Utah Catholics join the National Day of Remembrance for abortion victims

Intermountain Catholic

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IC photo/Laura Vallejo

SALT LAKE CITY – A solitary monument just below the mausoleum in Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery pays silent tribute to the innocent victims of abortion.

It was around this monument that dozens of Catholics gathered on Sept. 14 to celebrate a Day of Remembrance. The event was organized by the Peace and Justice Ministry of Saint Ambrose Parish, but Catholics from all over the diocese participated in the service, which was one of more than 100 nationwide to mark the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.

The national event, held at the burial places of aborted babies and other memorial sites," serves as a powerful reminder of how abortion kills children," said Father Andrzej Skrzypiec, St. Ambrose pastor. "We pray for all our brothers and sisters in this great movement of justice. … We pray for people to fight the evil of abortion and in this memorial day we thank those who died for us," said Fr. Skrzypiec.

After the rosary was recited, Fr. Skrzypiec shared some thoughts about abortion.

"These children never got the chance to live in this world, but nevertheless God gave them the gift of life," he said. "Today, we come here to remind ourselves that abortion is an evil act. No matter how people diminish the gravity, how much they try to make it a controversial issue, it’s simply that it’s the killing of a human person."

Moral issues are always terribly complex, he said, but abortion is a sin. "Life is given by God, and entrusted to us to protect."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that conscience is "the interior voice of a human being, within whose heart the inner law of God is inscribed. Moral conscience is a judgment of practical reason about the moral quality of a human action. It moves a person at the appropriate moment to do good and avoid evil."

According to Fr. Skrzypiec, the pro-choice movement confuses people with the language they use.

"They based their arguments on three statements: human life, human being, and a person. … According to them, a fetus is human life but not a human person. A fetus is to be grown as a potential person, but is not a person. A fetus cannot be a person because it’s a part of another person; they say a person is a whole, not a part."

This is contrary to the Catholic belief that life begins at conception.

Fr. Skrzypiec continued, saying that in today’s world, people are defined by their abilities to function, which also is contrary to Catholic belief.

"Common sense distinguishes between what one is and what one does; being a person and functioning as a person. ... One cannot function as a person without being a person, but one can be a person and not able to function as one; for example, when we are in a coma, in early infancy, in the womb…," he said.

"Abortion is simply wrong. Hopefully, our future generations – because of your efforts and our efforts – will clearly communicate that abortion is simply wrong. We all deserve to live with dignity, and respect the sanctity of life," said Fr. Skrzypiec.