The annual Mass is part of the Feast of the Holy Innocents and is observed during the Christmas week.

The feast is in remembrance of the male infants slaughtered under King Herod’s rule around the time of the birth of Jesus. After Herod was unable to find the baby Jesus, whom he saw as a threat to his power, Herod ordered all male children under the age of two killed.

In his homily, Fr. Edward McGovern said the breakdown of the family structure “increases gravitation to abort a child or killing someone through euthanasia or to improperly care for the elderly.” He added that life “is to be welcomed, no matter how fragile or inconvenient that life may be.”

McGovern also referred to the Vatican’s bioethics document Dignitas Personae, issued in early December, which re-affirmed the dignity of the human embryo.

“The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception and, therefore, from the same moment his or her rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life,” according to the document.

McGovern said the Vatican offers a reminder that human dignity is to be respected from the moment of conception until natural death. He also acknowledged the pro-life movement, which was well represented at the Mass.

“Canada needs you and your pro-life work. Keep going,” McGovern said, adding that more Catholics should consider getting involved in pro-life activities and events.

According to the latest Statistics Canada report on abortions, Canadian women obtained fewer induced abortions in 2005, down from 100,039 the previous year to 96,815. The decline was seen mostly among women under 20.