San Antonio archdiocese calls Roe v. Wade decision a ‘tragedy’ on anniversary of abortion ruling

The Archdiocese of San Antonio held a Friday morning mass to mark the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling which ended a Texas ban on abortion and legalized it across the nation, which local church officials called a “tragedy.”

Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller held the morning mass to pray “for life” online, the archdiocese website says.

“Pray with him during the Holy Hour of Adoration that he will be leading immediately after for the commemoration of the tragedy of Roe v. Wade,” online details say.

Garcia-Siller continued on Twitter.

“We pray for the legal protection of the unborn children. We pray also for mothers and fathers. We don’t pick and choose what lives are endowed with dignity. We respect all,” he tweeted. “To respect each other…starts in the womb.”

The San Antonio archdiocese serves nearly 800,000 Catholics according to the website.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which Garcia-Siller is a part of, also rebuked abortion in a statement on the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

USCCB President and Los Angeles Archbishop, Jose Gomez said he is looking forward to working with Biden, who is only the second Catholic president in U.S. history, but noted his stance on abortion.

Biden supports Roe v. Wade and his administration is committed to codifying Roe v. Wade, according to White House news release marking the anniversary.

“So, I must point out that our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender,” Gomez wrote. “Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences.”

For his part, Gov. Greg Abbott, who imposed a temporary ban on abortion access during the early months of the pandemic, which led to an increase of risky second trimester abortions for Texas women, will participate in the Texas Rally for Life with Texas Values this Saturday. The in-person event at the Texas Capitol in Austin will be a caravan. There will also be an online livestream beginning at 2.

Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | [email protected] | @maddyskye