From The Texas Catholic

On a day that saw temperatures start below freezing, hundreds packed the pews at the National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Jan. 20 for the celebration of a pro-life Mass by Bishop Edward J. Burns.

“Your presence here is truly a witness to what is necessary for the future,” said Bishop Burns, adding that he had received an email earlier in the week expressing concerns attendance at the Mass may be negatively impacted by the cold weather.

“That didn’t deter you at all,” said Bishop Burns, who noted that the pews were packed in the cathedral sanctuary and that others were seated in an overflow area in the cathedral’s Grand Salon. “To all of you, as your shepherd, I am so very proud and so very pleased that you have such conviction in upholding the sanctity of life. It is what we must do.”

Bishop Burns concelebrated the Mass with Auxiliary Bishop Greg Kelly and other brother priests including cathedral rector Father Jesús Belmontes and Holy Trinity Seminary rector Father Vincent Anyama. The annual Mass, formerly known as the Roe Memorial Mass, is an effort of the Catholic Pro-Life Community, which serves as the Respect Life Ministry for the Diocese of Dallas. The Mass each year precedes the annual North Texas March for Life, which this year had pro-life activists trek from the national shrine cathedral through downtown Dallas to city hall, where a Rally for Life was held.

In his homily, Bishop Burns again celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022 with its majority decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which found that there is no constitutional right to abortion.

“We are going to march one mile or so. It’s not far but, my friends, we still have a long way to go when it comes to upholding the sanctity of life,” the bishop said. “We do give thanks for the Dobbs decision, but we still know that in this country are the forces and the energy behind a culture of death.”

Bishop Burns pointed to the day’s reading from the prophet Isaiah about those who continue to walk in darkness.

“Let us be concerned about the young generation that is coming up being indoctrinated with a teaching that what exists in the womb after conception is not a person, is not a child,” Bishop Burns said, “but called other terms so as to dehumanize the child in the womb, so as to lessen the conscience in performing such a deadly and murderous act.”

The bishop asked for prayers that the faithful continue to be “very strong in proclaiming the Gospel message.” He recalled his own time in seminary in the 1970s when he would travel to Washington, D.C. for the national March for Life.

“My friends, it’s 40-some years later, and we’re still marching, and we will continue to march until abortion is unthinkable, and that, in this country, the sanctity of life will be upheld at all costs.”

Bishop Burns called on the faithful to address all that threatens this dignity of life as well as understand the gravity those threats bring about as crimes against humanity.

“It is a shame that many identify abortion as healthcare. Abortion is not healthcare,” he said. “Healthcare is meant to heal a person not kill a person.”

Voices for life
Following the North Texas March for Life, Bishop Burns addressed those gathered at the Rally for Life in front of Dallas City Hall. The bishop spoke of this year’s national March for Life in Washington, D.C. and the pro-life testimonies of University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh and former NFL player Ben Watson on Jan. 19.

“We need more people like them to speak out against abortion and in support of the sanctity of life,” Bishop Burns said. “We need politicians, athletes, educators, actors, moms, dads, public servants, parents, and youth to stand up for the sanctity of life.

“We must continue to advance the Gospel of life so that people no longer walk in darkness,” the bishop said. “The culture of death continues to bring on a darkness upon our land.”

Bishop Burns called those who participated in the 2024 March for Life “wonderful disciples” of Jesus Christ. He urged them to stay vigilant and to stay active in championing the sanctity of life.

“Let us continue to be a voice for the voiceless,” Bishop Burns said. “Let us continue to pray to our God, who is the author of life, that He will continue to infuse into the minds of everyone the great gift He has given us…the gift of life.”