Dear Parish Family,

I want to wish you all a very Happy Labor Day. As disciples of Christ, we are entrusted with the indispensable work of leading our families into a deeper relationship with Christ and His Church. May this Labor Day refresh us and help us to recommit to this privilege of co-laboring with Christ and His Church.

We are gearing up for what may be the most important constitutional vote in our lifetime this November. Entrusted with the task of upholding the dignity of the human person from conception through natural death, all people of good will have a moral duty to vote NO on November 7 to the proposed amendment that would enshrine unrestricted abortion access into our State Constitution. There is absolutely no justification whatsoever for the intrinsic evil of abortion which intentionally kills the life of a preborn human person and harms the dignity of women in vulnerable situations.

In today's bulletin, we have a "Where Does It Say That?" page from the Catholic Conference of Ohio with the language and explanation of the abortion ballot initiative for November's election.  The wording of the November proposed amendment is intentionally vague and open-ended, without clear protections for the health and well-being of children, mothers, or parents. Legal precedence has already been set in courts across the country with amendments with language such as this to abolish parental notification and consent requirements which are in place to protect minors, to eliminate basic health and safety requirements in place to protect women, and to justify late-term abortions for any reason.

Now more than ever, we need all people of good will to stand together to uphold human life and dignity at all stages of development, walk with women in vulnerable situations to protect their integral health and wellbeing, and defend parental rights to be involved in these critical life decisions of their children. We need to especially empower women to speak out against this amendment. We need to ready our hearts to renounce the lies characterizing the pro life message as "anti-woman" and "anti-choice", and the courage to announce the truth in love that by advocating for life, we are in fact upholding the dignity of all children, women, and men. Abortion advocates will politicize this right to life matter into a partisan republican vs. democrat issue. We must reject these false categorizations. Regardless of our political stance, we must see abortion for what it is as the intentional killing of an unborn human person, and commit ourselves to bringing light, hope, and healing in places where this is darkness, despair, and death. 

Remember that Christ is the light of the world. He illumines our hearts with His light so that we in turn may share His light with others. You are reading this because Christ needs you to be His light in a world of darkness, to pray for people who are confused about clear moral issues and help soften hearts and change minds to uphold the dignity of all human life. We are men, women, and children of faith, and our faith has so much good to offer in this cultural climate. Our faith impels is to speak the truth about the dignity of the human person in love. Like the early Church, we might be a far way off from living in a society that deems abortion an unthinkable reality, yet we must start from where we are today with the hope born from a living faith in Christ.

Finally, I realize talking about abortion might bring up painful wounds for some people. If you or someone you know are seeking healing from the trauma of abortion, please reach out. There are many resources available for healing: Project Rachel and Bethesda House of Mercy are two wonderful places to start. In Christ, there is always a way forward for healing. 

Please visit https://stmarychardon.org/vote on a regular basis for updated information and resources.

I am yours in Christ,
Fr. Scott Goodfellow