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Over the next few weeks the Colorado Catholic Conference will begin a major effort on two key ballot measures for Colorado voters this fall: the protection of marriage and the prohibition of late-term abortions.
This year’s state marriage amendment — Initiative 83 — will go a long way to protecting marriage as the cornerstone of our culture. A state amendment, because it becomes part of Colorado’s constitution, has much more gravity and durability than a state law, which depends on the current views of every future state legislative session. The passage of a state marriage amendment will help ensure the future by defending the integrity of marriage and the family.
A late-term abortion ban — Initiative 80 — will also help protect new life in its most vulnerable form. All abortions involve killing a sacred and unrepeatable human life at some stage of its development. Late-term abortions are especially tragic and brutal because of the unborn child’s viability outside the womb. While not a full ban of abortion, or perfect in its scope, Initiative 80, which would constitutionally ban late-term abortions, is nonetheless an important, incremental step in the right direction. If Initiative 80 passes in November, scores of unborn children may be spared in our state each year. Statistically, this number may seem small — but only if we accept the standards of a coarsened public debate that tolerates thousands of abortions nationally every day. We need Initiative 80, because through it, Colorado’s constitution will offer a valuable public witness in defending human life, an example we can work from to further lead our society toward a culture of life.
But if these important measures do not get on the ballot in November, we will have failed to add to our state laws a strong message of respect for our families and new life.
I ask you and all our fellow Catholics to sign petitions as they become available over the next few weeks at our parishes. The Colorado Catholic Conference will be assisting each parish in Colorado to conduct signature drives on both the state marriage amendment and the state late-term abortion ban. We need to collect, as a state-wide community, at least 68,000 valid signatures for each petition in order to put these two important issues on the ballot this fall, and thus give Coloradans the chance to protect marriage and new, unborn life with their votes.
These petition signature drives will take place between June 29 and July 17, as parish schedules and resources allow. I’ve asked our pastors throughout the Archdiocese of Denver to designate a responsible parish member or staff employee to serve as the parish petition coordinator. Ms. Brittany Feiten of the Colorado Catholic Conference will be the state-wide petition coordinator and will provide each parish with petitions, instructions, and other useful information. Ms. Feiten is committed to helping each and every parish coordinator to ensure that the petition drive runs smoothly and effectively.
Parish coordinators, once designated by their pastors, should contact Ms. Feiten at 303-919-9294 or at catholicmomdad@aol.com as soon as possible, but no later than June 27 so that she can get all necessary information and petitions to the parishes.
One of the lessons Colorado Catholics have learned over the past several years is that only when we actively engage public issues with an energy and conscience informed by our faith and our moral convictions, do we truly live as “faithful citizens.” We serve the common good best by being true to what we claim to believe — both in the public square and in our private lives.
Please support both Initiative 80 and Initiative 83 with your petition signatures and your vote in November. Working together, we can accomplish these two key goals in protecting marriage and new life in Colorado during this election year.
