Welcome to the Diocese of Venice Respect Life website.  We hope you will find helpful information here.  It is a work in progress that will be updated from time to time.  Special thanks go to our volunteer website designer, Maureen Hallagan, for the many hours of work that has been dedicated to launching this site.

There are a number of pro-life organizations doing wonderful work from many different approaches, but our role is to do the work that our Bishop, the United States Bishops and the Holy Father have given us to do.  Therefore, you will find an emphasis on the Gospel of Life and the Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities, our guides for this ministry.  No single approach will solve the problems we face with the life issues.  That is why the bishops gave us four approaches in the Pastoral Plan:  prayer, education (study), public policy and pastoral care (action). 

The two major issues on which we are to focus are:  abortion and euthanasia.  Other issues are important, but these two are foundational issues that require our immediate attention.  We are concentrating on two major projects:  The Gabriel Project and In Support of Life.  The Gabriel Project is a one-on-one mentoring program for pregnant women (pastoral care).  In Support of Life is an educational program on end of life issues.  Details are available through this website.

We invite you to join us in prayer, study (particularly of the Gospel of Life) and action regarding the life issues.  If you are a member of the Diocese of Venice and would like to volunteer, please contact us or your parish.  There is so much work to be done, it is sometimes overwhelming.  The best thing to do is to choose one thing and do it, then move on to another project.  We welcome your participation in “Building a Culture of Life.”