ROME — The United States Catholic bishops have launched a special week of prayer to end abortion, which they consider to be the “pre-eminent priority” for Catholic voters.

The intention of the bishops’ novena (nine days of prayer) is the protection of human life from conception to natural death. “May every child in his or her mother’s womb be protected in law and welcomed in love,” one of the daily prayers reads.

“Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Blessed Mother and, like each one of us, grew and developed as a preborn child beneath the shelter of His mother’s heart,” the reflection states. “This simultaneously reveals the undeniable humanity of preborn children and the intrinsic value of all human life.”

“Abortion tragically rejects these truths, ending the life of a child and harming those involved in a variety of ways,” the text continues.

Following Jesus “means caring for and protecting those who are most vulnerable and helping others to do the same,” it notes. “May each of us work to ensure life is protected and cherished in our laws and in our hearts.”

Each day of the novena features a different prayer intention, as well as a short reflection, suggested actions, and additional information to help participants go deeper.

The novena is an initiative of the bishops’ office for Pro-Life Activities, which has dedicated October as “Respect Life Month.”

In a statement announcing “Respect Life Month,” Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, Chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, laments that “fifty years of virtually unlimited abortion has tragically created a national mindset where many Americans have become comfortable with some amount of abortion.”

“This allows the abortion industry to continue to provide any amount of abortion,” he adds.

Given this challenge, the U.S. bishops have affirmed that “abortion remains our pre-eminent priority as it directly attacks our most vulnerable brothers and sisters, destroying more than a million lives each year in our country alone,” he writes, citing the bishops’ guide for Catholic voters.

“We see many politicians celebrating the destruction of preborn children, and protecting access to abortion, even up until the moment of birth,” the bishop writes, adding that heading into the November elections, “as many as ten states face gravely evil ballot initiatives that would enshrine abortion in their state constitutions.”

Pope St. John Paul II’s words resonate today, he observes: “We are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life, the ‘culture of death’ and the ‘culture of life’ … we are all involved and we all share in it, with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life.”

The Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz celebrates abortion as a fundamental right and has made the expansion of abortion in the United States the central plank of their campaign platform.

In its official policy page, the Harris/ Walz campaign reaffirms its commitment to eliminate pro-life state laws in favor of abortion on demand across the United States. Harris has pledged to sign legislation enshrining a federal right to abortion, should she be elected.

Harris also publicly stated her opposition to religious exemptions for Christians and other healthcare workers who refuse to perform abortions on moral grounds.

As Catholic Vote observed in a social media post, “Kamala Harris admits she would deny religious exemptions for abortions — forcing Christians to kill unborn children and seemingly doubling down on weaponizing the government to jail pro-lifers who pray outside abortion facilities.”

“Why would any Christian vote for her?” they ask.