Florida Catholic | Florida native bishop returns home to speak about life

Florida born bishop comes home to speak about life

PEGGY DEKEYSER | FLORIDA CATHOLIC PENSACOLA-TALLAHASSEE BUREAU EDITOR

Published: 09.23.08

PENSACOLA | Bishop Martin D. Holley, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, has seen the impact of abortion on many levels. As a middle child of 14, he can’t remember a time that he was not surrounded by the living example of respect for the sanctity of life within his family. As a parish priest in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, he labored hard and long with pro-life advocates, and counseled families and women whose lives were torn by unplanned pregnancies. As an African-American ministering in an urban setting, he sees the pain and suffering caused by a fundamental failure to respect the dignity of human life all around him every day: abortion, racism, poverty, violence, a lack of education, high unemployment, substance abuse, incarceration, AIDS, teen pregnancy, a lack of affordable housing … the list goes on for far too long.

Bishop Holley is slated to speak at the Florida Respect Life Conference Oct. 10 in Tallahassee. He took time to talk with the Florida Catholic about the importance of pro-life issues, especially abortion.

Bishop Martin D. Holley will be the opening speaker at the Florida Respect Life Conference, which will take place Oct 10-11 at the Ramada Conference Center in Tallahassee. For more information, call 850-763-1821 or 850-215-5046, or go to www.flacathconf.org. Registration deadline
is Sept. 30.

FLORIDA CATHOLIC: In your recent U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops pamphlet, “A Reflection on the African-American Family and the Culture of Life,” you address your concerns about the toll abortion takes on minority families. Why this concern and why now?

BISHOP HOLLEY: I’m a member of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and was asked to address this issue because I feel strongly about it, share a deep concern for all who make, for whatever reasons, the horrible and immoral decision to have an abortion. It’s important now because there is no better time to encourage this dialogue, to bring this issue to the forefront of the hearts and minds of people of good will and faith. With an election season upon us, the importance of pro-life issues should not be politicized, should not be reduced to political issues. They are moral issues and that is the heart of where we have to begin. Other issues are also important, but politicizing the arguments does not accomplish much. We have to come to the table, to engage in dialogue about the natural law that is written on our hearts – that life begins at conception and we must always, always respect that.

FLORIDA CATHOLIC: In the pamphlet, you share your opinion that the abortion challenge in minority communities is “deeply interwoven with many other concerns.” How do those concerns fit into understanding pro-life more fully?

BISHOP HOLLEY: Black families, especially those in urban settings, have to face many concerns and issues, such as substance abuse, lack of education, high unemployment and violence, often all at one time. But this isn’t just true of black families. It applies to many of our families, especially in these times of economic uncertainty. The stresses that build into hopelessness and cause a person to turn to addiction can also cause that same person, perhaps under the influence, to turn to another immoral action, that of having sexual intercourse outside of the bonds of marriage. While we cannot accept the immoral action, we must find ways to get at the root causes of poverty, violence and hopelessness as well. We must understand the contributing factors and lead communities to a higher moral standard of living while addressing these other issues as well.

FLORIDA CATHOLIC: How would you propose to address so many complex issues at once?

BISHOP HOLLEY: Education is key. Support for mothers and their babies is key – support from public and private institutions and programs. When an unwed woman is faced with a pregnancy along with a whole host of other problems, where can she find answers? Where can she find someone who compassionately works to understand what she is dealing with, and who will truly help her make a moral, life-affirming decision? Who will be there to help her with prenatal doctors’ visits, to help her in the labor and delivery rooms? Who will be there to help her arrange safe and decent child care? Who will be there to help her gain job skills so she can contribute to the support of her family? Who will assist her with counseling to help her with healthy relationships? If Roe v. Wade were overturned tomorrow, what would be in place to help her?

FLORIDA CATHOLIC: What barriers do you see that prevent the care and support you describe from being available?

BISHOP HOLLEY: One huge barrier is finances. If Row v. Wade were overturned tomorrow – which is a desirable goal but one that is entangled with levels of bureaucracy and political agendas – what would be in place? If the funding that is allocated to support and supply the abortion industry were rerouted to support and supply services for pre- and postnatal care, it could make all the difference.

FLORIDA CATHOLIC: What steps would you recommend that parishes take to move in the directions you’ve outlined?

BISHOP HOLLEY: There is a wide range of actions that parishes can take. They can make it a priority to provide evangelization and catechesis on Pope John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” and his encyclical “The Gospel of Life,” along with the encyclicals of Pope Benedict XVI, all of which promote the culture of life. They can ensure that there are both pro-life and social justice ministries within the parish, and that those voices are included at the decision-making level of the parish. These ministries have to meet on and plan on how to respond to unplanned pregnancies, to mothers and their babies, on a local level. Parishes must become involved in advocating for pro-life with their governmental representatives. Money, funding for pro-life must be a priority.

FLORIDA CATHOLIC: In speaking to ordinary Catholics today, what would you say to them about pro-life?

BISHOP HOLLEY: We must first and foremost be forgiving and loving, while always opposing the culture of death. It isn’t easy, but rhetoric and politicizing the issue does not provide solutions. We must be willing to engage those who are pro-choice in respectful dialogue, to help them understand and embrace the dignity of all human persons as creations and children of the almighty God. When someone says that abortion is a choice, that their body belongs to them, we must always, with mercy and love, assert that the gift of life is from God alone and that the choice for life belongs to God. There are radicals on both sides. Shouting and screaming won’t accomplish much. Prayer, sacrifice and a willingness to come to the table to enter into relationship with one another, to engage in dialogue about the sanctity of life, those are the actions we have to throw our hearts and passions into. We have to keep at it.

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