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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued a nationwide invitation to Catholics to join a focused campaign of daily prayer, invoking the intercession of Saint Joseph, Defender of Life, to stop taxpayers’ funds going to the abortion industry.
Bishop Daniel E. Thomas (chair of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities) and Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio (USCCB president) jointly encouraged the faithful to pray starting July 25 through October 1—the start of Respect Life Month—with the aim of ending federal Medicaid support for organizations that perform abortions.
The bishops celebrated the temporary defunding of Planned Parenthood and similar large abortion providers achieved under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, but warned that a federal judge had granted a preliminary injunction that restored parts of that funding. This reinstatement, they stressed, perpetuates the very injustice the prayer campaign seeks to end.
In their statements, Bishops Broglio and Thomas emphasized: “Americans should not be forced to pay for the killing of pre-born children or fund the clinics that kill them.” They urged all Catholics to offer the prayer daily to protect innocent children and their vulnerable mothers from the evil of abortion.
This appeal closely follows a March 2025 letter from the bishops, including Bishop Robert Barron, urging Congress to defund both the abortion and “gender transition” industries, describing taxpayer funding for such services as morally unacceptable. They also voiced deep concern over broader deficiencies in the budget reconciliation bill, highlighting cuts that harm healthcare, food assistance, and environmental protection for vulnerable populations.
The prayer is as follows:
Dearest St. Joseph, at the word of an angel, you lovingly took Mary into your home. As God’s humble servant, you guided the Holy Family on the road to Bethlehem, welcomed Jesus as your own son in the shelter of a manger, and fled far from your homeland for the safety of both Mother and Child. We praise God that as their faithful protector, you never hesitated to sacrifice for those entrusted to you.
May your example inspire us also to welcome, cherish, and safeguard God’s most precious gift of life. Help us to faithfully commit ourselves to the service and defence of human life, especially where it is vulnerable or threatened. Obtain for us the grace to do the will of God in all things. Amen.
