U.S. bishops invite Catholics to pray for end to taxpayer-funded abortion

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 28, 2025 / 13:40 pm (CNA).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has invited Americans to participate in a daily prayer to St. Joseph, defender of life, to stop federal funding of the abortion industry.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the USCCB, and Bishop Daniel Thomas, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, wrote in a joint statement: “History was recently made when Planned Parenthood and other big abortion businesses were banned from receiving federal Medicaid dollars for one year.”

The passing of the Trump administration’s controversial One Big Beautiful Bill Act halted tax dollars from going to organizations that perform abortions. But, the bishops noted in their statement, “Planned Parenthood immediately sued in a federal court and the judge swiftly granted part of a preliminary injunction, requiring the abortion giant’s taxpayer funding to continue.”

The ruling will allow the organization to continue to operate with millions of taxpayer funds as the case progresses. “Otherwise, children’s lives could be saved every day,” the bishops wrote.  

Broglio and Thomas are now “inviting Catholics to join a focused effort of prayer to stop taxpayer funding of the abortion industry.” The prayer invoking the intercession of St. Joseph should be prayed until Oct. 1, the beginning of Respect Life Month. 

“Americans should not be forced to pay for the killing of preborn children or fund the clinics that kill them,” the bishops said. “We ask Catholics to offer this prayer daily” to protect “innocent children and their vulnerable mothers from the evil of abortion.”

Prayer to St. Joseph

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 defense 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.