Following the Supreme Court’s June 24 overturning of the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade decision that virtually guaranteed the right to abortion on demand, Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory said that while the faithful should “rejoice in this latest step in our journey,” they must remember “we still have more to do to advance the dignity of human life.”
After the Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the cardinal called on people to ensure “the full range of life issues are adequately addressed” because “human life is precious and sacred.”
That “full range of life issues,” the cardinal said, includes not only outreach to pregnant women with better availability of pre- and post-natal care for children and mothers, but also advocating for affordable child care and safe schools, and advancing policies that support mothers in school and in the workforce.
“We must also recognize that a life-affirming ethic should also draw attention to a host of other areas that should be of great concern to humanity,” Cardinal Gregory said in a statement issued the day of the Supreme Court's ruling. “This includes revoking the death penalty and caring for the imprisoned; addressing all forms of injustice, including racism; caring for the poor, the sick, elderly, and vulnerable; and advancing a greater recognition of our calling in the entire spectrum of human relationships.”
That all-encompassing view is the Church’s “seamless garment” approach to pro-life teaching, said Msgr. John Enzler, the president and CEO of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. In using the term “seamless garment,” Msgr. Enzler was quoting the late Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin who coined that phrase in the 1980s to describe a consistent ethic of Catholic pro-life teaching and who was a mentor to Cardinal Gregory when Washington’s future archbishop served as a priest and auxiliary bishop in his native Chicago.
“Being homeless is a life issue. Being hungry is a life issue. Being shot on the street is a life issue. Racism is a life issue. The death penalty is a life issue. Assisted suicide is a life issue,” Msgr. Enzler said. “They are all life issues... As Catholics we believe that life begins at conception and ends at natural death, so we want to stand and say, ‘Let us protect all life. Always.’”
In its June 24 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, the Supreme Court found that a “constitutional right” to an abortion is not supported by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and that “it is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
“In Maryland and the District, abortion will still be available on demand,” Msgr. Enzler said. “For women who are dealing with pregnancy issues, we must be with them before, during and after the birth of their child to help them.”
Abortion is legal and readily available in the jurisdictions that comprise The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington – the city of Washington, D.C. and the five surrounding Maryland counties of Montgomery, Prince George’s, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s.
Msgr. Enzler noted that Catholic Charities operates Sanctuaries for Life, a pregnancy support program based in Silver Spring, Maryland that offers medical, emotional and spiritual assistance to women who face unplanned pregnancies. The program makes available affordable prenatal and labor delivery care, and links to other support services such as food, rent and utility assistance and more.
“I believe very few people want to have an abortion, but they find themselves in a situation that is untenable and they need our comfort and care and concern,” Msgr. Enzler said. “Everyone who comes to us deserves dignity, respect and love, and we want to be a source of comfort, compassion, love and support to anyone who comes our way.”
Msgr. Enzler also pointed out being pro-life means reaching out to those who have had an abortion, which is done in the archdiocese’s Project Rachel post-abortion healing ministry.
“I know there is a lot of pain and hurt and struggle out there. If you believe life begins at conception, it is very hard to consider ever having an abortion,” Msgr. Enzler said. “However, we have to let women who have made that choice know they are still loved by the Church and they are still loved by God.”
That call to support women, including those who have had an abortion, was echoed by Kathryn Yanik, the director of life issues for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
“Some of the most important work we do in the pro-life movement is encountering these women and walking with them in what are sometimes the most difficult parts of their lives,” she said. “That includes women facing crisis and unplanned pregnancies and those dealing with post-abortion healing. We need to accompany women after abortion as well.”
“We need to pick up the work of supporting pregnant women, supporting children and families that started decades ago and amplify it if possible,” she added. “We can build on that work by focusing on the unique properties of the Catholic Church that we can contribute: a strong sense of community and dialogue.”
Yanik said that while the local governments that comprise the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington support the right to access abortion services, there is still pro-life action that Catholics can support.
“In Maryland and D.C., the pro-life legislation that we can support is affordable health care, extended maternity leave, child care and anything that opposes violence, including gun violence in our communities, (or opposes) domestic violence and racism,” she said.
She said the Catholic Church faces “an incredibly unique time where we can build up stronger communities, offer holistic support to women and children and families and dialogue with one another to build up the culture of life.”
“We often talk about protecting innocent life, but that is not just what we are all about,” she said. “We are about protecting all life. Abortion is only one instance of violence in our culture. It is an important one, but not the only one that contributes to our throw-away culture.”
Yanik said the archdiocese is “taking action and expanding our action” in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. She noted that on the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s homepage there is a list of “life affirming services.” The site can be accessed at https://adw.org/life-affirming-initiatives/
She said the Dobbs decision “is our opportunity as a Church to recognize the services we are able to provide and challenge ourselves to do better. It is more than anything else a call for action for us. Our faith calls us to both prayer and action. We can’t have one without the other.”
