People discover their worth when they discover their true identity as created in God’s image and called to an eternal destiny with him, said Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, O.F.M.Cap., archbishop of Boston and chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in the conference’s annual Respect Life Month statement. Catholics and all people of good will in the United States are invited to participate in Respect Life Month. Observed in October, it begins the year-long cycle of the Respect Life Program. The theme of the 2015-16 program is “Every life is worth living.” In his introductory statement, Cardinal O’Malley writes: “Whether it lasts for a brief moment or for a hundred years, each of our lives is a good and perfect gift. At every stage and in every circumstance, we are held in existence by God’s love.” Nothing can diminish a person’s God-given dignity or the worth of his or her life, he said, only that others may fail to respect human dignity.

This article appears in October 5 2015.