The Catholic Church’s annual Day for Life will take place on Sunday 21 June. It’s the day in the Church’s year dedicated to raising awareness about the meaning and value of human life at every stage. Day for Life is a joint initiative between the Bishops’ Conferences of England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
This year, the bishops have chosen the theme ‘The Wonder of the Child in the Womb’.
In a recent interview, Archbishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues for the Bishops’ Conference, explained that this theme was chosen to “highlight the joy and the gift of the child, especially as articulated and sung in the Psalms of the Old Testament, the wonder of the child that God has created that is in the womb.”
In their message for this year’s Day for Life, the bishops of the three episcopal conferences acknowledged “the particular grief of mothers and fathers who have lost a child before birth or in infancy.”
Archbishop Sherrington explained that “parents who have lost a child in the womb, or perhaps shortly after birth, are particularly able in a special way to recognise that wonder and humanity of their child.”
Reflecting on the fact that the loss of a child is a particular form of grief which isn’t often spoken about and may still be considered taboo in some parts of society, Archbishop Sherrington reflected:
“There are many women who are carrying a lot of pain because of a miscarriage or stillbirth or perhaps the loss of a child soon after birth. It’s an area that the Church has not dealt particularly well with in the past.
“There was a lot of privacy, there was a lot of not talking about these things and so we thought that in entering into this reflection, particularly on Father’s Day, there’s an opportunity to open up this painful area so that the grief can be identified and the Church can help women and parents through grief through prayer and support.
“It’s important to name this because unless we name the truth of situations then they remain covered up. Naming the truth and the loss of a child is a way of being compassionate and can help a parent to process the grief of the loss of that child.”
Hospital chaplains are available to parents who require spiritual support at moments of profound loss, and couples may also choose to hold a funeral for the child to lay them to rest in a meaningful way.
The parish community can also be a great source of support, and can help to open conversations between couples who have experienced similar loss.
Archbishop Sherrington reflected:
“One of the most consoling things that anybody can do is to go into a church and light a candle and say a prayer for the little child, who will often have been given a name by their parents. That is something you can do privately, but which can be very consoling.”
On each Day for Life a second collection is taken to support pro-life work in England and Wales.
Archbishop Sherrington explained that “the Day for Life fund supports organisations which do pro-life work, including those within dioceses such as bereavement groups, voluntary groups or small charities that are providing a local help to people in need.
“We also fund some of the larger charities who are working on pro-life issues. So the fund, much reduced now since COVID, will be used for various ways of supporting pro-life activities, and we do give some account of that on the Bishop’s Conference website, so you will know that if you do contribute, then your money is being used either locally or nationally by the Church in accord with pro-life activities.”
More information about Day for Life can be found here.
