“We know from science that the moment of conception is a moment unlike any other. An amazing event takes place at the moment of conception. The union at the moment of conception constitutes an absolutely new and utterly exceptional moment of creation, the moment when a new, unrepeatable and irreplaceable human being comes to exist. This new human being has emerged, a vulnerable and unique self-directing self that never before was. It needs nothing but a safe place – the mother’s womb – to grow and develop. After the moment of conception, this new human life will go through many stages and phases, none of which are as monumental as the one it has just emerged from: the moment of conception, the moment in which it began to exist. The science speaks for itself. The light of reason is clear.” – Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, January 24, 2011
