A person prays the Rosary during the opening Mass of the National Prayer Vigil for Life on Jan. 20, 2022, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. CNS photo/Bob Roller

Respecting the Sanctity of Life

Standing for justice with the most vulnerable and marginalized in our culture

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Long before my husband’s diaconate ordination in 2020, we were involved in ministry at both the parish and diocesan levels of four dioceses. Not unlike our diaconate peers, we had been drawn to serve in many capacities. In addition to liturgical ministry, we served in youth ministry, as catechists, in many of the social ministries of the Church and in respect life ministry.

I remember, at one point, I was the confirmation director at a parish and my husband was one of the catechists. We were ministering to a group of 10th-grade candidates, and one of the sessions we taught was on the social teachings of the Catholic Church. We spent time on the seven themes of Catholic social teaching, and we pointed out to the group that the first theme is life and dignity of the human person, and that all of the other themes assume that the people we are serving are alive.

Naturally then, all of these themes are a part of respecting life. We broke the large group into smaller groups to discuss each of the themes, and illustrated in a skit how each theme was an example of respecting life. The entire session culminated in the entire group taking a trip together to participate in the local March for Life, where they got an experience of standing up for life against unjust laws and hardened hearts.

We intended to help these young people realize that we are called to serve our brothers and sisters, especially those who are marginalized in one way or another. God made us all his children, and we possess innate dignity due to this fact alone. Attending the March for Life — whether at a local or national level — is an opportunity to stand and pray for justice with the most vulnerable and marginalized in our culture.

Beyond Confirmation Preparation

Our teaching in the area of social ministry to young people didn’t stop at the section that we taught in confirmation. As the youth-ministry leaders, we offered many opportunities for the young people to participate in mission trips to serve the underprivileged, in efforts to assist the poor in the community with house-repair projects, in serving women at pregnancy centers, in food drives, in St. Vincent DePaul ministry, among many other ways.

Involving young people in so many social-ministry opportunities was an incredible way for us and the young people of the parish to witness to the entire congregation what it means to respect life.

With the Church’s understanding of the sacredness of life from conception to natural death, it is interesting that we have a ministry specifically dedicated to “respect life,” while we have many other ways to minister to the vulnerable and marginalized that we do not refer to as respect life.

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Life and Dignity of the Human Person

“The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. … In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and euthanasia. The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty. The intentional targeting of civilians in war or terrorist attacks is always wrong. Catholic teaching also calls on us to work to avoid war.”

— USCCB, “Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching”

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Respecting life has become an area that is almost set aside and moved to the side of our parishes where only certain people participate in it. And in setting it apart from other ministries, many have lost the understanding of the sacredness of life that is so revered in our Church teachings.

The respect life ministry has developed its ethos. It is often seen as a ministry for people with antiquated opinions and hardened hearts toward anyone except babies. Many churches are hesitant to have vibrant respect life ministries for one reason or another and may even look at respect life ministry with a certain level of disdain.

It is important, and even our call as baptized Christians, that we all work to protect life for the most vulnerable and then, of course, take care of those people and love them through the rest of their lives. This is the nature of who we are. This should be a no-brainer for all of us, these ministries all go together and serve one another.

A Deacon’s Role

During the diaconate formation process, we learned that the deacon is called to bear witness to Christ the Servant. We wondered during that process how our ministries might change going forward. Would we still be called to serve in the same ways? What could we do as a “deacon couple” that we weren’t already doing in parish and diocesan leadership? We had been serving the Church for nearly 30 years already as a couple, what would be different?

Of course, we are still involved in many of the same types of ministries that we were before my husband’s ordination, yet they have taken on a new flavor. In joining himself to Christ the Servant, a deacon can take “What would Jesus do?” to a new level. We actually should be able to see Jesus’ actions in everything the deacon does. And, with that, people recognize an authority in him that wasn’t present as a lay leader.

The deacon now has a special influence on the hearts and minds of the congregation. Not only does he have the opportunity to teach them through a homily on occasion, but when he gets involved in a ministry, people notice. His acts of service, hopefully, are seen as worthy and something Jesus would do. A deacon can have an impact on helping people understand what respecting life is all about! All that he does to care for his brothers and sisters is a part of respecting life.

The deacon embodies an important place to witness for all of us the call of Jesus to serve and to recognize the sacredness of life in all stages. His role is unique: Not only does he serve in the context of the Church, but he is called to take Jesus (in himself) outside of the four walls and out to the people in the community and beyond. He can witness the sacredness of life in every aspect of his life. This extends to his life as a family man, neighbor, father, husband, corporate worker, job owner, factory worker, etc.

It seems to me that what is different is that standing up for life and all its aspects is no longer a ministry. It is just what a deacon does as a part of his calling to bear witness to Christ the Servant. And with that calling comes a realization that “deacon” is now a part of him. Being “deacon” is not just something he does, but it is who he is!

After all, Christ has claimed the deacon for his own: to minister to his brothers and sisters and to respect the lives that God has gifted all of us with because they are all sacred. Every life on this earth is a gratuitous gift from God for all of us to love and serve. The deacon is in a unique place to understand and share that with the world. In witnessing to the sacredness of life, the deacon is a role model for Christ’s love for his Church, and that love begins at conception and extends through every phase of life.

DAWN FITZPATRICK manages a large Respect Life Ministry in the Chicago area. She is the wife of Deacon Mike Fitzpatrick, ordained in the 2020 class in the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois.

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Deacons of Hope Dedicated to Pro-life Ministry

Deacons of Hope is a new clerical association dedicated to pro-life ministry from conception to natural death.

“Aside from just having a ministerial preference for the unborn, we also serve the poor, the imprisoned, the marginalized, the oppressed, the sick and the aged. Whatever we need to do to uphold the image and likeness of God in humanity is what we do,” said Deacon Kevin Cummings of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Deacon Cummings and Deacon Doug Hemke of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph are the co-founders of Deacons of Hope.

The association is currently recruiting and developing awareness among brother deacons.

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