To all people of goodwill in Colorado:
I hope you all have been hearing a great deal about Proposition 106 lately, through The Denver Catholic, through our social media channels, through your parishes, and now through television ads that have begun to run this week.
But hearing about Prop 106 isn’t enough if we are going to keep physician-assisted suicide out of our state. We all have to act, and act now! Time is quickly running out!
I am writing to you today because there has been a shift of momentum on our side. We’ve received some very important support from major newspapers in our state, including the Denver Post, the Colorado Springs Gazette, and the Longmont Times-Call. The support of these papers in our cause has been very encouraging!
But all of this isn’t enough if we don’t keep pushing. And push we must, together, as a community, if we are to have a chance at defending our state from this attack on a basic human value—life itself!
I know weekends are busy for all of us, but I am asking you, as a believer in the sanctity of human life, to take 5, 10, or 15 minutes out of your day to act on one of the suggestions I will mention at the conclusion of this letter.
A few weeks ago I was in Rome, and I mentioned our fight against physician-assisted suicide to Pope Francis. His entire demeanor changed when I mentioned Prop 106. He grew very sullen, and he said, “another instance of the throw-away culture.”
Pope Francis got it exactly right! Proposition 106 is about throwing away people who no longer have the strength to continue living. Instead of helping them, of giving them a hand, instead of filling their lives with love, companionship and support, we offer them pills of death!
This is not the culture we want to promote in Colorado!
So I am prayerfully asking every person of goodwill to spend 10 minutes this weekend in prayer. Plead to Our Lord for His intercession on behalf of life in Colorado. As we approach the close of the Year of Mercy, let us pray for help to defeat this attack against true mercy and compassion!
But don’t stop there. As a conclusion of your prayer, ask Our Lord what action he wants from you. You are called to be a leaven for good and for life in society! There is much we CAN do!
Here are some ideas of concrete actions you can take this weekend.
Donate. Right now the No Prop 106 campaign has been able to win some good victories, but if they had $1,000, $10,000 or $100,000 more to spend, we could get our message out to even more people throughout the state.
Consider a donation of $100 right now to the cause! This is the single greatest action right now that could help keep the momentum up on our side.
Visit VoteNoProp106.com to donate.
Spread the word. If you have a Blog, or are active on Facebook, Twitter or one of the other social networks, spread the word! Invite others who may not have received this letter to pray and act! Forward this email, and encourage others to do the same. Help us make sure we reach every single Catholic in our state!
Be people of hope! Many of you have lost faith in politics, and I have to admit this election season has not been easy for any of us.
But remember, that attitude is not of God. Christians are a people of hope! No action taken in defense of life is meaningless, particularly if it comes from a place of prayer and the Gospel.
I leave you now with one thought: If Proposition 106 passes, let it not be because the Catholic community of northern Colorado didn’t do EVERYTHING possible to stand in its way. Let’s not leave a single action we could take on the table. Pray! Donate! Spread the Word! As for the rest, we can leave it all in God’s hands.
Thank you for your attention to this letter, and may God bless each and every one of you, and may we all grow in His peace, love and joy.
Yours in Jesus Christ,
Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila
Archbishop of Denver
