Respect for Life

We promote church teaching on life issues through action and advocacy. We sponsor discussions, programs and encourage legislative action. We affirm church support to the vulnerable in all stages of life and partner with Archdiocesan and community initiatives.

Contact

Brendan Cassidy
General Respect for Life Issues

Meetings

Meetings follow a flexible format and are held as needed.

Next Meeting/Event

Committee Priorities

St. Ignatius Gabriel Project

Volunteers help expectant women, new mothers and their families who need support. We assist pregnant women during their pregnancy and for the first two years of the baby’s life.

St Ignatius is part of the Gabriel Network of more than 40 churches throughout the Baltimore and Washington DC area. Women who need help can call a hotline (1-800-ANGEL-OK). Gabriel Network member churches volunteer to assist them.

We offer practical support for mothers by providing them with things they need for their babies, such as diapers, clothing, Pack and Play Cribs, food, and car seats. We also help mothers with other issues they may be facing like finding healthcare, applying for WIC (the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children), and food stamps. We refer women to other services in their community that might meet a particular need.

Volunteers can:

Work directly with women and children after completing Gabriel training
share expertise on a short term on specific issues confronting mothers such as health care, immigration, employment and housing
Cook a meal for a new mother; help organize our store room or assist with other administrative tasks
Donate gently used or new items, or make a cash donation.

Cassie Black
Contact for Gabriel Project

Grief Ministry

We are a supporting parish for the Archdiocesan Grief Ministry for families of victims of violence in Baltimore City.

This includes encouraging parishioners to engage in the Archdiocesan Grief Ministry’s sympathy note writing and other activities at an individual level. We are also exploring how our committee can provide additional support to both families of victims of violence in the city and to grieving families within the parish.

Those interested in contributing to the Archdiocese food pantry for families of local homicide victims should contact Yvonne.wenger@archbalt.org.

Those who would like to assist in writing sympathy notes for families of local homicide victims should contact Jimcasey92@outlook.com.

Please CC Kate at Kcflores.bmore@gmail.com. This is to help St. Ignatius track the level of involvement from its parishioners.

Kate Flores
Grief Ministry

Other Activities

The St. Ignatius Respect for Life Committee is committed to pursuing additional approaches to respecting human life in its totality. We welcome new issues, discussions, and ideas as we pursue assistance of God’s most vulnerable populations.

“Our defense of the innocent unborn needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless of his or her stage of development. Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection.”

– Pope Francis, Exultate et jubilate