Homily, 1-23-23; Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children:
Our United States Government is a represented democracy. In a democracy, the will of the majority rules unless there are provisions for the protection for the rights of the minority. Fortunately, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights provide checks and balances to protect those rights. And to prevent tinkering with the Constitution by the majority, there are very difficult hurdles for amending the Constitution. An amendment requires approval of a 2/3 majority in both the house and the senate followed by ratification of 75% of the states. So the Constitution is not easily changed.
Today is the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. It is the first time we celebrate this day since the Supreme Court struck down the Roe v. Wade decision that made abortion legal. But the new decision by the Supreme Court did not make abortion illegal, it simply moved the decision down to the state level. And so the fate of unborn children will be decided by state governments where minority rights are not as well protected. Unfortunately, we found that out in our own state. Our constitution can be changed by a simple majority, and that is what happened last November. The defeat of Roe v. Wade on the national level motivated the simple majority to increase the legality of abortion on the local level.
And so our work and prayer to protect the unborn has not ended; it has just started. In the Office of the Readings yesterday, this was part of the final responsory prayer: