The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is encouraging Catholics to celebrate Respect Life Month with “a revival of prayer and action,” since abortion remains the “pre-eminent priority” in the country’s political climate.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, the USCCB’s Chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued a statement exhorting Catholics to renew their commitment “to work for the legal protection of every human life, from conception to natural death” this October, which the Church has observed as Respect Life Month since 1973.

“We must call for policies that assist women and their children in need, while also continuing to help mothers in our own communities through local pregnancy help centers,” the Bishop stated, adding that Catholics must “extend the hand of compassion” to those who participated in an abortion.

“Most importantly, we must rededicate ourselves to fervent prayer on behalf of life,” Bishop Burbidge urged.

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He said that while American Catholics should be grateful for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, 50 years of national access to abortion “has tragically created a national mindset where many Americans have become comfortable with some amount of abortion.”

As a result, abortion remains the “pre-eminent priority” of US Catholic Bishops, given that it destroys over 1 million American lives a year.

Bishop Burbidge connected Respect Life Month to the Eucharistic Revival, saying that Jesus, who gives us the fullness of life in the Eucharist, “calls each of us to respect that gift of life in every human person.”

“While we live in a society that often rejects those who are weak, fragile, or vulnerable, they are the most in need of our care and protection,” Bishop Burbidge added.

LifeNews Note: Grace Porto writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.