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Bishops approve blessing of child in womb

E-mail|Link|Comments (3) Posted by Michael Paulson November 11, 2008 12:29 PM

As they prepare for this afternoon's discussion of abortion and politics, the Catholic bishops of the United States this morning approved a new "blessing of a child in the womb.'' Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louiville called the blessing "a very tangible way of us to witness, pastorally and sacramentally, the life of the unborn child,'' and Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli, of Paterson, NJ, said "it is important to reaffirm and focus our attention on the life of the unborn.''

An excerpt from the blessing, which a priest could say for a pregnant woman:

"May almighty God, who has created new life now bless the child in your womb. The Lord has brought you the joy of motherhood: may he bless you with a safe and healthy pregnancy. You thank the Lord today for the gift of your child: may he bring you and your child one day to share in the unending joys of heaven.''

(Photo, by Steve Ruark of AP, shows the bishops praying at their semi-annual meeting in Baltimore.)

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3 comments so far...

Blessing of Child in Womb
How about a prayer Blessing Children from Being raped by Pedophile Priests ?

Posted by Jake November 12, 08 12:40 PM

A prayer to bless a mother and her child is to guard them against all of the evils in the world, not just the evils you like to bring to mind, Jake.

Posted by mgoretti November 27, 08 12:28 PM

do the volunteers outside an abortion clinic offer a blessing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the salvation of the children in the womb before their mothers enter the clinic? Is this prayer efficacious?

Posted by jim morgan, metuchen, nj December 10, 08 09:06 AM

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Michael Paulson covers religion for The Boston Globe. He shared in the Pulitzer Prize in 2003, won the Mike Berger, Templeton and Supple awards in 2008, and is a four-time winner of the Wilbur Award.
E-mail mpaulson@globe.com.

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