In late summer I had the honor of being in a local community theater production of the musical “Ragtime.” Near the end of the play, which is about racial and social injustice, change, and redemption, the character Coalhouse Walker Jr. sings the powerful anthem, “Make Them Hear You.” Find it on YouTube. It’s well worth the two-minute investment.

Night after night, I heard the song’s challenging call to action:

“Go out and tell our story, let it echo far and wide. Make them hear you. Your sword can be a sermon, or the power of the pen. Teach every child to raise his voice, and then, my brothers then, will justice be demanded by 10 million righteous men? Make them hear you.”

In recent weeks we’ve had incredible examples of the power of video to enact change. The grainy image of football player Ray Rice striking his girlfriend in an elevator spurred the NFL to greater action on the issue of domestic violence. The shocking, brazen videos of beheadings posted by ISIS awakened those in our nation yet to be moved by the reported atrocities of that terror group, including against the region’s Christians.

Now we are about to enter October, Respect Life Month. There is a reason the abortion clinic is one of the few places in our society where there are no cameras. The killing of unborn children remains a hidden injustice. The victims have no voice.

But we do.

The coming weeks offer several opportunities to unite in the cause for life. Events such as the Respect Life Dinner, 40 Days for Life, Life Chains, the Festival of Life, pro-life Masses, and the Rachel’s Vineyard retreat are all detailed in this issue and your participation is vital.

Go out and tell our story. Make them hear you. God will be near you. — Thomas J. Dermody