Day 16: Am I My Brother's Keeper?

One of the most common refrains that we hear concerning the abortion debate is "I wouldn't have an abortion myself, but if a woman wants to have one, it should be up to her." This is really just apathy under the guise of tolerance -- an abdication of responsibility to our fellow men. One response could be, "Why wouldn't you have one? Is it because you think it is wrong?" Another could be to ask what the person would have thought about someone before the Civil War who says, "I wouldn't own a slave myself, but if someone wants to have one, it should be up to him"? Clearly, some things are so morally wrong, that we cannot allow others to do them.

In The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II discusses the significance of shirking our responsibility to those around us:

"Am I my brother's keeper?" [Gen. 4:9]: Cain does not wish to think about his brother and refuses to accept the responsibility which every person has towards others. We cannot but think of today's tendency for people to refuse to accept responsibility for their brothers and sisters (paragraph 8).

We are our brothers' and sisters' keepers. Let us pray that we may accept responsibility toward our neighbors.

We have two special events in our area tonight and tomorrow. Tonight in DC, National Director Shawn Carney and his wife Marilisa will share the story of how 40 Days for Life began. We have a Facebook event: to RSVP or for more information, click here. Here are the event details:

Thursday, March 24 -- 8:00 PM
Our Lady of Victory Hess Auditorium
4835 MacArthur Blvd. NW, Washington, DC

Tomorrow, Shawn will be attending the Manassas prayer vigil to be filmed by CBN:

Friday, March 25 -- 12:00 PM
Amethyst Health Center For Women, Inc.
9380-B Forestwood Lane, Manassas, VA 20110

I hope you will be able to join me at one or both of these events! Even if you are not able to come, let's continue together in prayer, as we work to build a culture of life one step at a time!