Archbishop proclaims Sanctity of Life Sunday

Dear Friends in Christ:

This year, Sanctity of Human Life Sunday will be a day to promote respect for all human life in a special way. It will be a day for all of us to reflect on our own personal responsibility to defend, promote, and celebrate the sacredness of each human life.

The theme of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday will be "We are a people of life and for life." I ask each parish to plan ways to help celebrate this, our first annual Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, so that each parishioner can consider prayerfully his or her personal responsibility to defend and promote the sacredness of human life.

In the face of the growing number of abortions, the creeping acceptance of euthanasia, war and legislative initiatives to approve destructive research on human embryos, it is easy to lose heart. Faced with a culture of death, but trusting in the grace of God, and acting with faith, hope and charity, it is our personal responsibility to build a culture of life.

The first Sunday of October coincides with the International Life Chain, a prayerful witness to the sanctity of life. I encourage clergy and lay people to join local life chains throughout the archdiocese to be a positive witness to our belief in the inherent dignity and sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.

As Pope John Paul writes in his encyclical, The Gospel of Life, "No one single person or group has a monopoly on the defence and promotion of life. These are everyone's task and responsibility" (n. 91).

For more information, please contact John MacDonald of the Catholic Life Issues Committee at 469-1010.

May Our Lord bless you always.

Thomas Collins
Archbishop of Edmonton

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