Pro-Life Activities
On February 27, the Obama Administration announced its intention to remove current regulations (implemented by the Bush Administration in December 2008) protecting conscience rights in health care. On March 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) then issued a formal proposal to rescind these regulations, thereby activating a 30-day period for the public to submit comments.

The National Committee for a Human Life Amendment (NCHLA) has devised an Action Alert explaining why the regulations should be retained and providing directions on how to submit comments. E-mail messages can be sent directly through the NCHLA Action Center. A preset message is provided, to which the sender can add personal comments. Please submit your comments before the April 9 deadline!

In addition, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has set up a special site with resources on conscience protection, including a link to the NCHLA Action Center message: www.usccb.org/conscienceprotection.

Highlighting the critical importance of the current conscience regulations, Cardinal Francis George, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said they are "one part of the range of legal protections for health care workers - for doctors, nurses and others - who have objections to being involved in abortion and other killing procedures that are against how they live their faith in God." Cardinal George expressed concern that removing these conscience regulations "would be the first step in moving our country from democracy to despotism."

Sacred Heart promotes and encourages parishioners to get involved in various pro-life activities. Some of these are:

Life Chain of Manassas
On the first Sunday in October we gather with other pro-life supporters and line the road, silently holding uniform pro-life signs in a visual statement of solidarity by the Christian Community.

Annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.
Each January, we encourage parishioners to participate in the March for Life.

Shower for Birthright
The Women of Sacred Heart hold a shower each year in January to gather donations of baby items for Birthright which is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women who feel distressed by unplanned pregnancy.

Diocesan Respect Life Masses
Parishioners are informed of, and encouraged to attend Respect Life Masses, celebrated by Bishop Loverde, which are held at various parishes throughout the year.

The pope "must not proclaim his own ideas, but rather constantly bind himself and the Church to obedience to God’s Word, in the face of every attempt to adapt it or water it down, and every form of opportunism.…That's what Pope John Paul II did, when ... in the face of erroneous interpretations of freedom, he unequivocally stressed the inviolability of the human being, and of human life from the moment of conception until natural death…”
May 7, 2005 Pope Benedict XVI Installation as Bishop of Rome

Children are the present and future of the Church. They play an active role in the evangelization of the world and, with their prayers, help to save and improve it. As I renew my prayers for the small victims of the tsunami in Asia, I cannot forget the children who are victims of hunger and disease, of war and terrorism, nor, in addition, those who are kidnapped, disappear or are exploited by despicable trafficking. May Mary Most Holy, who today presents Christ to the peoples, help us to adore him with a child's heart.
Pope John Paul II, Angelus, January 6, 2005