From Archbishop Donoghue

Mass for the Unborn
January 22, 1994
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
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[See Georgia Bulletin account]

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today we come together to offer this Mass on behalf of the millions of infants who have died, and who will die today, tomorrow, and indeed, who will die indefinitely, because of abortion - millions of children who have been rejected by the mother and father who did not hesitate to create them - millions of children who have been, in politically correct English, “assisted” to their deaths by the nurses and doctors of abortion agencies, who do not hesitate to take the fee and prosper by their murderous acts - millions of children who have gone to their graves unattended by friends, and unmourned by their families, disposed of by a society that can turn its back on the most pitiable and heart-wrenching of circumstances, the death of a child.

We know where these millions of souls are because we have the comforting wisdom of Scripture, and the word of the prophets who tell us:

As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. . .
(they) are in the hand of God, and
no torment shall touch them.

And the Catechism of our Church teaches that we entrust these children to the great mercy of God, and to the tenderness of our Lord, who often called children to Himself, and who in the Gospel, displays a profound love for children, as we have heard today.

But let us be honest - we live on this side of the veil - it is our destiny not to have died at the beginning of our lives - we live on, and the innocence of youth, which we may still carry within our hearts, now must take its place beside the darker emotions of maturity and experience. We are blessed by the assurance of a divine reward for these millions of souls lost in the murderous madness of our times. But we are not mollified - we are not made content by this assurance - we are still enraged, our hearts rise up in just indignation, our moral sense is affronted by the destruction of innocent human life which goes on and on, and which the abortionists insist that we accept as a normal part of everyday American life.

But I read your hearts, and I say that this is not to be so - that the cause of human life is not to be laid by, or put off to a later day, or compromised in any way whatsoever - and the agents who would have it so must contend with our righteous anger and our stubborn wills. For we have the Word of God taught with the authority of the true Church on our side. Listen to these words of Pope Pius XI, writing in his great encyclical on marriage, Casti conubii.

Those who hold the reins of government should not forget that it is the duty of public authority by appropriate laws and sanctions to defend the lives of the innocent, and this all the more so since those whose lives are endangered and assailed cannot defend themselves. Among whom we must mention in the first place infants hidden in the mother’s womb.

And if the public magistrates not only do not defend them, but by their laws and ordinances betray them to death at the hands of doctors or of others, let them remember that God is the Judge and Avenger of innocent blood which cried from earth to Heaven.

My friends, on December 24th, the Eve of Christmas, the eve of the birth of man’s only hope for eternal life, the sitting president of these United States announced that his administration wold produce regulations requiring states to pay for abortions for women who claim they are pregnant because of rape or incest, or if they believe their health would suffer if they carried their babies to term. These regulations, which would effectively erase whatever power is left in the Hyde Amendment, are meant to pave the way for what will come in the National Health Care Plan. Now I am not here to try and explain to you all of the details of legislation involved in these moves, nor could I, in good conscience, interfere with your personal responsibilities as American citizens.

But I can encourage you to believe in the law of God, and to base your life on that law - and I can tell you that the law of God supersedes all other law, and that societies live best when they live in harmony with the divine law. I can also encourage you to make your beliefs known to those people who write the law of our land. This week-end, we observe National Project Life Sunday, an effort sponsored by the bishops of the United States. Please take the time to write your senators and your representative in Congress, and let them know how you feel about any attempt to fund abortions with your tax dollars. And please encourage those of your acquaintances who are like-minded to do the same. We must use our vote to remind those who attempt to govern that what is at stake here is not the right of an individual to do what he or she wants - what is at stake here is the existence of this nation, and the existence of its families, and the existence of its ideals, so beautifully framed in a constitution which guarantees its citizens “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

My friends, all around us there are important meetings of governmental boards taking place - political scientists and statisticians muddle over the percentages, theorists create so many possibilities that befuddlement seems to be informed debate, and politicians seem to answer without answering at all the question that plagues our society - “Why are our children killing us?” And yet, there is but one answer: They are killing us, because we are killing them.”

Today, at this Mass, in union with millions of like-minded Catholics, who gather at thousands of Masses across this country, let us renew our commitment to the battle for life. Let us implore God to send us the grace we need to open the eyes of so many of our friends and countrymen who have lost the fear of God, who have put by the love of their neighbor, and who have fallen into the vortex of moral decay. Without this grace we are doomed, but with it, ours can be the confidence of David, who stepped up, and with all his strength cried out to the enemies of God:

. . . I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts. . . The Lord, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will also keep me safe. . . For the battle is the Lord’s. . .

Truly, my friends, the battle is the Lord’s, and so too will be the victory. And when that day comes, in the words of Psalm 126, our mouths will be filled with laughter, our tongues with rejoicing, and we will go before the nations, and happily declare, The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad indeed.

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