Pro-Life Party! The annual Bishops’ Pro-Life Banquet & Conference is just around the corner, and you should register! Pro-lifers from across the state of Nebraska will convene in Lincoln Oct. 6-7 to celebrate all that we have accomplished in this first year since the demise of Roe v. Wade.

In this new Dobbs era, we will focus on our theme of the truth, and how it sets us free. This is a critical theme in an age of misinformation from numerous sources, including those who are supposed to be the most reputable and truthful in their dealings.

If you haven’t yet registered for the banquet and/or conference, you need to do so now. Registration will close very soon. Also, if you use the code “SNR” at check-out you can get $10 off your individual ticket for the banquet!

You won’t want to miss out. It’s a great night out with the bishops. It’s an awesome time with your closest 500+ pro-life friends from all over Nebraska. And it’s a time of motivation as you hear from great speakers, such as our keynote, Joe Heschmeyer of Catholic Answers. As the saying goes: be there or be square. You can be there by registering at www.NEcatholic.org. Don’t forget the code “SNR” at check-out to save yourself some money!

Legislative Session, Coming Up. It’s hard to believe, but as we approach October, we are entering the last quarter of 2023. That means we will be a mere three months away from the second session of the 108th Nebraska Legislature. While it’s easy to think that the senators are somewhere in their districts relaxing while they are “on recess,” that is far from the truth.

Right now, your state senator is likely touring the district, visiting constituents, getting to know community stakeholders, and thinking through and preparing legislation for the 2024 legislative session.

At the NCC, we are doing similar work. We are thinking about what type of legislation we should be drafting and presenting to state senators for their consideration for the upcoming session. We are also working with other organizations that are doing the same thing.

I always encourage Nebraskans that if they have concerns or issues that they see with our state’s public policy and laws, this is a good time of year to reach out to their representatives and present those issues to them and their staffs. Waiting until January will have been too late, as things will be in full swing, even if it appears they are “just beginning” their new session. Don’t forget that your state senators are there to represent you and your values and concerns.

Respect Life Month 2023. For many years in the Catholic Church in the United States, October has been observed as Respect Life Month. This month serves as a concentrated opportunity for Catholics to celebrate the Gospel of Life and what it should mean for us as Catholics. Each year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops puts out a theme to guide the month and makes suggested activities.

This year’s theme is “Radical Solidarity” and focuses on the need “to be courageously pro-woman, promoting a choice that truly protects, accompanies, and supports women and their children.” I highly encourage you to check out Respect Life resources shared by the USCCB.

In the meanwhile, I want to invite you to this prayer of St. Pope John Paul II, which he offered the Church as the final words of his great encyclical, The Gospel of Life. I hope this prayer provides some words of reflection as we enter into Respect Life Month in a couple weeks.

“O Mary, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life. Look down, O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the poor whose lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of brutal violence, of the elderly and the sick killed by indifference or out of misguided mercy. Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty and love to the people of our time. Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build, together with all people of good will, the civilization of truth and love, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life.”