Pro-life supporters must strive to overcome the “insidious voices” calling for the elimination of society’s weak and vulnerable members.

Speaking December 28 at the Feast of the Holy Innocents Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto, Father Tom Lynch said there is a danger of the pro-life message becoming obscured in a society of conflicting voices.

Archbishop Aloysius Ambrozic of Toronto was chief celebrant for the Holy Innocents Mass which was dedicated to the protection of unborn children. More than 20 priests, including Father Ted Colleton, joined the archbishop in the celebration.

The Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral was one of several respect for life religious celebrations held throughout the country December 28.

“It can be difficult for us to hear all the voices out there today,” Father Lynch said in his homily. “One of the loudest of these voices is telling us to sacrifice our children to get rid of any burdens that might weigh us down.”

Father Lynch, a lecturer in moral theology at St. Augustine’s Seminary in Toronto, said a growing emphasis on abortion, euthanasia and other anti-family practices has diverted society from its true centre. He called on pro-life supporters to help build a new culture of “light and love,” one based on the themes expressed by Pope John Paul II in his March 1995 encyclical Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life).

In the encyclical, the pope decried the “culture of death” which has evolved over the last 35 years. He called on pro-life, pro-family minded individuals to counter the decreasing respect towards human life in recent times.

Father Lynch said pro-life supporters should not be deterred by the view that their efforts are labelled “out of fashion” by the mainstream media. He said the effort to defend the rights of the unborn and the weakest members of our society demand vigilance “in season and out of season.”

“We are also called to set new goals and restructure our organisations so that we can find ways to reach the hearts and minds of people,” he said. He urged pro-family supporters to adopt a proactive stance to help turn society away from anti-life tendencies.

“We should be the ones setting the agenda,” he said.