At the heart of this petition is a deep, personal conviction held by many. There are no human lives more innocent or vulnerable than those of unborn children. Yet, every year, 73 million children are lost to abortion, a figure that translates to billions lost over the recent and unprecedented decades alone, each life irreplaceable and deserving of remembrance. These staggering numbers are our unborn brothers and sisters, quietly forgotten after death and dismemberment, whilst residing in the shadow of history often ignored or dismissed. It is a tragedy that affects so many, and though the standing of these innocents is not for us to settle, we urge the Church to proclaim on it.

For those of us who feel the weight of these losses, we implore in faith the Catholic Church to acknowledge this profound and unprecedented scale of human tragedy by recognising aborted children amongst the Holy Innocents. The Feast of the Holy Innocents commemorates the massacre of infants described in the Gospel of Matthew. By including aborted children in this remembrance, the Church would offer spiritual acknowledgment and solace to all who have experienced this loss.

We are called to remember those who confessed God ‘not by speaking, but by dying’, and the same preternatural force that stirs human tragedy stirs man against Christ in this way.  The International Theological Commission in 2007 gave serious grounds for this hope, and it is the quiet hope of those across the world, for these the least of Christ’s brethren. It would continue the witness of Evangelium Vitae and Humanae Vitae and Casti Connubii. In the spirit of EV, it would urge hope,l for mothers, for ‘nothing is definitively lost’ in a world given room to grieve.

The call to recognise these unborn lives aligns with the Church's teachings on the sanctity of life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states that human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. By incorporating the recognition of aborted children within the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the Church would not only uphold this teaching but also extend its compassion and pastoral outreach to all affected by abortion, including those who have found themselves in situations where they felt they had no choice but to proceed with an abortion. In acknowledging innocence and life,  all souls can be healed towards innocence and life, and find refuge in knowing of the spiritual sanctity and safety of those innocent lives.

This petition seeks truth and love in  fostering spiritual healing and remembrance. Acknowledging these innocents who have been lost will offer a form of spiritual closure to mothers and families and allow both the faithful and others to honor these lives. It will serve as an affirmation of the inherent dignity bestowed upon each person by God, from womb to natural death.

By signing this petition, you stand with countless individuals who believe in the dignity and sanctity of every human life. This is a call to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to take a significant step towards healing and reconciliation, uniting the Church and its followers in a shared mission of remembrance.

Please add your voice to this call for action and compassion. Sign the petition to help ensure that the Church remembers the most vulnerable among us, the innocents who deserve to be honored and mourned.