West Dundee church display weighs in on abortion

Standing by in silence while certain acts occur would not be the Catholic way.

That's why St. Catherine of Siena Church in West Dundee installed 137 crosses in front of its building. The crosses represent the number of babies aborted every hour in the United States, according to the American Life League.

It's the church's way of weighing in on the issue and reminding motorists passing on Route 72 about this “very serious problem in our country,” said the Rev. James Canova, the church's associate pastor.

Although abortion is legal, the Roman Catholic Church, which believes life begins at conception, frowns on the practice, even in cases of rape and incest.

And just because abortion is legal, doesn't make it right, Canova said.

“Civil law does not determine our morality,” Canova said. “Divine law does. Legalized abortion is an unjust law and the toleration of unjust laws is a sin.”

It's also not enough that the birthrates among certain segments of the population are increasing.

“In 50 years, we won't have a European culture in our country if (abortion) continues,” Canova said. “We're replacing aborted babies with immigration. Nothing against immigration, but that's how we're maintaining our population, not through reproduction.”

The church got a late start by installing the crosses Saturday — October was Respect Life Month in the Catholic Church — due to a reshuffling in leadership on the committee responsible for installing them.

The crosses are coming down Thursday evening. Canova says the church received no complaints about them since they've gone up. It marked the first time St. Catherine of Siena arranged the display, which has been seen at Catholic churches across the country.