September 22, 2025

Respect Life Month Promotes Hope

(USCCB Respect Life photo)

Respect Life Month begins on October 1 and the Church will celebrate Sunday, October 5, as Respect Life Sunday. The Church sets aside this month for us to reflect more deeply on how we can uphold the life and dignity of every person, from conception to natural death. Especially in these times when violence and division seek to destroy life, it is all the more important to redouble our efforts to uphold the sanctity of every human person as made in the image and likeness of God.

In part of his statement on the month ahead, Bishop Daniel Thomas, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, wrote:

With great joy we celebrate October as Respect Life Month amid the Church’s Jubilee Year of Hope. This Jubilee Year “offers us the opportunity to appreciate anew, and with immense gratitude, the gift of the new life that we have received in Baptism, a life capable of transfiguring death’s drama” (Pope Francis, Spes non confundit, 20). The life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of our hope. Through Christ, our sins are forgiven, death is overcome, and life is victorious.

Yet, the daily headlines remind us of how desperately our world is thirsting for the hope that only God can provide. Every day we witness the overwhelming disregard for human life: through rising rates of abortion and assisted suicide; the killing of innocent school children, even at prayer; the mistreatment of our immigrant sisters and brothers as they endure an environment of aggression; and political and ideological violence inflicted against unsuspecting victims. These attacks threaten life precisely when it is most vulnerable and in need of protection.

Despite these realities, the gift of human life exists as a sign of hope to our world today, defying the powers of darkness and the culture of death. It is of the utmost importance that we work to ensure that every life, in every stage and circumstance, is protected in law.

The USCCB has a novena, action guide, prayer cards and more resources available for Respect Life Month. Check with your local diocese and parish to see upcoming Respect Life events.

Migrants Are Messengers of Hope

(Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development photo)

The Catholic Church in the United States will observe National Migration Week from September 22 to 28. The week typically culminates with the celebration of World Day of Migrants and Refugees. However, this year, as the Universal Church marks its Jubilee Year, the World Day of Migrants and Refugees will be observed on October 4–5, coinciding with the Jubilee of Migrants.

The bishops of Wisconsin and across the United States have consistently expressed solidarity with immigrants amid the fear and anxiety prompted by current immigration enforcement efforts. The bishops have called for, and continue to press for, “a more humane system of immigration, one that protects our communities while safeguarding the dignity of all.” This includes supporting bipartisan legislation to address legal status and protections for undocumented immigrants, border security, asylum reform, and visa reform.

In his message for this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV has continued to emphasize the dignity of migrants, saying, “In a world darkened by war and injustice, even when all seems lost, migrants and refugees stand as messengers of hope. Their courage and tenacity bear heroic testimony to a faith that sees beyond what our eyes can see and gives them the strength to defy death on the various contemporary migration routes.”

Action on WCC Bills of Interest

Deep Fakes ▲ Registered in support
SB 33 (André Jacque, R-De Pere) / AB 33 (Brent Jacobson, R-Mosinee) Representations depicting nudity.
Status: The bill passed the Assembly and awaits action by the Governor.

More Updates from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

• New “Healing and Hope” Initiative Seeks to Amplify Mental Health Engagement Across the United States
  
  
• U.S. Bishops’ Administrative Committee Approves Transition of Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism to a Permanent Subcommittee
• The National Catholic and Muslim Dialogue: “Journeying Together”

To take action on the USCCB’s current federal action alerts, click here.

Legislative Resources

Find the WCC’s session priorities, legislative committees, contact info for your legislators, and more.