Catholic Church in US readies prayer for unborn child

A pregnant woman and her child pass by a banner with an echography of a fetus during a rally against abortion in Moscow on May 30, 2010. AFP FILE PHOTO/ALEXEY SAZONOV

WASHINGTON — The fiercely pro-life Roman Catholic Church in the United States is finalizing a special Vatican-approved prayer dedicated to unborn children, its national association of bishops said Tuesday.

“Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb” should be available in English and Spanish at Roman Catholic parishes from coast to coast in time for Mother’s Day on May 13.

“This new blessing gives thanks to God for the gift of life and imparts his blessing on the development child and his or her family,” spokesman Don Clemmer of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops told Agence France-Presse by email on Tuesday.

He added: “As the blessing was requested by the US bishops and approved by the Vatican as a blessing for use in the Church in the United States, it can only be used in this country.”

The Church strongly opposes abortion and contraceptives, clashing most recently with the Barack Obama administration over whether birth control pills should be covered by health insurance plans at religious-affilitated institutions.

One in four Americans identify themselves as Catholic, according to the American Religious Identification Survey conducted by Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Thirty-five percent of them are Hispanic, Church sources add.