Celebrant: Confident that God listens to our needs, we present our prayers and petitions in faith.
Deacon/Lector:
C2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person -- among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you" (Jer 1:5; cf Job 10:8-12; Ps 22:10-11). "My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth" (Ps. 139:15).
2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law: "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish" (Didache 2, 2).
The readings of today bring us to the heart of two key principles of our Faith that undergird our pro-life commitment to defend the unborn, and all the marginalized.
The first is that of "integral salvation." The Church does not only seek the "salvation of souls;" rather, it's about the salvation of the human person, in body and soul, including all human relationships and institutions. This is made very clear in the "Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church." Defending human rights, and creating a just social order in which those rights are protected, is therefore at the heart of the Church's mission. It is not some kind of political "add-in" to that mission. Stopping the dismemberment of children is part of promoting integral salvation. Our Lord reveals the integral salvation he comes to bring through his healing of the deaf (Gospel reading) as was foretold by the prophets (First reading).
The second principle is that of non-discrimination, which the second reading brings into clear light. Today, the legal status of the unborn in America is different from any other group of people, because, as Roe vs. Wade said, "The word person as used in the Fourteenth Amendment does not include the unborn." It is, essentially, a policy of exclusion and marginalization, and today's second reading makes it clear that such a stance has no room in a Christian heart or a Christian society.