January 16, 2009

Wanted: Your participation in campaign to oppose federal abortion rights legislation

Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein is asking Catholics in central and southern Indiana to participate in a nationwide pro-life letter, postcard and telephone campaign on Jan. 24-25 to oppose federal abortion rights legislation pending in Congress.

The campaign is the result of action taken by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops during their annual fall meeting in November, when they unanimously voted to initiate a pro-life campaign to prevent the passage of the proposed “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA).

“This radical pro-abortion legislation would make abortion a fundamental right that would eliminate all existing pro-life laws and policies that have been enacted since 1973, the year the U.S. Supreme Court issued Roe v. Wade,” Archbishop Buechlein emphasized in a Dec. 3 letter to pastors and parish life coordinators of archdiocesan parishes.

“We need to keep in mind that FOCA would have devastating effects on our Catholic hospitals and social service agencies,” the archbishop explained. “Establishing abortion as a fundamental right precludes individuals and groups from exercising their right to freedom of religion and freedom of conscience.”

Servants of the Gospel of Life Sister Diane Carollo, director of the archdiocesan Office for Pro-life Ministry, has distributed factual information to parishes for participants to use when calling and writing letters or postcards to President-elect Barack Obama and members of Congress.

This information is also available on the archdiocesan pro-life office’s Web site at www.archindy.org/prolife.

The National Committee for a Human Life Amendment, on behalf of the U.S. bishops, distributed the pro-life postcard campaign materials to every diocese in the country. †

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