At St. Joseph Parish in New Paltz, N.Y., the friars and parishioners are strengthening their pro-life witness. They are discerning how to protect and enhance the lives of all persons from conception to natural death and throughout the life cycle—and to extend that protection to all earth life.

“We are evaluating the actions we have engaged in over the years in connection with the pro-life ministry and determining whether or not we still need to participate in them,” said Fr. Salvatore Cordaro, the pastor. “For example, we will continue to participate in the annual Roses for Life campaign and the Baby Bottle campaign.

This spring, the parish kicked off a speakers’ series, “The Culture of Life,” to teach the faithful about the many facets of the pro-life movement. They will hold lectures on abortion, disabled rights, end-of-life issues, immigration, and other issues that fall under the pro-life umbrella. They got underway on April 26 with a presentation on Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement, by Deirdre Cornell.

One of the invited lecturers, Monica Snyder, is executive director of Secular Pro-Life, a group that puts forward secular arguments against abortions and other offenses against the dignity of life. Father Sal has also invited Fr. Samuel Fuller, who preaches often about Pope Francis’ teaching on ecology in Laudato Si’, to speak about care for creation in the context of respect for life.

St. Joseph also held Lenten pro-life programs for prayer and adult faith formation. Learn more at stjosephnewpaltz.org.