Catholic Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit urged Christians to pray this Advent for the millions of unborn babies’ lives who are at stake after voters passed a pro-abortion amendment to the Michigan Constitution this fall.
“Abortion is now legal in Michigan at an unprecedented level, and millions of lives are at stake. We must pray and ask God for his mercy upon us for allowing this evil to happen in our state,” Vigneron wrote in a recent letter, according to the Catholic News Agency.
He encouraged people to join him in a special time of prayer, fasting and penance from Nov. 27 to Dec. 9 to “make reparations for the great sin of abortion in our midst.”
The new Michigan Constitutional amendment, which voters approved Nov. 8, basically ends all limits on abortion in the state. Now, unborn babies are at risk of being killed through all nine months of pregnancy, and anyone, including people without medical training, may be allowed to assist with an abortion, according to the Citizens to Support Michigan Women and Children, a pro-life coalition that fought against the amendment. The amendment likely will be used to overturn state parental consent laws, too.
Vigneron said pro-life Christians must respond by reaching out to pregnant mothers in crisis as well as praying and fasting.
SUPPORT LIFENEWS! If you want to help fight abortion, please donate to LifeNews.com!
“In response to the passing of Proposal 3, we must step forward with no judgment, open arms, and effective resources to help women reject the ‘solution’ of death and empower them to choose life for their children,” he said. “… This work is more critical now, as the unborn have been stripped of their basic right to life and their mothers face the harmful lie that the death of their children is a solution to their struggles.”
The archbishop highlighted two programs, Walking with Moms in Need and Project Rachel, through the Catholic Church that support pregnant and parenting families and offer healing and forgiveness to parents whose children have been aborted.
Despite the warnings of Catholic and pro-life leaders, Michigan voters adopted the state constitutional amendment, with 55 percent in favor to 45 percent against.
Ahead of the election, leftist billionaires from New York, California and the Bahamas poured tens of millions of dollars into the state to buy false and misleading ads that confused voters and made the measure seem as if it was just supporting health care for women.
Pro-lifers working to defeat the amendment also were targets of violence. In September, an elderly pro-life woman was shot by an angry abortion supporter in Lake Odessa; she survived. The man is facing several charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon and careless discharge of a firearm causing injury. Several churches and pregnancy centers also were vandalized with pro-abortion graffiti and pro-life yard signs were stolen and vandalized.
Nearly 30,000 unborn babies are aborted in Michigan every year.
