Catholic Bishop Calls for Month of Fasting and Prayer to Defeat Virginia Ballot Measures

Bishop Michael Burbidge is asking Catholics to spend October fasting and praying to defeat two proposed amendments to the Virginia Constitution.

In a video posted Tuesday, Burbidge asked Catholics to observe two weekly disciplines during the month. On Fridays, he asked them to pray the Stations of the Cross and to fast—eating only one full meal and no meat. On Sundays, he asked for the Rosary and a fast from social media for at least a few hours, ideally before and after Mass.

Across the Diocese of Arlington in Northern Virginia, Catholic churches are displaying pop-up banners, distributing pamphlets, and saying prayers at the end of each Mass.

“Our Catholics Vote No campaign is rooted in prayer and fasting,” Burbidge said. He described the amendments as “two radically unjust ballot initiatives now before all Virginia voters.”

“It would be a powerful force if all in the Diocese of Arlington were united in these efforts,” Burbidge said. “We entrust them to the Lord’s amazing grace, so all that is just, right, and true will be done in this election.”

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>>> BISHOP MAKES SPECIAL REQUEST OF CATHOLICS BEFORE ELECTION DAY

The appeal reaches a diocese of more than 433,000 Catholics across 70 parishes and 21 counties, and it arrives with ballots already being cast. Early voting in Virginia opened Sept. 18. Election Day is Nov. 3.

Campaign Keeps Growing

Burbidge isn’t alone in Virginia asking congregations to weigh in. On Aug. 21, he and Richmond Bishop Barry Knestout issued a joint letter to Catholics laying out their objections to the ballot questions. They called the abortion amendment “extreme, dangerous, radical and horrific.”

More than 200 Virginia pastors have also signed an open letter urging voters to reject the same two amendments.

“We believe these two amendments must be rejected for the Commonwealth of Virginia because they will harm our state as they are opposed to human flourishing and contrary to the Word of God,” the pastors wrote.

>>> MORE THAN 200 VIRGINIA PASTORS SIGN LETTER OPPOSING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

An organizer of the pastors’ letter said many of the Protestant churches were planning to mobilize their congregations, similar to how Burbidge requested priests across the Diocese of Arlington read a letter from him at Mass the weekend of Sept. 12-13.

“We must vote no to those questions and say yes to truth,” Burbidge said in his homily at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Fairfax that weekend.

Burbidge asked parishioners to pledge to vote at CatholicsVoteNo.com, to vote early, and to talk with family, friends, and colleagues “with a focus on activating and turning out those most likely to vote to protect life and the truth about marriage.”

What’s on the Ballot

The amendments were approved by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly in two consecutive sessions, as Virginia law requires.

Question 1 would amend Virginia’s constitution to expand access to abortion.

Burbidge argued the amendment would create a legal right to “unregulated abortions, performed by unlicensed abortion practitioners at any time during pregnancy” and would allow abortions “targeting healthy babies all the way up to birth.” In his letter, he said the amendment would extend abortion rights to minors and remove parents from decisions affecting their daughters.

“Unfortunately, abortion is already legal in Virginia,” Burbidge noted, arguing the measure “would expand abortion beyond what most citizens recognize as reasonable limits.”

>>> A RARE MOVE BY A VIRGINIA BISHOP AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY

Question 2 would remove the constitution’s 2006 definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman and replace it with language guaranteeing the right of two adults to marry regardless of sex, gender, or race.

Burbidge wrote that the amendment “would also enshrine gender ideology by falsely separating the reality of one’s sex and gender.”

That argument mirrors the case made by the Family Foundation of Virginia. President Victoria Cobb championed the 2006 effort that added the current marriage language to the constitution.

The organization has argued the amendment would enshrine gender ideology in the state constitution and threaten girls’ sports, privacy rights, and religious liberty.

Supporters of the amendments, meanwhile, argue they would protect abortion access and preserve legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Virginia.