Editor’s Note: Bishop Vann wrote this letter in late September, prior to visiting Rome.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As we enter Respect Life Month, Fr. Bao Thai and I are preparing to attend the consistory for the creation of new cardinals in Rome. We will probably meet Pope Francis at some point while we are there. In these days of Respect Life Month, I want to refer to Pope Francis’ recent response which he gave in a press conference during a return flight from Marseilles, France:
“You don’t play with life, neither at the beginning nor at the end. It is not played with! Whether it is the law not to let the child grow in the mother’s womb or the law of euthanasia in disease and old age, I am not saying it is a faith thing, but it is a human thing: There is bad compassion.”
– Pope Francis