Archbishop Kurtz Thanks the Holy Father for The Blessing of the Unborn Child

On October 9 in Rome, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, archbishop of Louisville, thanked the Holy Father personally for the Vatican’s recent approval of a new blessing for the child in the womb.

News reports from Catholic News Agency quote Archbishop Kurtz’ statement to the Synod of Bishops, currently underway in the Vatican:

“Warmly extending the love of Christ to families as they prepare for the birth of their child, this sacred gesture is both a positive and hope-filled way to announce to society the great gift of human life as well as a gracious invitation for the parents to begin steps for the baptism of their child, once born.”

The archbishop described the new blessing as “a pastoral moment of first evangelization of the child and new evangelization of the family.”

The Blessing of the Child in the Womb was approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship in December 2011, and will be incorporated in the Book of Blessings for use by the Church in the United States.

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I wrote last year about the Blessing, contrasting it with the White House visitors’ policy in place at the time.  See that post, including text from the Blessing, here.