WASHINGTON - In response to the Supreme Court of the United States issuing its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities issued the following statement:
“This is a historic day in the life of our country, one that stirs our thoughts, emotions and prayers. For nearly fifty years, America has enforced an unjust law that has permitted some to decide whether others can live or die; this policy has resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of preborn children, generations that were denied the right to even be born.
“America was founded on the truth that all men and women are created equal, with God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This truth was grievously denied by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized and normalized the taking of innocent human life. We thank God today that the Court has now overturned this decision. We pray that our elected officials will now enact laws and policies that promote and protect the most vulnerable among us.
“Our first thoughts are with the little ones whose lives have been taken since 1973. We mourn their loss, and we entrust their souls to God, who loved them from before all ages and who will love them for all eternity. Our hearts are also with every woman and man who has suffered grievously from abortion; we pray for their healing, and we pledge our continued compassion and support. As a Church, we need to serve those who face difficult pregnancies and surround them with love.
“Today’s decision is also the fruit of the prayers, sacrifices, and advocacy of countless ordinary Americans from every walk of life. Over these long years, millions of our fellow citizens have worked together peacefully to educate and persuade their neighbors about the injustice of abortion, to offer care and counseling to women, and to work for alternatives to abortion, including adoption, foster care, and public policies that truly support families. We share their joy today and we are grateful to them. Their work for the cause of life reflects all that is good in our democracy, and the pro-life movement deserves to be numbered among the great movements for social change and civil rights in our nation’s history.
“Now is the time to begin the work of building a post-Roe America. It is a time for healing wounds and repairing social divisions; it is a time for reasoned reflection and civil dialogue, and for coming together to build a society and economy that supports marriages and families, and where every woman has the support and resources she needs to bring her child into this world in love.
“As religious leaders, we pledge ourselves to continue our service to God’s great plan of love for the human person, and to work with our fellow citizens to fulfill America’s promise to guarantee the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all people.”
The Catholic Church has been clear and consistent in teaching that abortion is a grave moral evil. The Second Vatican Council decreed that abortion is an “unspeakable crime.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church insists that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception...Direct abortion is gravely contrary to the moral law.” In recent years, all of the popes have spoken clearly in condemning abortion. Pope Francis has said, simply and powerfully, “Abortion is murder.”
For this reason, I am very pleased that the Supreme Court has now effectively overturned Roe v. Wade that for decades has directed abortion legislation in this country. The decision is proper for both moral and legal reasons. In recognizing this decision, however, it is abundantly clear that the work on behalf of human life is not over; it has now just moved to a new arena and has assumed new urgency.
I take this opportunity to recognize the many members of our Church and the community who have been courageously and steadfastly committed to the cause of human life. Your commitment has not been in vain; your commitment has made a significant difference and you can be certain that God is pleased with your efforts.
While rightly insisting that abortion is evil, the Catholic Church also recognizes the particular needs that many women encounter when they are pregnant. For several years already, the Diocese of Providence has responded to this need with important programs such as St. Gabriel’s Call which provides personal and material assistance to pregnant women, new moms, and their infant children; and also the Cabrini Fund which offers financial scholarships to assist parents with child care expenses. These programs have supported women and children, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, for many years.
In light of ongoing needs of women and their children, I have directed our diocesan staff to increase the support we can offer to women and children through these already existent diocesan programs, and to be alert to other and new ways of providing assistance to women, children and families in the days to come.
The Supreme Court decision means that individual states will now have the responsibility of addressing abortion in their own jurisdictions. Sadly, Rhode Island has adopted one of the most liberal abortion laws in the nation, a disgraceful law that permits abortion even until the moment of birth. Some consider this to be “settled law,” but a law that permits the termination of children, including viable infants, should not be settled at all. I plead with political leaders in Rhode Island to do the right thing – to revisit our abortion laws in a way that safeguards the sanctity of human life and eliminates the enormous harm caused by abortion – to unborn infants, vulnerable women, the minority community, and to the dignity and quality of life in our state.
I wish to emphasize that those who support and promote abortion are not our enemies. They too are children of God and our brothers and sisters. We wish only what is good and holy and helpful for them, and we pray that they will sincerely examine their conscience, and will recognize the great dignity and value of all human life, including that of unborn children.
Indeed, the commitment on behalf of human life does not require only a change of laws, but also a change of hearts. This is, ultimately, a spiritual battle. The Catholic Church in the Diocese of Providence will continue to preach and teach about the inalienable dignity of human life, from the time of conception until the moment of natural death, and we will pray fervently for the change of hearts that enables all people, especially our leaders, to recognize the beauty and the value of human life and how contrary abortion is to God’s will and his eternal design for the well-being of the human family.
Someday, future generations of Americans will look back in disbelief and shame on our time and wonder how such a “civilized society” could allow, and even celebrate the widespread and zealous killing of its own children. They will wonder how we could have strayed so far from the natural law, from widely accepted moral principles, and even from common-sense human decency. When that day comes, I want those future generations to look back and say that the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Providence did the right thing – that we were truly wise and courageous in speaking out against abortion and in defending human life. And personally, I want to be counted among those who spoke out boldly and persistently on this critical issue, the most important moral issue of our time.
+Thomas J. Tobin
Bishop of Providence
We congratulate and offer our prayerful best wishes to OLM Senior Servers, David Lynch and Mae Legare. They have graduated high school and have served faithfully at God’s Holy Altar as OLM Altar Servers since the 4th Grade. God Bless them both!
Dave Lynch and Mae Legare pose with Fr. Healey after serving their Final Mass at OLM.
Charles Crawford Blanchard
Andrew Kevin Block
Vincent Thomas Braun
Benjamin Robert Calabro
Samuel Robert Calabro
Caroline Juliet Casey
Mark Robert Fleury
Maiori Francesca Giardino
Nala Rachelle Glaude
Andrew Joseph Hayes
Louis William Johnston
Genevieve Helena-Dell Joseph
Declan Paul Lynch
Jacob Michael Maligaya
Maxwell James Martin
Luke Donato McGowan
Graham Stuart McVicker
Susanne Ellen Mita
Kathryn Taylor Porricelli
Milan Solomon Provencal
Mary Elizabeth Rielly
Ella Catherine Vetovis
Avery Rose Andrade
Jace Patrick Brady
Harper Ann Caverly
Eleonora Valentina Chiara
Brysen Matteo DiSano
Phoenix Evelyn Dubell
Nora Elizabeth Ferguson
Nora Marie Gilbert
Charlotte Colette Hollis
Aria Simone Houle
Ryan Matthew Ingham
Caden Matthew Joubert
Olivia Rose Kanelos
Xander Jeffrey Ladd
Ciorsdan NicGowan Leitch
Ethan Walter Long
Piper Judith Long
Declan Michael Lowe
Shane Wesley Marcks
Charles David Maurice
Ela Jade McClanaghan
Caroline Marie McLaughlin
Kieran Dennis McMahon
Mason Joseph Mignanelli
Grace Marie O'Connor
Olivia Marie O'Gorman
Vivian Marie O'Gorman
Sydney Anne O'Neill
Rose Autumn Prosek
Benjamin Paul Rieger
Ean Charles Ruth
Julian Touzard Saied
Avery Orchowski Scott
Matthew Laurence Silva
Alexander William Silveira
Hadley Jane Sousa
Michael Joseph Tasca
Vivian Bailey Toce
Javier Ignacio Villamar
Luke Connell Walsh
Laina Catherine Welsh
May 7, 2020
Dear Friends in Christ,
Pro-abortion advocates are organizing demonstrations around the country to disrupt Mass in Catholic churches this Mother's Day weekend, so we may be visited by agitators who may seek to interrupt the sacred liturgy. If that should happen while you are at Mass, please remain calm, peaceful, and recollected, and do not confront the protesters. Our ushers will contact the East Greenwich Police Department for assistance if necessary.
Moreover, our parish and school campus may be targeted for vandalism directed against our buildings or statues, so we have alerted the EGPD to help us protect our property.
These threats are the poisonous fruit of an ideology of hatred for Life that has deeply wounded our country for two generations. Our response to that hatred must always bear witness to the mercy of Christ, who teaches us to love our enemies, to pray for our persecutors, and to do unto others as we would have others do to us.
May God grant wisdom and courage to the Justices of the United States Supreme Court. They now face one of the most important judicial decisions in the history of our country, a nation built on the self-evident truth that all men are endowed by their Creator with the unalienable right to Life.
Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!
Fr. Bernard A. Healey
Pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Church
May 3, 2022
Louis William Johnston poses with Fr. Mahoney and Fr. Healey after his Baptism at the Easter Vigil. Louis is a student at OLM School!
Louis poses clothed in his Baptismal garment at the font!
Fr. Healey congratulates Marc Marandola on his St. Timothy Award.
A Pastoral Letter on the Season of Lent
Bishop Thomas J. Tobin
Bishop of Providence
March 2, 2022
Ash Wednesday
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart with fasting, and weeping and mourning. (Joel 2:12)
We recognize that every year the Season of Lent holds the promise of many graces and blessings for the People of God. I am convinced, however, that the observance of Lent this year is as critical as it has ever been. There are many reasons for us to “fast, weep and mourn,” many reasons that call us to “return to the Lord with our whole heart.”
The Season of Lent this year takes place in a profoundly troubled world. We are pained as we witness the brutal war in Ukraine. The global pandemic has resulted in the loss of many lives, disrupted our normal routines, divided communities, and led to personal anxiety and depression. Our political system is broken, hopelessly deadlocked in predictable partisan bickering. Our nation continues its relentless assault on innocent, unborn children in the “abominable crime” of abortion. Violent crime is on the rise in many of our cities, often targeting innocent bystanders, including children. Traditional moral values related to marriage and family, human sexuality and biology, are being challenged and discarded every day. The Church is shaken and saddened by new accusations of past incidents of sexual abuse of minors. And people everywhere are on edge, ready to picket and protest, fight and sue at every offense, real or perceived.
In surveying this depressing litany of societal and communal woes, I cannot help but think that God must be very disappointed and angry with us, his children.
At the same time, we shouldn’t forget that the real moral challenge, the ultimate struggle for grace and peace, takes place in our own hearts and souls. Thus while we despair of the bleak landscape that engulfs us, we also need to look within; we need a brutally honest recognition of our own temptations, faults and sins. The neglect of God; the anger, arrogance, apathy, selfishness, dishonesty, impurity, addictions, and judgmental racist attitudes we find in the darkest recesses of our soul are gravely sinful. If left unchecked they grow like weeds and destroy the life within us. “My offenses, truly I know them; my sin is before me always,” we confess with the Psalmist. (Ps 51:5)
Yes, I am convinced that the observance of Lent this year is as critical as it has ever been. As a people and as individuals we need to be purified, restored, and renewed by the cleansing power of God’s grace!
The Season of Lent gives us all the tools we need to do better, in our world and our lives. The pillars of Lent – prayer, fasting and charitable works – help us to confront temptation, repent of our sins, be reconciled to God, and begin again. But the spiritual resources of Lent are effective only if we use them well. It is for that reason that I call the Church in the Diocese of Providence to embrace the season of Lent like never before. It is so important! “Do not receive the grace of God in vain,” St. Paul exhorts us. (2 Cor 6:1)
I urge our pastors to lead the faithful in a serious and full observance of Lent. Dear fathers, do your best to reach out to your people, welcome them home, provide them with all of the resources the Church gives us to celebrate the Season of Lent worthily. The devout celebration of Holy Mass, a fearless proclamation of the Word of God, traditional devotions such as the Stations of the Cross, visitation and care for the sick, and increased opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation will help you and your people to have a good and profitable Lent.
And I urge the faithful to the Diocese of Providence to enter the Season of Lent with real determination. Attend Holy Mass each Sunday, and during the week, if possible. Read the Word of God. Pray often in church, in school and at home. Take seriously the call of the Church to fast and abstain, not just from food, but from other unhealthy attachments as well. Go to Confession. Support the charitable work of the Church, and engage in good deeds of charity, kindness and forgiveness.
Brothers and sisters, I believe that if we engage the Season of Lent in a serious way, the darkness of the world, the decadence of society, and the anxiety of our souls will give way to the goodness and light of Christ. In the 40 days to come, let us walk with Christ through his suffering and death and then rise to the new life, the peaceful and hopeful life, of Easter Day!
With a promise of my prayers during this holy season, and a request for your prayers for me, I remain,
Sincerely yours,
Thomas J. Tobin
Bishop of Providence
By Christine Rousselle
Catholic News Agency
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 24, 2022 / 09:45 am
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[1] Cf. SAINTAUGUSTINE, Serm. 243, 9,8; 270, 3; En. in Ps. 110, 1.
[2] Cf. Extraordinary Moment of Prayer presided over by Pope Francis (27 March 2020).
[3] Cf. Angelus, 17 March 2013.
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