Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., celebrated Mass Jan. 22 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, to mark the 45th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, and the Church’s designation as the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children.
The Bishop was joined by a dozen concelebrating priests for the Mass, which drew a gathering of students, families and pro-life advocates from across the Diocese of Trenton and throughout the state who then walked to the Statehouse Annex for a Rally for Life.
In his homily, the Bishop focused on the “inalienable rights” of every human life, and that something that has been determined to be “legal” by the courts, does not necessarily make it “moral.” Bishop O’Connell maintained that the March for Life in Washington D.C. and the Rally for Life that would follow the Mass “are part of one movement to build one united house on one solid foundation as ancient as the Book of Deuteronomy or the Gospel of Mark, but as close as the nearest beating heart in the womb: choose life… choose love, love saves lives.”
You can read the full text of Bishop’s homily here. The video stream of the Mass can be found here.