Post-Election Reflections: The Change We Need the Most

As Cardinal George recently said, our country is "drenched" in the blood of the innocents.

DALLAS, TX (Catholic Pro-Life Committee) - After many long months and millions of prayers offered across our country, the presidential and congressional elections have been decided.

We of course are feeling tremendous disappointment that the most pro-abortion candidate ever to run for president has been elected. With the many prayers offered to God begging "for a miracle" when so many conditions were stacked against the pro-life presidential candidate's chances - foremost the pendulum swing between incumbent administrations that has occurred consistently throughout U.S. history - some of us might be asking why God didn't grant us the miracle we so earnestly sought so that unborn children would have a greater chance of being protected.

No, God did not grant the miracle we sought. But that doesn't mean He and Our Lady did not hear our prayers! I remember being taught growing up that God has a perfect will and a permissive will. I don't believe it is God's perfect will for someone who not only believes in no restrictions on "abortion rights" but who also voted against protecting babies who survive abortions (i.e., supports infanticide!) to be the leader of our country. As Cardinal Egan said so clearly about the precious unborn and pro-abortion politicians on August 26: "They are not parts of their mothers, and what they are depends not at all upon the opinions of theologians of any faith. Anyone who dares to defend that they may be legitimately killed because another human being 'chooses' to do so or for any other equally ridiculous reason should not be providing leadership in a civilized democracy worthy of the name." (emphasis added)

I agree with the Cardinal wholeheartedly. Support for the intrinsic evil of the killing of unborn children is a disqualifier, and we must continue to work toward a just society where all people, and especially those whom we elect, will be for the legal protection of human life and not its destruction.

As Cardinal George recently said, our country is "drenched" in the blood of the innocents. We are in a state of moral crisis, having killed 48 million of our young during the last 35 years, with nearly 4,000 dying again today. Pope John Paul II said that "the condition for our survival as a society" depends on restoring legal protection to the unborn; Pope Benedict XVI said that "guaranteeing the right to life is a duty upon which the future of humanity depends."

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These are the sobering, prophetic words of our Holy Fathers, the Vicars of Christ! And so we have to ask, "How much longer do we have, at this rate? How many more babies have to die before we 'get it'?" Based on President-elect Obama's statements on his absolute commitment to abortion rights and securing Roe v. Wade on the Supreme Court "permanently," and for overturning all restrictions that have been placed on abortion over the last 35 years through the passage of the Freedom of Choice Act, why, we might be asking, didn't we receive the miracle to abate this intrinsic evil?

We know in faith that God will make all things work for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). As hard as it is to imagine, it seems that we have not yet "hit bottom," and perhaps we will have to experience an even darker night of the American soul before we as a nation - and a Church - will wake up to the reality of the holocaust with which we are coexisting. Is it possible that things have to get even worse before they can get better so that the killing of the unborn will come to a stop - which it must for our survival? It's beyond our comprehension. Yet, In God We Must Trust.

God has permitted President-elect Obama to be selected through the free will of 52% of the American electorate. He is our new president, and we are obligated to pray for him. We must pray for him, with sincere hearts. (1 Tim 2:1-2)

President-elect Obama ran on a theme of "Change We Need." But what he has failed to grasp is that the Change We Need the Most in our country is the restoration of the legal protection of unborn children. The greatest Change We Need is for our country to no longer legally kill our young. Let us pray fervently for President-elect Obama's conversion from his commitment to the intrinsic evil of abortion. Perhaps the greater miracle would be President-elect Obama's enlightenment that abortion kills African-American babies at a disproportionate rate, and through his conversion and the power of his office he could lead the way to not only save their lives through the law but also the lives of all million unborn children killed each year in our country. Let us pray!

And as we pray for this miraculous conversion, we, too, will have to make changes in how we work toward bringing about the Change We Need the Most - the end of the American abortion holocaust - the preeminent intrinsic evil and defining moral issue of our day. It is time for all Catholics to engage in the battle for the protection of the rights of the unborn, and to defend their lives from death even as we seek their legal protection. To be Catholic is to be pro-life. Pope John Paul II said in Evangelium Vitae, paragraph 28: "...we are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the 'culture of death' and the 'culture of life.' We find ourselves not only 'faced with' but necessarily 'in the midst of' this conflict: we are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life. For us too Moses' invitation rings out loud and clear: 'See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. ...I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live'" (Dt 30:15, 19).

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What more shall we do? I believe there are several additional concrete things that we must do as we go forward. As hierarchy, clergy, and laity, we must find new ways to work together to protect life, the highest priority for our survival as a society. I believe that together we must break open and study Pope John Paul II's Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), to truly grasp the magnitude of the problem and each of our responsibility toward it. To bring an end to the holocaust, we must have a greater unity and a wider effort on the parish, diocesan, state, and national level. The Pope said we are ALL involved and we ALL share in it - we mustn't relegate the responsibility to end the holocaust to "those working in the pro-life movement." To be Catholic is to be pro-life. To be human is to be pro-life!

Each of us, not just a few of us, is called to oppose anti-life policies. We are all called to do more to educate and persuade our fellow citizens on the reality of the evil of abortion, and do all that we can to help turn our society back to one that respects God's perfect plan that the sacredness of sexual intimacy is to be reserved for marriage only, so that babies are conceived in the sacredness of the marital embrace. While we work for that restoration, we must all be involved in supporting mothers who are experiencing an "unplanned pregnancy" so that the idea of aborting their babies will truly become "unthinkable." On the national level, pro-life leaders are also networking and discussing ways to unify our efforts in these regards to work more effectively toward achieving the goals we must achieve.

Yes, we are disappointed with what appears will be a major setback in our efforts over the last 35 years due to a pro-abortion administration, but we are not deterred. Our mission has not changed - we continue to pray and work for the Change We Need the Most. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and the goal that still lies ahead, redoubling our prayers - especially for the conversion of our elected officials who support death - redoubling our efforts, pressing on, faithful to our Lord and the teachings of His Church, building a culture of life so the killing will stop and our society will survive.

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Karen Garnett is the Executive Director of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee, the Respect Life Ministry of the Diocese of Dallas