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October is Respect Life Month

Every October, we consider more deeply why every human life is valuable and reflect on how to build a culture that protects life from conception to natural death. The month is a time to celebrate Respect Life Month, and the first Sunday of October is designated as Respect Life Sunday.

This year’s celebrations focus on St. Joseph, defender of life.In a reflection from the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, St. Joseph is noted as a perfect model for the Church’s pro-life work:“The infant Christ ‘came into our world in a state of great vulnerability. He needed to be defended, protected, cared for and raised by Joseph’ (“Patris corde,” 5). The humble and often hidden carpenter of Nazareth accompanied Mary in her pregnancy, assisted at the birth of the Messiah in a stable, presented Jesus in the Temple, fled with his family far from their homeland to protect them, and lovingly raised Jesus as his own son in the years to come.“While the angel of the Lord appeared to Mary to announce that she would bring forth the Savior of the world, it was revealed to Joseph in a series of dreams how God’s plans would be brought to fulfillment. As Pope Francis highlights, ‘God trusted Joseph, as did Mary, who found in him someone who would not only save her life, but would always provide for her and her child’ (“Patris corde,” 5).

“Like every other human family, the Holy Family had to confront real and concrete challenges. Yet, ‘in every situation, Joseph declared his own “fiat”’ (“Patris corde,” 3). His ‘yes’ to the Lord meant that regardless of the hardship and personal sacrifice to himself, he consistently chose to put the needs of Mary and Jesus before his own. Joseph’s devotion helps reveal to us our own call to show special care for the lives of those whom God has entrusted to us.

“During this Year of St. Joseph, each of us can find in him ‘an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble’ (“Patris corde,” Intro). Joseph shows us how to say “yes” to life, despite our own fears, frailties and weaknesses. For it is Joseph who was ‘chosen by God to guide the beginnings of the history of redemption. He was the true ‘miracle’ by which God saves the child and His mother’ (“Patris corde,” 5).

“May we, too, be miracles in the lives of those who are most in need, especially at the beginning and end of life.

“Dear St. Joseph, you who were ‘able to turn a problem into a possibility by trusting always in divine providence’ (“Patris corde,” 5), help us to imitate your faithful trust and courage.”

Resources available online

At www.respectlife.org: Find prayers, ideas for getting involved, reflections and videos, and more information about the Church’s pro-life teachings and the celebration of Respect Life Month

Your DSA contributions at work

The diocese’s Respect Life ministry is funded in part by the annual Diocesan Support Appeal. Learn more about the DSA and how to donate online at www.charlottediocese.org/dsa.

Diocesan Respect Life Conference to feature expert in pro-life biotech

SWANNANOA — Faithful across the Diocese of Charlotte are encouraged to attend the annual Respect Life Conference – a day of enrichment and education on a variety of pro-life issues. The conference will dive into topics such as pro-life ethical research and advancing biotechnology without morally illicit cells, parish support for mothers choosing life, “Evangelium Vitae” and the Christian message concerning life.

The conference will take place from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, at St. Margaret Mary Church.

Dr. Alan Moy, founder of the John Paul II Medical Research Institute and CEO and co-founder of Cellular Engineering Technologies, will give the keynote address.

Moy earned a bachelor of science in biochemistry at the University of California at Davis and an M.D. from Creighton University. He received specialty medical training in internal medicine at St. Louis University and subspecialty training in pulmonary and critical care at the University of Iowa. He served on the faculty 1994-2005 and was tenured in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Iowa. He maintains an adjunct appointment in the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa.

Moy’s research at the University of Iowa was in the areas of vascular biology, inflammation, gene delivery and tissue engineering. His research was supported by the National Institute of Health, the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association and the American Lung Association.

In 2005 he left his faculty position to co-found Cellular Engineering Technologies (CET), a pro-life biotech company in Coralville, Iowa, which manufactures and sells commercial adult stem cells around the globe. In 2006, he founded the John Paul II Stem Cell Research Institute (later renamed the John Paul II Medical Research Institute), a tax-exempt non-profit research institute devoted to the use of adult stem cells for treating orphan diseases, degenerative neurological diseases, regenerative medicine and cancer. In 2009 the Small Business Commerce Association gave CET a Best Business Award in the commercial biotechnology category. The award recognizes the top 5 percent of small businesses throughout the country.

Moy has been recognized in Who’s Who in America and in the Leading Physicians of the World by the International Association of Healthcare Professionals. His organizations develop biotechnologies with the objective to offer ethical human cells as an alternative to embryonic stem cells and aborted fetal cells, which are ubiquitously used in the pharmaceutical industry for the production of biologics, gene therapy, cell therapy and vaccines.

The conference will also feature prayer and education to foster encouragement, collaboration and community among the pro-life advocates of the diocese. The conference will open with a Traditional Latin Mass offered by pastor Father Brian Becker at 9 a.m. and conclude by 3:30 p.m.

“The Respect Life Program is thrilled to be hosting this event again this year,” said Jessica Grabowski, the diocese’s Respect Life Program director, “and we are especially grateful to Father Becker and St. Margaret Mary (for hosting) the pro-life community and look forward to networking with pro-life advocates from across the diocese.”

Additionally, Moy will present a talk to the lay-led organization Catholic Health Professionals of Charlotte at a Charlotte-area parish on Friday, Oct. 1. Contact the organization at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for details.

— Catholic News Herald

More information

To register, go online to www.ccdoc.org/respectlife. Contact Jessica Grabowski at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with questions about the event.