WASHINGTON (CNS) — With a new president and a new Congress in Washington, “we intend to work with those in public office whenever we can,” said Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, but will “raise our voices in respectful but impassioned protest when we must.” The new administration and Congress “will need our encouragement and our prayers,” said Cardinal Rigali, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. “But they will also need our voices, united as a constant reminder of the rights of the poor, the sick, the elderly, those with disabilities, the imprisoned, and, yes, especially the most innocent, vulnerable and weakest among us: the child in the womb.” Cardinal Rigali made his remarks in a homily Jan. 21 at Trinity Washington University at the Pro-Life Leadership Mass, which was a first. About 200 were at the Mass, principally “leaders of pro-life, justice and family efforts from all across the country,” according to Cardinal Rigali. The Mass, sponsored by the bishops’ Office of Pro-Life Activities, became necessary because of the continuous growth of the vigil Mass at the nearby Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception the night before the annual March for Life.