News media reported that world leaders — including Muslim and Jewish statesmen — linked arms on January 11 to lead more than a million French citizens through Paris in an unprecedented march to pay tribute to victims of Islamist militant attacks.
Commentators said the last time crowds of this size filled the streets of the capital was at the liberation of Paris from Nazi Germany in 1944.
While we mourn the tragic deaths in Paris — including the journalists and police who were killed there — I also find it ironic that over one billion unborn children have been killed in the world since 1980 and over 57 million unborn children have died in the United States by abortion since 1973.
Do we have a tremendous outcry about these lives lost? Do we mourn the deaths of these unborn babies?
Lives lost since Roe v. Wade
As of Monday, Jan. 12, there were a reported 57,526,713 abortions in the United Sates since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.
This information is available on a website which includes current statistics for the number of abortions performed in the United States and throughout the world (www.num berofabortions.com).
As we prepare to mark the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, it is a time to mourn the staggering numbers of unborn babies killed in the womb during these 42 years.
We can pray for all of them. We might also consider attending Mass on January 22. In the Diocese of Madison, a Requiem Mass for the Unborn will be held at St. Mary Church in Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22.
Looking forward with hope
But as we remember and pray for these babies and their parents, it’s also a time to look forward with hope.
There are encouraging signs in the pro-life movement today. Many teenagers and young adults are part of the growing “pro-life generation,” as witnessed by their growing participation in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.
More young people are also involved in helping in local pro-life causes, including volunteering at pregnancy centers.
The number of abortions has been decreasing in Wisconsin. The total number of abortions performed in 2013 represented a 70 percent decrease from the all-time high in 1980.
Part of the reason for the decrease of abortions in our state is due to more efforts to provide help to women experiencing challenges during pregnancy at pro-life pregnancy centers. Some Planned Parenthood Clinics and abortion clinics have also closed in Wisconsin.
We must continue to work to provide alternatives to abortion and assist families so that they will consider life for their children. Continued education is so important in our families, parishes, schools, and communities.
Let us mourn the lives lost — not only in France but throughout the world — and pray for increased respect for all human life at every stage.