'Respect Life Week' Declared In Mokena

MOKENA, IL — The village of Mokena has declared this week "Respect Life Week" at its most recent village board meeting. In a proclamation, Mayor Frank Fleischer declared "the week of October 1, 2018 to be Respect Life Week in Mokena."

"... And urge all citizens to take cognizance of the special events organized during this time by the Illinois Right to Life Committee."

The proclamation said that it recognizes that "each human being has the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness," and that it is part of the national week "focusing on the sanctity of all human life."

Respect Life Week is held every October and designated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It aims to promote value for life and an anti-abortion message, according to The Observer - the daily, independent student newspaper serving the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College and Holy Cross College.

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The Mokena proclamation listed several Pro-Life organizations as well as "the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish faiths."

A woman who said she spoke on behalf of members Saint Mary Catholic Church thanked Fleischer for the proclamation, which she said upholds "the dignity of human life from conception to natural death."

"It is truly a joy to live in a community where you, our elected officials, recognize our rights come from God and not a president, czar or king," she said.

Not everyone in town is behind the proclamation. A woman named Alison Manor posted about why she disagrees with it on Patch.

"Our County has a separation of Church and State," she wrote, in part. "These outward declarations are bypassing several things that should be on the agenda and his constituents as a whole. I cannot believe my beautiful village that I have lived in for 31 years has represented itself this way. Why can't we have a Respect Our Public Servants Week, Respect Our Police, Respect our Trees? Honestly, I could go on about all the things that do not have a highly politicized connotation that actually represent the village I love."

Patch file photo / Tim Moran