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May 27, 2022Pregnant and parenting moms in need are in our parishes and our neighborhoods. As Pope Francis reminds us, our Catholic parishes need to be “islands of mercy in the midst of a sea of indifference.” Everyone should know how to help moms in difficult circumstances. Everyone in the parish community should be able to accompany pregnant women and know where to refer a pregnant woman in need.
As part of the nationwide effort, Walking with Moms in Need, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities is providing educational materials to help Catholics better understand the Gospel call to go to the peripheries and bring hope and help to those in need.
Walking with Moms in Need is a nationwide—yet parish-based—initiative to increase outreach and support to pregnant and parenting mothers in need. It is a deliberate process and whole-church response whose purpose is to help facilitate the accompaniment of mothers in need at the parish level. The goal of Walking with Moms is not to reinvent the wheel or turn parishes into pregnancy centers; rather, it is about building relationships with and enhancing referrals to these helping agencies.
This initiative is unique in that it asks every Catholic parish and parishioner to prayerfully place themselves in the shoes of a mother in need and walk with her throughout the difficulties and challenges she faces. Walking with Moms also hopes to identify new parish leaders and empower the clergy and laity to make a positive impact together.
To guide parishes in implementing this program and to serve as communicators with the broader community, the Diocese of Tucson has appointed two Lay Communicators: Diocesan Chancellor Anne Morales and Dr. Ana Sanguineti.
Walking with Moms in Need seeks to answer St. John Paul II’s call to evaluate how the Church serves mothers facing difficulties:
“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).
While we know that the Church provides immeasurable assistance to mothers in need through its extensive network of social services, Walking with Moms in Need asks us to evaluate these services and identify gaps, and to consider how these services are communicated to parishioners, the larger community, and those most in need of support.
Walking with Moms in Need is designed to not compete with ongoing pregnancy resource ministries, but rather to enhance and unify our efforts. Together, we can work towards the day when any pregnant or parenting mother in need can turn to her local Catholic parish and be connected to supportive, life-affirming help.
The USCCB has developed an extensive list of services and organizations that are equipped to joyfully serve pregnant and parenting mothers in need. Services include prenatal and postnatal care, education and support programs, abortion grief and counseling.
We can support local pregnancy centers where they exist, and we can also find and share other resources with pregnant and parenting women. And where there are few local resources, we can create our own, based on the gifts of the parish community!
Excerpted with permission. Copyright © 2022, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.