The Supreme Court’s decision reversing Roe v. Wade is a welcome step forward toward building a society that truly values and honors human life. Since 1973 the Catholic Church in the United States, together with many other religious and non-religious communities, has publicly expressed its opposition to the Roe v Wade decision. That decision was gravely unjust, and an unprecedented aggression against the life and dignity of the unborn child. It was sweeping in its effects, stripping away all previous legal protections for human life in the womb. That the 1973 decision has now been overturned makes it possible for legal protections for the unborn child to be enacted in the various states. The simple fact is that abortion is not primarily a religious issue, though it is an issue that rightly afflicts a religious conscience. It is a human dignity, human rights and social justice issue. The child in the womb deserves to be protected under law because the child conceived is already a member of the human family. A society cannot turn against its own and hope to survive. It is a matter of justice that the civil order work to promote the viability and flourishing of all human lives, be they in the womb, recently born, in school, in poverty, in danger of violence, in prison, or elderly and in need of medical care. As a community that seeks what is good, just and right, we can and must promote the protection of children in the womb, and promote support for expectant mothers, especially those afflicted by poverty and isolation. For our part, the Catholic Church in the Rio Grande Valley will continue its long-standing efforts to provide resources, human accompaniment, and spiritual support for expectant mothers in difficult circumstances and similar kinds of support for the mother and child after the child is born. And working together with many others in the community who are not Catholic, we hope to expand these efforts. I am grateful to God that the nightmare of Roe v Wade is ending. And I ask all people of good will to work together so that human life may always be welcomed and nurtured in our families, our communities and our country. +Daniel E. Flores Bishop of Brownsville

Today, we give thanks for the stay of execution for Melissa Lucio granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. We thank the many who have prayed and worked for this outcome, and we continue to accompany Melissa and her family as they face the future together. Our best hope is to continue in our efforts as a community to make this a less violent, more peaceful world. This requires that we continue to foster a sense of justice that does not include the taking of more lives. Let us pray and work for an end to the death penalty. There are many who are on death row at this time. Their deaths will not serve justice.

Bishop Daniel E. Flores and Auxiliary Bishop Mario A. Avilés will lead a prayer vigil at 7 p.m. Friday, April 22 at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine, for Melissa Lucio, a death row inmate scheduled for execution on April 27.

Construction workers set a steel roof beam in place on the twin candle rooms taking shape on the north side of the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine on Monday, April 11. During peak times, visitors to the Basilica may bring as many as 13,000 candles a week to the shrine -- more than the current candle room inside the Basilica can accommodate. The new candle rooms are expected to be ready by this summer.