By US Conference of Catholic Bishops -
Photographer: COURTESY
Religious Freedom Week 2022: June 27: Pregnancy resource centers
WASHINGTON | Religious freedom allows the Church, and all religious communities, to live out their faith in public and to serve the good of all. Beginning June 22, the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, the USCCB invites Catholics to pray, reflect, and act to promote religious freedom.
The theme for Religious Freedom Week 2022 is Life and Dignity for All.
June 27: Pregnancy resource centers
Pray
That women facing unplanned pregnancies will continue to have access to support from people who help them choose life.
Reflect
Many women facing unexpected pregnancies may feel like they have no options and that abortion is the only way forward. How will I take care of this child? To whom will I turn for support? What will my family say? Understandably, they feel trapped. Pregnancy resource centers provide counseling and support for moms who want to choose life. In some places, though, abortion activists have sought to curtail the activities of these centers, working to force them to advertise abortion. In 2018, pregnancy resource centers in California successfully defended their work at the U.S. Supreme Court. But in places like Connecticut, for example, abortion activists show no signs of stopping their campaign against pregnancy resource centers. These centers support life and dignity for all. They are vital in our construction of a culture of life and removing a false choice between promoting the life of the mother and that of the child.
Act
We can support local pregnancy centers where they exist, through our time and our charity. And whether or not our communities have pregnancy centers, we can also find and share other resources with pregnant and parenting women. Walking with Moms in Need is a time of service in which Catholic parishes and communities “walk in the shoes” of local pregnant and parenting women in need. Everyone should know how to help moms in difficult circumstances. And where there are few local resources, we can create our own, based on the gifts of the parish community! Learn more at www.walkingwithmoms.com.
