USCCB pro-life chair calls on Catholics to be ‘agents of hope’ during Respect Life Month
The chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has called on Catholics to be “agents of hope” throughout Respect Life Month this October.
Echoing the message of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has called on Catholics to be “agents of hope” throughout Respect Life Month this October.
“The life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of our hope,” Chairman Bishop Daniel Thomas of the diocese of Toledo wrote. “Through Christ, our sins are forgiven, death is overcome, and life is victorious. Yet, the daily headlines remind us of how desperately our world is thirsting for the hope that only God can provide.”
“Every day we witness the overwhelming disregard for human life,” he continued, “through rising rates of abortion and assisted suicide; the killing of innocent school children, even at prayer; the mistreatment of our immigrant sisters and brothers as they endure an environment of aggression; and political and ideological violence inflicted against unsuspecting victims. These attacks threaten life precisely when it is most vulnerable and in need of protection.”
Despite these attacks, he continued, the gift of human life is a sign of hope, and the law must protect human life at every stage.
He noted that earlier this year, the government banned Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses from receiving federal Medicaid dollars for 2026.
“I thank Catholics across the country who have embraced a nationwide call to prayer for the end of all taxpayer funding of abortion centers,” Bishop Thomas continued, “and I ask that we continue those prayers throughout the month of October.”
He also pointed to two of the Church’s pro-life initiatives, Walking with Moms in Need, which provides resources for pregnant mothers, and Project Rachel Ministry, which seeks to help post-abortive women find healing.
“Each of us is called to be a witness to the Gospel of Life,” the bishop concluded, “proclaiming in word and deed the innate goodness and dignity of every human person.”
