Archbishop Richard G. Henning delivers the homily during his installation Mass as archbishop of Boston at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross Oct. 31, 2024. (OSV News photo\/Gregory L. Tracy, The Pilot)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe effort\u2019s name references the chapter of the state\u2019s session law in which the new legislation, titled \u201cAn Act Prioritizing Patient Access to Care,\u201d is found.<\/p>\n
Among the organizations supporting Repeal188 are Massachusetts Family Action, Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Massachusetts Family Institute, Democrats for Life of America and the Cape Cod Pro-Life Alliance.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, thousands of voices have been raised in the defense of the sacred dignity of human life,\u201d said the four Massachusetts bishops in an Oct. 29 message to the state\u2019s clergy, religious and lay faithful. \u201cAs pastors, we raised our voices in opposition to the bill and in favor of the beauty of life. Every child is a gift, and every person deserves a chance to live.\u201d<\/p>\n
A \u2018grassroots\u2019 effort for close to 100,000 certified signatures<\/h3>\n
The petition tally of 99,962 certified signatures \u2014 surpassing the 49,716 required to suspend the law \u2014 was announced at an Oct. 29 press conference held at the Massachusetts Statehouse and hosted by Massachusetts Citizens for Life.<\/p>\n
The conference included a display of the organization\u2019s traveling \u201cTruth About Choice\u201d memorial, which depicts developing preborn children and represents the 49,450 babies lost to abortion in Massachusetts during 2024.<\/p>\n
Sam Miele, chair of the Coalition for Compassionate Care, stressed that total does not include signatures still being counted and presented.<\/p>\n
He commended Massachusetts\u2019 Catholic bishops for their support.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll four bishops of the Roman Catholic Church here in the state stood with us publicly,\u201d he said. \u201cThey declared support for this referendum petition, encouraging every parish to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miele also recognized \u201cthe hundreds of Protestant churches across the state who did the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe backbone of this effort was faithful men and women and children recognizing the dignity of human life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Archbishop Henning noted that the bishops had \u201cworked with our pastors across the entire state\u201d to ensure the faithful had the information needed\u201d to participate in the referendum signature collection campaign, which had to be conducted according to strict state law protocols.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe majority of the parishes\u201d in Massachusetts \u201cparticipated in the efforts over a couple of weekends to collect as many signatures as possible,\u201d said the archbishop.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe bishops felt the law was so extreme that we needed to do something concrete that would signal to the political leadership there are still pro-life voices in Massachusetts, and they should be heard,\u201d Archbishop Henning said.<\/p>\n
Bishop Byrne told OSV News he was \u201cexcited, relieved and overjoyed at the response of our parishioners, who so strongly endorsed and helped organize this at the most grassroots level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking at the press conference, Miele noted that Gov. Healey has \u201cthe constitutional authority\u201d to issue an emergency preamble that would \u201cmake the law go into effect immediately,\u201d overriding the law\u2019s petition-triggered suspension.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaura Healey, I call on you to have the faith and the courage to allow the people and to trust the people that you represent,\u201d said Miele, who along with volunteers delivered several boxes of certified signatures to the Massachusetts secretary of state following the press conference.<\/p>\n
New law is \u2018tantamount to infanticide\u2019<\/h3>\n
Prior to the press conference, Archbishop Henning told OSV News that it was \u201cstill not entirely clear why\u201d the newly approved law was \u201cbrought so quickly to the fore, given that the law in Massachusetts was already exceedingly permissive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Healey, who is a Catholic, and supporters of the law had stressed its intention to help women experiencing serious late-term pregnancy complications, with the governor citing their need to travel out of state for abortions amid \u201cunimaginable grief\u201d and financial cost.<\/p>\n
Archbishop Henning said presenting the law as an aid to women facing difficult late-term pregnancies was \u201ca bit of a misrepresentation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that was the purpose of the law,\u201d said the archbishop. \u201cI think it was a political move in an election year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The archbishop saw he and his fellow bishops had heard from both the faithful and \u201ceven legislators who were upset about the process\u201d by which the law was swiftly passed.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers, including \u201csome who would have described themselves as pro-choice, were scandalized by how extreme this bill was,\u201d said Archbishop Henning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we believe that the child inside is human \u2014 and I\u2019m not sure anyone can make a scientific argument it\u2019s anything other than human \u2014 then we have the obligation to seek healthcare for both the mother and the child,\u201d he said. \u201cAny woman who is in those circumstances, not only physical ones, but economic and emotional, we need to be a Church and a community and support them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bishop da Cunha said that in practice the new law was \u201cfor anyone who wished to terminate a pregnancy\u201d in its later stages \u201cfor any reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very sympathetic with women who have health issues for difficulties in pregnancy,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are many other ways to deal with that. The Church and medical sciences can help; we have so many options and supports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bishop McManus described the new law as \u201chorribly immoral\u201d and \u201ctantamount to infanticide.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was so shocking is that there were no limitations, no brakes that could be applied,\u201d said Bishop Byrne.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think our people said, \u2018Enough is enough,’\u201d said Bishop McManus. \u201cEven people who might, in casual conversation, describe themselves as pro-choice \u2014 I think some of them had examined their consciences on this issue and supported the Church\u2019s effort to end this craziness. I think in this case, the devil overplayed his hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bishop da Cunha reflected that the signature collection \u201csays a lot about how people feel about the value of life, what the Church has been teaching and what the pope has been reminding us of \u2014 that every person is a child of God, and ought to be given a chance to live.<\/p>\n
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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