January 11, 2006

Dear Pastor or Parish Administrator,

As you know, this January 22 is the thirty-third anniversary of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the U.S. Supreme Court decisions that opened the door to abortion on demand throughout all nine months of pregnancy and even during birth. Since 1973, more than forty-six million children have been aborted in our nation. This national tragedy has a tremendous local impact within the Archdiocese of Chicago. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, more than 22,900 abortions took place in Cook and Lake Counties in 2004 alone. Thousands of women and men suffer in silence in the pews of our parishes, while many more have left the Church entirely because of their abortion experience. As the Body of Christ, we are left with the significant task of reaching out with Christ's hope and healing to those suffering from post-abortion aftermath, while peacefully working to prevent the additional killings of thousands of innocents right in our own communities. The prayers and penance of the faithful, as well as your ministry and that of others dedicated to the cause of life, will ultimately transform our culture into one that cherishes and  protects every human life, no matter how unformed, broken, guilty or vulnerable that life might be.

Because of this urgent need, my brother Bishops and I agreed in 2001 to make important adaptations to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal regarding the anniversary of Roe v. Wade:

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. ... 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 US...

I am deeply grateful for all that you do to encourage and support respect for human life in your parish. You are remembered in my prayers, and I ask you to pray for me and to join me in praying for an end to abortion and an increased respect for the little ones whom Jesus blessed and held in his arms. Thank you

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Francis Cardinal George, O. M. I.
Archbishop of Chicago