OAK HARBOR – In the prayer garden on the hillside behind St. Augustine Church, a pair of angels flank a new memorial to unborn babies.

October is Respect Life Month. The church must defend God’s gift of human life against all attacks.

As Catholics, we praise God for his creative genius. We proclaim that all life is good, and that every human life is very good. Every human life from the moment of conception is a sign of God’s free choice to bring forth new life. The choice is God’s. God chooses. God chooses love. God chooses life.

WASHINGTON – Pope Francis “has our backs” in the pro-life cause, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, said to applause in his January 23 homily at the opening Mass of the National Vigil for Life.

WASHINGTON – Catalina Galinanes, this year’s student speaker at the March for Life rally on the National Mall, has been to almost as many marches as Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund.

PORT ANGELES – Before dawn on January 21, members of Queen of Angels Parish will board an Olympia-bound bus, joining thousands of pro-lifers at the state capital to pray for the end of abortion.

EVERETT – On Wednesdays, Ed Mohs stands in front of Planned Parenthood, praying for an end to abortion.

MOUNT VERNON – Assisted suicide. The death penalty. Abortion. During Respect Life Month, the Skagit Valley parishes’ Respect Life Committee is hosting a Monday night speaker series touching on key life issues for Catholics.