Cardinal O’Malley delivers 2015 Respect Life Month message

WASHINGTON—People discover their worth when they discover their true identity as created in God’s image and called to an eternal destiny with him, said Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, OFM Cap, Archbishop of Boston and chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), in the annual Respect Life Month statement. The theme of the 2015-16 Respect Life Program is “Every life is worth living.”

“Whether it lasts for a brief moment or for a hundred years, each of our lives is a good and perfect gift,” wrote Cardinal O’Malley. “At every stage and in every circumstance, we are held in existence by God’s love.”

Catholics and all people of good will in the United States are invited to participate in Respect Life Month.

Respect Life Month, observed in October, begins the new, yearlong cycle of the Respect Life Program, which continues through the following September. It is a time dedicated by the U.S. bishops for the Church nationwide to bring attention to, celebrate and work and pray for the protection of the gift of human life.

The first Sunday of the month, Oct. 4 this year, is designated as Respect Life Sunday. The USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities publishes new materials each year on various human life issues to aid the local efforts within the Church of building a culture of life throughout the year.

Cardinal O’Malley wrote that nothing can diminish a person’s God-given dignity or the worth of his or her life, only that others may fail to respect human dignity. He also noted that encountering another’s suffering, while difficult, is an opportunity to embrace them with love, attention and prayer.

More information on the Respect Life Program, including resources and the full text of Cardinal O’Malley’s statement, is available on the USCCB Web site.