(Ezekiel Loseke, Headline USA) Bishop Boyea, the Catholic Bishop of Lansing, issued a pastoral letter that was read at every mass in his Diocese this Sunday, declaring war on Michigan’s so-called “Reproductive Freedom for All Initiative,” steering his Diocese into the front line of the culture war.
The so-called “Reproductive Freedom for All Initiative,” would grant Michiganders “reproductive freedom.” The bill defines reproductive freedom as “the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care,” according to Ballotpedia.
Bishop Boyea wrote his letter to alert his congregation of “a new and grave threat to our children and to our culture of life.” That threat, “is called the Reproductive Freedom for All Initiative.”
Bishop Boyea pointed out that the initiative seeks “to amend the Constitution of this State to include a so-called “right to abortion.”
The amendment is more than a pro-abortion proposal. In the words of Bishop Boyea, “The Reproductive Freedom for All Initiative is the most extreme abortion proposal this country has ever witnessed.”
The Bishop wrote:
“… this initiative seeks to enshrine abortion up to, and including, the day of birth in our state constitution. It also seeks to eliminate dozens of Michigan laws that presently regulate abortion.
These include parental consent and notification laws; laws that prohibit partial-birth abortion; informed medical consent laws; 24-hour waiting periods; taxpayer funded abortion; laws that require abortion facilities to be licensed and inspected by the State of Michigan; laws that prosecute anyone who injures or kills a woman during an abortion; and laws that protect the conscience rights of persons who refuse to participate in abortion such as doctors and nurses.”
Boyea also explained that the bill would destroy the need for parental consent for minors having an abortion or “chemical treatments intended to change the outward appearance of his or her biological sex.”
The Bishop also pointed out that his parishes are opposing powerful enemies. The Bishop argued that the ACLU and Planned Parenthood are “spearhead[ing]” the amendment. Further, the Bishop pointed out that the pro-abortion lobby had spent an estimated $10 million collecting signatures alone. The Bishop anticipated significantly more expenditures.
More than expenditures, Michigan’s governess has “said repeatedly, both she and her allies in the pro-abortion lobby will, quote, “fight like hell” to prevail on this matter.”
Bishop Boyea’s response is to “fight like heaven.”
Fighting like Heaven includes prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and political action. Specifically, the spiritual effort consists of a 54-day Rosary Novena in opposition to the initiative. You may join the Diocese of Lansing by signing up for text reminders by texting fightlikeheaven to 84567.
After Spiritual warfare comes political action. Bishop Boyea wrote, “The Diocese of Lansing is cooperating with the Michigan Catholic Conference and Right to Life of Michigan to oppose and defeat this ballot proposal. They have created an umbrella campaign group called Citizens to Support MI Women and Children.”
However, the Bishop closed his letter by reminding his parishioners that “the most important frontline … will be you.”
The Bishop’s engagement on the abortion question is just one of many battles over abortion in the kulturkampf.
- The Department of Health and Human Services has created a website to help women and girls commit infanticide
- Indiana and Idaho have banned abortions
- The Justice Department sued Idaho over its abortion ban
- A Clinton-appointed judge partially blocked Idaho’s abortion ban
- Five RINOs prevented the passage of a South Carolina abortion ban
- The VA declared it will provide abortions in its clinics regardless of state law
- Anti-life activists are using abortion pills to skirt abortion bans in pro-life states
- New Mexico has paid $10 Million for an abortion clinic in preparation of a surge of baby-slaughter-tourism
- A nurse alleges CVS fired her over her religious objection to abortion
- A District Court has halted California’s attempt to force churches to cover abortions
- Medical boards have targeted pro-life doctors
- Politico has actively solicited sob stories from its readers about abortion
