A Note from Fr. Mike Hall

The overwhelming nature of the Carnival here at St. Gregory the Great has made commenting on current events difficult, and to do so flippantly or without reflection would be an injustice to a significant occasion in the history of our nation.

We all know about the Supreme Court rulings released on June 24 (and first heard about over a month ago) overturning Roe v. Wade and upholding laws restricting abortion in the State of Mississippi. I am not an expert in constitutional law so I will leave those details to people who are experts in that arena. I echo Bishop O’Connell's statement. This is the decision that many hoped for as they marched and prayed for decades. However, as with anything of this nature, there are many things to reflect upon.

Of course, we rejoice anytime a decision is made that protects and respects the dignity of human life, and those moments cannot pass by without acknowledgment.

It is abundantly clear, that the divisions in our nation over this and many other issues are not going away. I was moved by a priest on social media over the weekend who said something along the lines of this: “We rejoice at the protection of human life that comes about due to this ruling, but we also pray for those who find themselves in a dark cloud of despair after seeing what we know to be false hope, taken away.”

We live in a state in which this decision will have little to no effect on actual practice when it comes to attacks on human life, in particular, access to abortion services. There is in fact a chance that the practice, with our very permissive legislature, will be encouraged to increase.

Legislation can only do so much, we still have a lot of work to do. If we believe that this is the end of our responsibility as a Church, we are sorely mistaken. We must recommit ourselves to care for children, for families, for women’s healthcare, and for those in poverty. We must remedy every aspect of our society that leads people to believe that an action like abortion is the only way to deal with the difficulties life has placed in front of them.

As Deacon John DiLissio said in his homily last weekend: “We have to learn how to combat evil without resorting to evil ourselves.” We must be people of light, compassion, prayer, concern, charity, forgiveness, and understanding.

Make no mistake, what happened on Friday, is an important moment in the history of respect for human life in our nation, but it is just that, a step. As a Church and as a people, our work is far from over. However, we are confident that God will grant us the grace to follow through with that work, as long as we remain open to the gifts he gives us.

posted 6/30/22