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November 4th -- THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
That through the intercession of all the saints,
and especially Saint Joseph,
all fathers might receive the grace
to live their noble calling
with compassion, strength and love;
We pray to the Lord:
November 11th -- THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY
For the unborn children of our parish,
that through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
they may grow to full stature
in wisdom and grace;
We pray to the Lord:
November 18th -- THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY
For all who are about to die,
and especially for the dying members of our parish,
that by our care and compassion,
we honor the life God gives them
until the final moment of their natural parting;
We pray to the Lord:
November 25th -- CHRIST THE KING
For President Bush, Senator N.,
and all who lead our government,
that they may have the courage to speak the truth,
defend the weak,
and live by the Gospel of Life;
We pray to the Lord:
Since 1988, two great global divides have grown deeper: the first is the ever more tragic phenomenon of poverty and social discrimination, ... and the other, more recent and less widely condemned, concerns the unborn child ... as the subject of experimentation and technological intervention (through techniques of artificial procreation, the use of "superfluous embryos," so-called therapeutic cloning, etc.). Here there is a risk of a new form of racism, for the development of these techniques could lead to the creation of a "sub-category of human beings," destined basically for the convenience of certain others. This would be a new and terrible form of slavery. ... Governments and the scientific community must be very vigilant in this domain.
I therefore appeal to the conscience of the world's scientific authorities and in particular to doctors, that the production of human embryos be halted, taking into account that there seems to be no morally licit solution regarding the human destiny of the thousands and thousands of "frozen" embryos which are and remain subjects of essential rights and should therefore be protected by law as human persons.
It is surely more necessary than ever that the inalienable dignity of human life be universally respected and recognized for its immeasurable value. The Holy See has engaged itself in the pursuit of the abolition of capital punishment as an integral part of the defense of human life at every stage of its development. ...
President Bush has reaffirmed his support for a ban on human cloning and other policies that deserve support in their own right. However, the trade-off he has announced is morally unacceptable: The federal government, for the first time in history, will support research that relies on the destruction of some defenseless human beings for the possible benefit to others.