the truth of our faith.
Each year on the anniversary Roe vs. Wade…
hundreds of thousands of people from across America…
travel to Washington, DC, for an even called the “March for Life.”
Perhaps some of you have participated.
If not, I strongly encourage you to consider doing so.
I will be leaving Sunday afternoon for Washington…
to participate in the evening Mass at the BNSIC…
and the March on Monday afternoon.
I ask you to join we me in spirit in these days,
as we together as God to protect the innocent unborn…
and inspire a love for life in the hearts of all people.
In our own Diocese, and in nearby cities…
there are opportunities to join with others for peaceful witness and prayer
outside abortion clinics.
Yesterday, people gathered, as they do every Saturday,
near the clinic on Market Street in Youngstown,
for prayer and witness.
Monsignor Siffrin celebrated the diocesan Mass for Life at Saint Dominic’s,
which was attended by people from throughout the diocese.
Thirdly, we can allow our faith in the sanctity of human life
to inform our consciences as we participate in our political process.
These are all ways in which each of us
can take a real stance in defense of human life.
Estimates suggest that…
in the 34 years since the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe vs. Wade…
over 40 million abortions have occurred in the United States.
In this country…
where the right to life…and liberty…and the pursuit of happiness…
are allegedly our foundation…
roughly 3,700 abortions now occur every day.
Imagine if the cure for cancer was meant to be found in the 1980s…
but the doctor was aborted.
Imagine if great symphonies were mean to be composed…
to rival the work of Beethoven and Mozart…
and great works of art comparable only to Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel…
but the artists and composers were taken through abortion.
Imagine how many priests and religious…perhaps even bishops…
we will never see ordained…
because abortion claimed their tiny lives.
We will never know the answers…
Difficult as this may be to hear…these are the facts.
This is part of the reality of our world that we have to face.
Last week we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King.
His famous “I have a dream” speech included this line…
“I have a dream that one day…little black boys and little black girls
will be able to join hands with little white boys and little white girls
as sisters and brothers.”
Dr. King is celebrated as a man who recognized the dignity of the human person…
despite what they looked like.
I have confidence that if he were alive today…
he would tell us to respect the unborn little boys and girls too…
for they surely cannot hold hands as brothers and sisters…
if they cannot even have a chance to live.
Interestingly, Dr. King’s niece…Dr. Alveda King…
is a pastoral associate for the organization Priests for Life.
Dr. King loved life…
and he would want us to do all we can to witness to its sanctity.
With love in our hearts…
may we go forth strengthened by this Eucharist…
to pray constantly that the whole world may come to cherish life…
and to give witness to the dignity of each and every human person.
Saint Gianna Molla,
Pray for us!
Holy Mary, mother of the unborn…
Pray for us!
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