Mar 3, 2010

Our bishops have said all dioceses must make every Jan. 22 a day of penance for abortions

Yes, you read that right. And they said that in 2001. Here's what went down.

Ole Q has learned that Cardinal Francis George of Chicago wrote all his pastors on the last day of 2009 to ask them to hold right to life observances in their parishes on or around January 22, the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's heinous abortion ukase.

Look at what is in this excerpt from Cardinal George's December 31, 2009, letter to his pastors:

"...my brother bishops and I in 2001 received permission from the Holy See to make the following adaptations to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal:

"In all the dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when the 22nd falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life.

"The Mass 'For Peace and Justice'... should be celebrated with violet vestments as an appropriate liturgical observance for this day... On January 22, a 'day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life' will be mandatory in the dioceses of the U.S...."

(Okay, so it was Ole Q who put the bishops' words "shall" and "mandatory" in bold face.)

The cardinal also asked his pastors to make sure they arrange things so that "intercessory prayers, bulletin information, and homilies at all Masses that weekend focus on abortion and post-abortion healing."

Finally, Cardinal George said this to his pastors:

"I hope that every parish will offer a Holy Hour for Life or some form of prayerful activity around the January 22 date... Now is also a good time to identify a volunteer in your parish to serve as your Parish Respect Life Coordinator if you do not already have one. My hope is that every parish in the Archdiocese will have an active Respect Life Committee.
"

Wouldn't it be great to see all this happen in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles?

4 Comments:

Blogger Bob said...

It would be good to see it happen in the diocese of San Jose, too -- where expensively-printed postcards touting "comprehensive immigration reform" appeared in churches last Sunday, yet nary a peep is heard through most of the year about abortion.

11:21 PM  
Blogger Quintero said...

Dear Bob,

Thank you for the news about the Diocese of San Jose.

As we know, "...nary a peep is heard through most of the year about abortion" is the tragic and disgraceful norm almost everywhere in U.S. Catholic churches.

4:57 PM  
Blogger Joe of St. Thérèse said...

I know at my parish we had exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and a Mass of reparation for Jan 22

I was out of town, so i didn't have the cnance to post on that.

10:58 AM  
Blogger Quintero said...

Dear Joe of St. Therese,

Thank you for the good news about your parish's Mass and Adoration in reparation for Jan. 22.

And thanks as always for being a faithful friend of this blog spot!

2:31 PM  

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