USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - 2002-2003 Respect Life Materials Are Now Available

2002-2003 Respect Life Materials Are Now Available

WASHINGTON (August 29, 2002) –- Respect Life program materials for 2002-2003 observance are now available from the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Respect Life Sunday, which begins the year-long effort, is October 6.

Begun in 1972, the Respect Life program strives to bring Church teaching on the value and dignity of human life to the attention of the Catholic community and the wider public.

The program combines prayer, pastoral services, advocacy and education. It is observed in virtually all of the 195 Catholic dioceses in the United States.

In recognition of the thirtieth anniversary of the Respect Life program, this year's poster ("Celebrating Life 1972 – 2002") depicts an infant's face using mosaic tiles of past years' posters.

The articles are as follows:

"Love – and Do What You Will" by Julie A. Collins, a prep school religious studies teacher (chastity advice for teens)
"Natural Family Planning: An Unexpected Grace" by Lee Ann Doerflinger, an NFP teacher (how NFP helps achieve or avoid pregnancy while enriching marriages)
"The Assault on Catholic Health Care" by Maureen Kramlich, Esq. of the USCCB Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities (the abortion lobby's campaign to overturn laws protecting conscience rights)
"The New Eugenics: Cloning and Beyond" by M. Therese Lysaught, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Dayton (the pitfalls of human cloning and genetic tinkering)
"The Graduate-Level Course in Parenting" by Mary and Vance Salter, nurse, attorney and parents of 12-year-old James (on the challenges, rewards and blessings of raising a child with Down syndrome)
"Global Trafficking in Persons: A Modern Form of Slavery" by Margaret MacDonnell, USCCB Office of Migration & Refugee Services, and
"A People of Life and a People for Life: An Invitation" by the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities staff (summarizing the revised and updated Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities: A Campaign in Support of Life adopted by the U.S. bishops in November 2001).

The flier, clip art, liturgy guide, full color posters, and every article in the packet are available in English and Spanish.

For more information, contact the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities at 202-541-3070. To order materials, call the Secretariat's Fulfillment Center toll-free at 866-582-0943 (in MD 301-779-0603). The website address is WWW.USCCB.ORG/PROLIFE