Be ‘battle ready’

Richard A. Sokerka

When a nun, who is not only a skilled surgeon but also a retired U.S. Army colonel, tells Catholics they must be “battle ready” to defend the family and their faith in this age of growing secularism, we had better listen.

Sister Deirdre Byrne, a member of the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, used those words in her recent address at the 50th annual conference of the pro-life group, Heartbeat International, an association of pro-life pregnancy resource centers, medical clinics, maternity homes, and nonprofit adoption agencies.

Sister Deirdre, who currently serves as the superior of her community, and works at a medical clinic in Washington, D.C., told her audience, “We have to be prepared, ‘battle ready’ as ‘soldiers for Christ’ in this dark time, where every day, things seem to be ramping up about things that are against the family and faith.”

Sister Deirdre has previously spoken openly about her political beliefs, as she addressed the 2020 Republican National Convention on life issues. However, in her speech, she explained that the “battle” facing Catholics is not a partisan one. “This battle we face is not a battle between Repub­li­cans and the Democrats, it’s not conservatives or liberals, or left versus right. This is a battle between the devil, who is real, and Our Lord.”

She told Catholics to “fight with love” and continue to pray for elected officials in power on the federal and state levels who are expanding abortion rights to extremes never seen before. “We have to pray for these people because their soul is in a mortal state,” she said of pro-abortion elected officials.

Part of her work at her order’s medical clinic involves attempting to reverse the effects of the abortion pill. A chemical abortion is a two-step process; the first pill cuts off the supply of nutrients to the unborn baby, and the second causes the uterus to expel the deceased baby. She said that her work on abortion pill reversals has been “an incredible blessing,” and that about 60 percent of women who seek to reverse the effects of the first drug are able to continue their pregnancies.

During her career in the U.S. Army and as a missionary, the nun said she had extensive experience with injuries and death in the wake of conflict and natural disasters, saying it was “horrible to see man’s inhumanity to man” in conflict settings.

However, she called abortion “the ‘greatest inhumanity.’ It’s really bad because people don’t even think about it anymore; it’s become a natural thing.”

She told Catholics that they need to take a stand in the battle to saves lives in the womb. “We know that God is in charge and that he’s far greater than the devil,” she said.

Her words are a call to action that every Catholic should heed.