Walking with Moms in Need

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

Two weeks ago, as I wrote my weekly column, I was preparing to attend my first in-person meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). At that time, I had just read the draft of a proposed document on the Eucharist, The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church. At the meeting, the document was approved by more than 95 percent of the bishops (222–8). As I said after first reading it, I believe it is an inspiring document and it will be great help in a much-needed “Eucharistic Revival.” The document is now available online at the USSCB website. 

I hope that in the coming weeks and months we will be discussing the document and the need for a “Eucharistic revival” as individuals, families, parishes, and throughout our Diocese.

There is something else that I took away from the USCCB meeting that I wanted to share at this time, especially as we begin the beautiful season of Advent. On the last full day of the meeting, there was a presentation made by Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas and the chair of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities. He offered an update on a pastoral initiative that was introduced by his committee two years ago. The initiative is called Walking with Moms in Need.

I remembered having heard about Walking with Moms in Need (WWMIN) from the director of our diocesan Respect Life Office, Dr. Mary Mazzarrella, but I had not had the opportunity to learn many of the details of what the initiative was proposing. Archbishop Naumann’s presentation brought me “up to speed” very quickly and motivated me to share this very good news, inspired by the 25th anniversary of the promulgation of The Gospel of Life (on March 25, 1995), the encyclical written by Pope St. John Paul II.

In his presentation, Archbishop Naumann spoke of the “ … direct challenge of St. John Paul II, found in the encyclical:

“With great openness and courage, we need to question how widespread is the culture of life today among individual Christians, families, groups, and communities in our Dioceses. With equal clarity and determination we must identify the steps we are called to take in order to serve life in all its truth.” (EV 95)

He continued by recalling that, “WWMIN was similarly inspired by repeated calls from our Holy Father, Pope Francis, for we as the Church to go to and accompany those at the peripheries:

“Dear brothers and sisters, how greatly I desire that all those places where the Church is present, especially our parishes and our communities, may become islands of mercy in the midst of the sea of indifference!” (Lenten Message, Oct. 4, 2014)

Archbishop Naumann also summarized the goals of Walking with Moms in Need:

“The goal of WWMIN is really threefold. Through this initiative we are working, first and foremost, to improve and better communicate help to pregnant and parenting women in need; second, to engage our parish communities in a whole-church, life-affirming initiative; and third, to inspire parishioners to get involved with a new vision of what it means to live the Gospel of Life.”

After hearing Archbishop Naumann’s presentation, I began to do some additional research on the details and implementation of WWMIN. There are three things that I have learned so far. First, I am glad to know that our Diocese is already implementing WWMIN. You can go to our diocesan website  and under “Offices” you can find the Respect Life Office, where you will find 12 local resources (crisis pregnancy centers, etc.) where pregnant and parenting mothers can go or be directed to find assistance and support.

Secondly, I learned that the WWMIN website (WalkingWithMoms.com) has a wealth of information and resources, especially if a particular parish wishes to begin implementing WWMIN on a more active level, which leads me to the third thing that I learned, or more accurately, discerned.

Walking with Moms in Need is envisioned as an initiative that is implemented at the parish level. December or January are not the best times, on a practical level, to implement any kind of new plan or program at the parish level, especially when we will very soon be announcing a new “diocesan initiative” on a different topic for the year 2022. So, I am not looking for us to do any more at this time as far as introducing WWMIN at the parish level, but I wanted to write about WWMIN at this time, during Advent, when we prepare to welcome the “Word made flesh,” so that there may be a greater awareness that this initiative exists and, I believe, is very, very good news as to the direction that our Church is going in our pro-life efforts.

I encourage you to read the full text of Archbishop Naumann’s presentation. To find the link to a transcript of the text of Archbishop Nauman’s presentation go to the “Respect Life Office” page on our website. I hope that you will be as inspired and hopeful as I am.

Advent is a season of hope, in which we meditate on an “expectant mom,” our Blessed Mother, during the last weeks of her pregnancy when she (and St. Joseph) found themselves in a crisis, desperately searching for a warm, safe place for her to give birth. Sadly, we know that too many expectant moms still are in need of support, love, and assistance as they find themselves in a crisis. We want to be there for those moms, offering them whatever we can to help and support them. I hope and pray that Walking with Moms in Need will help more and more mothers to find that help and support. Archbishop Naumann put it this way:

“Walking with Moms in Need directly confronts the false, yet popular, narrative that the Catholic Church merely condemns abortion, without providing the resources or support women need in raising their children. Highlighting what the Church is doing — and will be doing — for moms in need is an important message to share with the public … Walking with Moms in Need is designed to help your diocese be prepared for the day, God-willing, when abortion is no longer the law of our land. While we cannot be sure how courts or legislatures may treat abortion in the future, our pastoral response will always remain the same.”