Actress Shari Rigby sat right across from her interviewer, her legs crossed. On the instep of her right foot was a tattoo of a flower. She was asked what it was. "Her name would have been Lily," Rigby answered, "and so that's there to remind me." She was talking about the baby she had aborted 20 years ago. Rigby plays a relatively small part in the new movie "October Baby," but it's a pivotal role: She plays the birth mother of Hannah (Rachel Hendrix), but Hannah was born as the survivor of a botched abortion; Hannah's twin brother only survived a handful of days after the abortion attempt. But the kicker is that brother directors Andrew and Jon Erwin, when they sent Rigby the script for her consideration, had no idea she had ever undergone an abortion. In fact, Jon Erwin told Catholic News Service, it wasn't until after the movie had been shown to several focus groups that Rigby went in front of the camera again to address moviegoers about her own abortion experience, which has been added to the film's closing credits. "There are millions and millions of post-abortive women out there," Erwin said. "October Baby," which debuts March 23 in about 360 theaters, details the revelation to college student Hannah about the circumstances behind her birth, and her quest to find the woman who tried to abort her. The movie also stars John Schneider ("The Dukes of Hazzard," "Smallville") as Hannah's father and Jasmine Guy ("A Different World") as the nurse from the abortion clinic all those years ago. I can't wait to see this movie. If you are in a smaller city, you should request that your local theater show it. Then gather all of your fellow parish members and support this movie.
The twelve apostles chosen by Jesus formed the bedrock of the early Church , and their Catholic identity is deeply rooted in their direct relationship with Christ and the mission He entrusted to them. The Catechism of the Catholic Church highlights this foundational role, stating that Jesus "instituted the Twelve as 'the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy'" ( CCC 860 ). These men were not simply followers; they were handpicked by Jesus, lived intimately with Him, witnessed His miracles and teachings firsthand, and were specifically commissioned to preach the Gospel to all nations ( Matthew 28:19-20 ). Their unique position as eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and their reception of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, established them as the authoritative leaders of the nascent Church, a reality echoed in the writings of early Church Fathers like Ignatius of Antioch, who emphasized the apostles' authority as repre...
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