Our Respect Life Ministry is made up of parishioners who work hard in the parish to show that we are a people of life! The purpose of our ministry is to engage the church and the community in understanding that all human life is precious and has a purpose from conception to natural death.
To promote a renewed respect for human life, from conception to natural death at the parish of St John the Baptist and in the community of Longmont, through awareness, education and prayer, following the guidelines of the Archdiocese and the teachings of the Catholic Church. What we do: Work in the parish to educate and raise awareness of life issues from conception to natural death. We support 40 Days for Life, Project Rachel, Gabriel House among others. We take our direction from Catholic Charities through the Respect Life office of the Archdiocese of Denver. We reach out to the Longmont and the surrounding community with other area Catholic Church pro-life groups, through education of all life issues from conception to natural death in accordance to the teaching magisterium of the Catholic Church.
The Supreme Court has accepted the case, NIFLA v. Becerra, a case that defends pregnancy centers against unjust laws that try to force them to tell their clients where they can get abortions.
These pregnancy centers exist to save lives and provide alternatives to abortion, not to help people kill their children. This case defends these centers against forced speech and cooperation in the evil of abortion. The case was introduced by our friends and colleagues at NIFLA, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, led by Tom Glessner.
Priests for Life has joined a Friend of the Court brief on behalf of the pregnancy centers.
Natural Family Planning, or NFP, is a method of birth regulation that is consistent with Catholic marriage vows by which a couple recognizes the natural, biological signs of fertility and infertility. Archbishop Aquila has recently issued a new pastoral letter called The Splendor of Love. He wrote it in light of the 50th Anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae. We encourage you to read our Archbishop’s words to us on this important subject. You can find the text here.
Carrie Keating
NFP and Marriage Specialist
Office of Evangelization and Family Life Ministries
carrie.keating@archden.org or 303.715.3259
For the Church, there is no distinction between defending human life and promoting the dignity of the human person. As a gift from God, every human life is sacred from conception to natural death. The life and dignity of every person must be respected and protected at every stage and in every condition. The right to life is the first and most fundamental principle of human rights that leads Catholics to actively work for a world of greater respect for human life and greater commitment to justice and peace.
The mission of 40 Days for Life is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40-day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion.
The concept of the 40 days of prayer is biblical. God has used 40-day periods to transform individuals and human history. Thus there is a great value in accepting the gift of this time for prayer dedicated to ending abortion and protecting the most vulnerable. The goal is to use fasting and prayer to turn the hearts and minds of our local community to embrace a culture of life—to clearly understand that every person is created and beloved by God in His wisdom. After so many years of legalized abortion, many people of faith are experiencing a renewed sense of HOPE! For more information, please visit www.40daysforlife.com
Educate Yourself – Feeling unsure how you feel about abortion as a Catholic? Please visit www.usccb.org to gain additional knowledge and wisdom. What you believe really does matter.
Healing – It’s normal to grieve a pregnancy loss, including the loss of a child by abortion. It can form a hole in one’s heart, a hole so deep that sometimes it seems nothing can fill the emptiness. If you are experiencing sadness or depression, we urge to visit www.hopeafterabortion.com. You are not alone.