Church prepares to mark Support Life Sunday

The Church marks Support Life Sunday on the second Sunday in October each year – October 12 this year. In the Jubilee Year of Hope, there is a special opportunity to consider how to overcome understandable, but demoralising, feelings of hopelessness.

Bishops Conference vice president Bishop Michael Dooley reiterated what the New Zealand bishops have highlighted in recent years – that one does not need to look far to recognise that the world is in need of healing.

“As we pointed out in Te Kahu o te Ora (2023), we experience divisions that are the result of human behaviours and institutions,” Bishop Dooley said.

“We see abortion rates on the rise in New Zealand and there are increasing attempts to expand access to euthanasia, while palliative care funding remains inadequate. People continue to suffer financially; they struggle to access healthy food, safe housing and health care.

“Globally, our world is being fractured and ravaged through wars, conflicts and climate disasters. The dignity of persons and of our common home is under threat in multiple ways. Taking time to prayerfully focus on our need to support life this weekend is a small but important step towards making a difference through action.”

In addition to being a Jubilee Year, this year’s Support Life Sunday resources highlight various significant Church documents that have milestone anniversaries – such as St Paul VI’s Evangelii Nuntiandi, St John Paul II’s Evangelium Vitae and Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’.

Bishop Dooley noted the ongoing relevance of the three documents for the Church of today.

“We are called to be people who share the message of Jesus Christ, we must support the value of every human life and our care for creation is a way for us to care for the one who created the world,” he said.

“On this Support Life Sunday, Catholics – and all people of good will – have the chance to think of those demands on us, and consider how we can respond more faithfully, sustained as we are by the hope that comes from faith.”

Resources for Support Life Sunday 2025 can be found at www.catholic.org.nz/resources

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Church prepares to mark Support Life Sunday (NZCBC)