WASHINGTON-Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, chair of the USCCB's Committee for Religious Liberty urge the faithful to flood Congress with emails and calls asking for enactment of the Conscience Protection Act as part of the 2018 funding bill and to pray for this outcome. Congress is currently considering whether to include the Conscience Protection Act in must-pass government funding legislation, and a decision on the Conscience Protection Act's inclusion will be made prior to March 23, 2018.

The joy and sorrow of modern day pregnancy served as the topic of the evening at the seventh annual benefit to support the St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center. EWTN Radio personality Gloria Purvis delivered an address that explained the troubles she had on her journey to have a child.

The Department of Pro-Life Activities of the Diocese of Buffalo will hold the 7th annual St. Gianna Benefit Banquet on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. at the Millennium Hotel, 2040 Walden Ave., Cheektowaga. The St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center, the pastoral outreach of the Department of Pro-Life Activities for the Diocese of Buffalo, provides material, emotional, and spiritual support to mothers, fathers and young families in need from pregnancy through the first years of life. The center follows the example of St. Gianna Molla, the patron saint of physicians, pregnant mothers and unborn children, in respecting, protecting, and cherishing all human life as a precious gift from God. Proceeds from the dinner will be used to support the center. Buffalo Bishop Richard J. Malone will provide opening remarks and this year's keynote speaker will be Catholic activist Gloria Purvis.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - President Donald Trump praised the pro-life movement's support for pregnant women and touted his administration's pro-life policy achievements in his remarks to the March for Life Friday.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - In the fight against abortion, it is crucial to recognize the reality of evil and the importance of prayer, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said on the eve of the annual March for Life.

WASHINGTON—The National Prayer Vigil for Life will be held from Thursday afternoon, Jan. 18, to Friday morning, Jan. 19, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Over 20,000 pilgrims from around the nation will pray there for an end to abortion before the annual March for Life. The Vigil marks the 45th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions legalizing abortion throughout the nine months of pregnancy. Since those decisions, over 58 million abortions have been performed legally in the United States.

Bishop Richard J. Malone and the diocesan Office of Pro-Life Activities honored those who have stood up in the fight for human life during a special Mass at St. Bernadette Parish in Orchard Park. At the Jan. 13 Mass, Pro-Vita Awards handed out in five categories to people and groups dedicated to the pro-life cause.

The diocesan observance of the 45th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion will be held on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 5 p.m. at St. Bernadette Parish, 5930 S. Abbott Road, Orchard Park. Bishop Richard J. Malone, bishop of Buffalo, will be the main celebrant.

OTTAWA, CANADA (CNA/EWTN News) - Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa, Canada, called into question Ontario's new "bubble zone law," which he said restricts the peaceful efforts of the pro-life movement.

The beneficiaries of a baby shower the diocesan St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center held earlier this year are doing well, according to a parishioner of St. Vincent Parish in Springbrook who made the event possible, along with St. Gianna Molla Center director Cheryl Zielen-Ersing.

For years, Angel (name has been changed) was a victim of domestic violence and felt like she was alone with no one to help her. However, this young mother overcame difficult circumstances with support and assistance from diocesan staff, and is currently living at a local women's shelter with her children after getting the help she needed to escape from her abuser and begin the long road towards healing.

For those who wish to advocate for the pro-life cause in a visual, humanitarian way, the diocesan Office of Pro-Life Activities supports training for so-called "sidewalk advocates," people who stand outside of abortion clinics holding anti-abortion signs and praying. These advocates stand in front of an abortion clinic on Main Street in Buffalo early on Saturday mornings, as they will do in the month of October.

Our Lady of Pompeii Parish in Lancaster will welcome Respect Life Month by bringing in a Catholic doctor to speak against physician-assisted suicide as part of its Faith Enrichment Speaker Series.

WASHINGTON, DC - (CNA/EWTN News).- The Trump administration announced broad new exemptions to the HHS contraceptive mandate on Friday, giving relief to religious non-profits and others with deeply held religious or moral convictions regarding contraception.

WASHINGTON— Cardinal Timothy Dolan, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, urged the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36). It is expected to come to the House floor the first week of October. The bill, introduced by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), proposes a ban on abortions starting at 20 weeks after fertilization.

Bishop Edward M. Grosz, Auxiliary Bishop of Buffalo, will be the main celebrant and homilist at the annual Respect Life Mass on Sunday, October 1, at 10:30 a.m., at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo.

Three organizations in the Diocese of Buffalo have formed a pro-life trinity. The Knights of Columbus and Catholic Health have teamed up with the Office of Pro-Life Activities to bring ultrasound machines to the eight counties of Western New York.

While many people do not like to think about end of life decisions, these topics are often not brought up or discussed until it is too late for them to plan ahead, leaving them unable to make informed choices. In response to this need, faith community nurses will host a four-part series on important documents people should prepare - advance directives, wills, power of attorney and funeral preplanning - on Sept. 14, Oct. 12, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, held from 7-8:30 p.m. on each date at St. Leo the Great Parish in Amherst.

Those laboring to cultivate a culture of life in New York received some good news at the Respect Life in-service sponsored by the Diocese of Buffalo. Bishop Richard J. Malone announced that the New York State Appeals Court affirmed that the current state laws against physician-assisted suicide are constitutional.

As part of a collaboration between Mount St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston and Catholic Cemeteries, the two entities came together on Aug. 2 to bless and dedicate a new space on the grounds of Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Lewiston for families who have suffered losses associated with miscarriage. The newly dedicated section of the cemetery is designated specifically for fetuses aged 20 weeks or younger.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Stepping into a tumultuous legal battle involving a UK couple's push for a say in the treatment and death of their terminally ill son, Pope Francis has offered his prayers for the child, and asked that the parents' wishes be respected.

In the Dec. 20, 2016 issue of Commonweal magazine, this sentence appeared in an article entitled, "Abortion and Social Justice": "Nothing would do more to energize social-justice movements than a broad-based coalition that was able to break through the impasse of abortion politics in the United States."

Throughout the winter months and this spring season, several parishes sponsored successful diaper drives and baby showers, collecting items to serve families of the St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center. As an outreach of the Pro-Life Office of the Diocese of Buffalo, St. Gianna's serves mothers, fathers and young families during and after pregnancy, providing material, emotional and spiritual support. Families facing challenges in providing for their babies are referred to the center by social service agencies. Through generous parish and individual responses to their needs, they are provided with diapers, wipes, clothing and other items fundamental to the daily care of their children. The families are grateful not only for the material assistance, but also for the care and hope offered at the center.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - United States Vice President Mike Pence exhorted those in attendance at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday to continue to be a "voice for the voiceless", after proclaiming that "life is winning" in the nation.

Bishop Richard J. Malone will mark the Diocese of Buffalo's fifth annual Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb at a special Mass on Sunday, May 7. The 10:30 a.m. Mass will be held at St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo.

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. (CNA/EWTN News) - As Arkansas prepares to conduct the first double execution in the U.S. since 2000, Catholics prayed for all involved in the execution and the victims of the capital crimes.

Each year, the Office of Pro-Life Activities for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo sponsors a Rosary Novena for Life. This year, it begins on Saturday, March 25, with 8 a.m. Mass at St. Rose of Lima Parish, Parkside and Parker avenues, Buffalo, and will continue on one Saturday each month through November.

The diocesan Office of Pro-Life Activities and Baker Victory Services are sponsoring a Mass for all those who have been touched by adoption -- birthparents, adoptees, adoptive parents, grandparents and other relatives.

WASHINGTON, DC - Cardinal Timothy Dolan, chair of the USCCB's Committee on Pro-Life Activities, praised both chambers of the U.S. Congress for taking action to nullify a bad policy imposed by the Obama Administration. Congress' joint resolution of disapproval (H.J. Res 43 / S. Res. 13) was passed by the House in mid-February, and by the Senate on March 30, 2017. It overrides a rule change made late in the Obama Administration that prevented states from redirecting Title X family planning funding away from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood to community health centers that provide comprehensive primary and preventive health care. The rule change went into effect on January 18, 2017.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - Vice President Mike Pence cast the deciding vote in the Senate Thursday to advance a measure allowing states to once more have the freedom to avoid funding Planned Parenthood clinics with federal "family planning" grants.

For the second time in two years, the Diocese of Buffalo bid farewell to an abandoned deceased baby. On Feb. 27, Bishop Richard J. Malone and Father Jeffrey L. Nowak presided over memorial and burial services for Baby Bernadette, a girl 27 weeks along in gestation.

Joining efforts and resources, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, Amigone Funeral Home and Catholic Cemeteries will provide a memorial service and burial for baby Bernadette, an abandoned deceased baby. Buffalo's Bishop Richard J. Malone will be the presider at the memorial service on Monday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. at Amigone Funeral Home, 1132 Delaware Ave., Buffalo.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - As the woman at the center of the case legalizing abortion in the U.S. passed away, pro-life leaders hailed her ultimate conversion on the issue and her ensuing struggles to promote life.

The sixth-annual St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center banquet offered a witness of the saintly testament to the value of life. Father Thomas Rosica, CSB, a friend of the Molla family, spoke about the legacy of the saint who died rather than abort her daughter.

The St. Gianna Molla Pregnancy Outreach Center, the pastoral outreach of the Office of Pro-Life Activities of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, has become a significant resource in the Buffalo and surrounding Western New York area. The Center will hold its sixth annual benefit banquet on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. at the Millennium Hotel, 2040 Walden Ave.,

Two lethal bills have been introduced in Albany: A.1748 in relation to abortion expansion, and A.10059/S.7579 in relation to legalizing physician-assisted suicide.

VATICAN CITY (CNA) - In the first days of U.S. president Donald Trump's administration, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark said he has seen encouragement on pro-life matters, but cause for concern when it comes to refugees.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - In a culture where abortion is prevalent, no one's rights are safe, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York insisted at a national pro-life Mass before the March for Life.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNA/EWTN News) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence urged pro-lifers to win over hearts with gentleness and compassion at the 2017 March for Life on Friday.

WASHINGTON, DC - The National Prayer Vigil for Life will be held from Thursday afternoon, January 26 to Friday morning, January 27, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Over 20,000 pilgrims from around the nation will pray there for an end to abortion before the annual March for Life. The Vigil marks the 44th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions legalizing abortion nationwide. Since those decisions, over 57 million abortions have been performed legally in the United States.