Dear St. Raphael Parishioners,

The coming of September brought an end to the summer heat this year, which was quite welcome! I have always thought that September has the nicest weather of any month. But given our midwestern climate, we also know not to take anything for granted! As the school year resumes, most people’s lives return to a regular rhythm that we recognize for most of the year. The St. Raphael Religious Education program has begun to meet, in person for the first time in over a year. I will be at the Middle School most Wednesdays, to visit classes and also if parents wish to talk about their children’s faith education.

I am very thankful to have Fr. Jelinek and Fr. Ramirez assisting with Masses now. With their help I hope to take some vacation time in mid or late October. As much as I appreciate being your pastor, we all need a little vacation at times!

You may have noticed some controversy in the news last week about a new law in the state of Texas. This law makes abortion illegal once a heartbeat can be detected in a child within the mother’s womb. The law also uses an unusual legal strategy that may not be upheld by the courts. Whatever the ultimate fate of that law turns out to be, this is a good time to review why we should be opposed to abortion of any kind. We may call a child in its mother’s womb a fetus or an embryo, but the fact that it has a heartbeat tells us that it is a child. When the issue of abortion is mentioned in the mainstream news media, they often describe it as an issue of women’s rights. It is certainly true that a mother has human rights, but most mothers are quite capable of speaking up in their own cause. The abortion debate has always been about us speaking up for a child in the womb, who has no way to speak for himself or herself.

The 1973 Roe vs Wade decision by the Supreme Court in effect made abortion an absolute right: the child has no right to self-defense, and even the child’s father has no legal say in the decision. For 48 years our society has continued to struggle with this issue, because the 1973 decision left a lingering injustice that calls out to be set right. The abortion issue is also a big contributor to the increasing polarization in our society. Most other nations around the world have at least some modest restrictions on abortion. And even if those restrictions are small, they demonstrate it is a moral issue involving a human life. Our commitment to human life convinces us that we don’t simply want abortion illegal, we also want it to be unthinkable.

God bless you all,
Fr. Matthew Kowalski