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This is the text of remarks made by Archbishop John F. Donoghue
on the steps of the Georgia Capitol Jan. 22, 2001 for the Georgia Right to Life
rally, “Together for Life 2001.” His homily at the Mass for the
Unborn which preceded the rally will be published in an upcoming edition of The
Georgia Bulletin.
Dear Friends,
Today, we have gathered here, on the steps of our state Capitol,
to mark the 28th anniversary of a sad day in the history of our
country—the day on which the Supreme Court of this land, cut into the
Constitution we hold sacred, and wrenched from its previously inviolate
sanctuary, a right that did not exist—a right that was born in judicial
double-talk, and the selfish desires of a few, who would place convenience and
freedom from trouble above the most scared of all rights—the right to
life. A new right was invented—the right to choose to murder children in
the womb. And no matter what they called it then—no matter what they call
it now—this so-called right to choice is no right at all—it is a
license, a certification by the state, to carry out the most heinous crime
known to any human civilization—the murder of helpless children, because
they are too much trouble—and the place sanctioned for this murder, the
most sacred of all places—the womb of a mother. It remains beyond the
ability of most people to understand, how any one could countenance these acts
of murder, and call them rights, and defend them as if something good or noble
or sacred was involved in their struggle.
And yet, today, after 23 years and millions of deaths, this
license is still protected by the force of law—and though legitimate polls
and samplings show time after time, that most people are against abortion on
demand, and though when asked about late-term abortion these numbers swell to
even greater proportions, the murders go on, the butchers continue their
killing for profit, the shame of our country deepens, and the judgement of God
and history weighs ever more severe, over the state to which we have fallen.
It is before that all-seeing God, that we gather today—for
whether we are Christian, Jew, Moslem, Buddhist or Hindu —whether our
doctrine and our theology springs from Scripture, the Koran, or the wisdom of
the East—we all know, we all acknowledge, we all confess, that we are
here, that we live, by the grace of Him whom we all can call truly, the Lord,
the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life. And we all know the profound depth of His
ways, which are beyond human reckoning, and whose purpose is further than we
can see or imagine.
So let us pray, with all our hearts dear friends, that the God,
whom we all know, whom we all trust, and to whom we look for grace and
salvation, has finally given us a ray, a glimmer of hope—hope that the
thoughts and feelings of our country are turning at last, from the horror which
we have been living through; and that a real change, a turning, a new
willingness to confront the deep evil of abortion, has helped to bring about
the election of the man who is now our President, George W. Bush.
We have many indications of this man’s feelings on the crime
of abortion. It now becomes our duty—in the public forum, by our debates,
our letters, and our votes, certainly— but it also now becomes our duty in
the greater realm of prayer, to concentrate our good will, to pray for George
W. Bush, to ask God, the great Giver of Life, to give this man courage,
boldness and wisdom—for it may be by his hands, by his determination, by
his faith, that the tide will be turned, and the day of our deliverance be seen
at last. It may be by executive decision, it may be by the pressure of
legislative initiatives, it may be by the appointment of the right man or woman
to our highest court, that the change will come. We cannot know the future, but
we can implore our God, to turn the future back to the glory of the past—a
past when this land was known, not as a place where the death of children was a
commonplace daily event, but rather, as a land where all enjoyed the protection
of the law, and where the churches and the good will of the people, were ready
to step in and save children, when parents went astray.
Dear friends, may God plant this vision in the heart of our new
president; and let us enhance the grace of God, by letting our president know,
exactly where we stand on the issue, and by letting him know that we will
support him in the actions he takes on behalf of life. For it is certain, that
God, who has given us life, has also given us this earth to work out the ways
of our own free will—and it is equally certain that He will judge us, as
individuals and as a nation, on how we loved one another while we lived, and
especially, on how we loved those who were helpless and innocent.
Let us pray, therefore, that this day, this year, this new
administration, be remembered ever after, as the time when our country, our
beloved country, the United States of America, returned to its senses, and cast
out, once and for all, the evil of legalized abortion that came upon us in
1973.
And let us ask God’s blessing and strength for our new
president, as he faces the great challenges before him, especially the
challenge of restoring the rights of the unborn. These favors we ask today,
from the Lord, the Giver of Life, whose justice is perfect, and whose mercy is
everlasting. |
