The Diocese of Phoenix strives to follow the guidelines set forth from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in their Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities. This pastoral plan calls upon all the resources of the Church—its people, services, and institutions—to pursue this effort with renewed energy and commitment in four major areas.
The parish respect life committee assists in a special way by helping to make the parish a center of life, a place where parishioners understand the issues and the importance of meeting the needs of those who are most vulnerable—especially mothers and their unborn children, the elderly, and those who are seriously ill or dying and their families. It may be a distinct committee, or it might be a subcommittee of another parish organization.
With profound reverence, the Catholic Church upholds the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death, as a sacred gift from God. Every person’s dignity calls for love, protection, and respect, inspiring compassionate care and opposition to practices that harm life.
Embryonic Stem Cell research (ESCR) involves harvesting human embryos (usually discarded embryos from IVF clinics) for their stem cells, the primordial cells in their body that have the potential to change into any other kind of cell (such as bone, muscle, or nerve, etc.) that could be used to repair damaged cells in a sick patient (such as turning stem cells into nerve cells and repair a patients damaged spine).
Because of the evils and injustices that all war brings with it, we must do everything reasonably possible to avoid it. The Church prays: ‘From famine, pestilence, and war, O Lord, deliver us’.”
—CCC 2327
“Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.
According to groups like The Freedom Project, there is evidence that hundreds of people who have been executed, or who await execution, have been wrongly convicted of capital offenses and are actually innocent.
Even if IVF could be practiced in a way where embryos were not destroyed, it would still separate the unitive and procreative aspects of human sexuality.
Abortion has been one of the most divisive issues in America since states were forbidden to outlaw abortion after the 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision. Since that time, over 50 million abortions have been performed in the United States with an average of 3400 abortions being performed each day.
Prison ministry for Youth and Young Adults takes place at The Adobe Mountain School and three different jails within the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (Lower Buckeye Jail, East Valley Juvenile, Durango Juvenile Location).
