By Dr. Ruben Barron
After local faith communities continued to advocate for the unborn, the Fontana City Council voted on July 23 to extend a building moratorium that will stall the construction of a proposed Planned Parenthood clinic. The Council had voted a year earlier to establish the moratorium.
During the uncertain future of whether Fontana will allow the clinic, St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fontana has been an active source of prayers for the protection of the unborn. Prayer processions numbering up to a thousand people have served as expressions of concern for the lives of the unborn. What motivates busy priests and parishioners to take their faith values to the streets?
Father Juan M. Escobedo-Cepeda, the pastor of St. Joseph Church, is passionate about his commitment to speak out and act on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves. For him, the issue of abortion is clear.
“Abortion is an attack on human life,” he said.
He is also firm in his belief about the origins of life. “God is the author of life, and the Church will always defend life in all its forms,” he said. From his years of experience as a religious leader and nine years at his current parish, Father Cepeda has witnessed the impact of abortion on young mothers and fathers. “I don’t know a person who has said, ‘I feel good’ after an abortion,” he said.
Miguel Favela works with young adults at St. Joseph Church and says he thinks they are the people most intimately and directly affected by the impact of abortions. “There is a lot of confusion and fear among young people,” he said. “They fear being attacked if they tell friends that they are pro-life.” Favela feels that talking about abortion with compassion is necessary.
“Sometimes people think we are attacking them, and that’s not it. We’re not attacking the person but the idea,” he said.
Luis Alfonso Martínez works with married couples who are raising their own families. From their experience as parents, they have a deep appreciation for the sanctity of life. He described defending life as the heart of the mission of his ministry.
“We defend life to show our children the importance of life and to guide them along the right path,” he said.
José Valle is a member of the Church’s Prophetic Ministry, which is concerned with raising people’s awareness of serious matters. “If someone witnesses a crime and does nothing, he becomes an accomplice to it. Our duty is to make people aware if a sin is being committed,” he said.
Raising awareness is the first step toward taking action. Jose added, “We should do something so that sin is not committed. Let’s not be complicit in that sin.”
Margo Alducin is a member of St. John XXIII Catholic Church in Fontana. She participates actively in the prayer processions and relies on her faith to inform her about issues. “I’m a Catholic woman, and as such, I am pro-life,” she said. “Abortion is a great injustice. It terminates life,” she added.
Maria Valadez is the Director of the Office of Respect Life and Pastoral Care for the Diocese of San Bernardino. She provides support and resources to those who call on her. “I found out about the possibility of a Planned Parenthood Clinic from people who saw the sign where they want to put the clinic,” she said, adding, “For them, it was important to do something, and the first question they asked me was, ‘How can you support us?’” While recognizing the challenges to protect the unborn in a state where abortion is legal, Valadez, like the people who asked her for help, feels compelled to act. “We have to use our voices, use our prayers, and support people in the causes that call them,” she said.
Dr. Ruben Barron is a spiritual director and freelance writer based in Yorba Linda