Jerome E. Listecki, archbishop of Milwaukee, applauded the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on abortion and called on Catholics to step up and support pregnant mothers.

“As a Church that advances the Culture of Life and as members of a civil society, we welcome the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs case,” Listecki said in a recent Facebook post. “While no doubt we all feel a renewed hope for the future, let us also remember that our struggle to preserve the sanctity of human life is only just beginning.” 

The Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision on Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade, returning power to the states to determine the legality of abortion, CNBC reported. 

“The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision, including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely — the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the Court’s majority opinion statement, quoted by CNBC. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

Due to a pre-Roe ban, abortion is now illegal in Wisconsin except in cases where the mother's life is in danger, WPR reported. 

The ruling means the Catholic Church will have to be more supportive, Listecki said.

“The Church will continue to support all women — especially those experiencing unplanned pregnancies where abortion seems like the only or easy solution — by providing the spiritual, emotional and financial support necessary through our parishes, support networks and pregnancy centers,” he said in the post. “I appeal to all in our society to work together to make the thought of abortion not only unthinkable, but also unnecessary. More than 63 million children lost their lives to the scourge of abortion. May their souls, and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace.”

Many organizations, including Catholic Charities, provide free support and resources for pregnant women. Catholic Charities offers counseling and guidance for mothers, helping them come up with plans for parenting or adoption. The organization helps the mothers not only through birth but offers support for the rest of their lives. 

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement in response to the ruling.

“Today’s decision is also the fruit of the prayers, sacrifices, and advocacy of countless ordinary Americans from every walk of life,” the bishops said. “Over these long years, millions of our fellow citizens have worked together peacefully to educate and persuade their neighbors about the injustice of abortion, to offer care and counseling to women, and to work for alternatives to abortion, including adoption, foster care, and public policies that truly support families. We share their joy today and we are grateful to them. Their work for the cause of life reflects all that is good in our democracy, and the pro-life movement deserves to be numbered among the great movements for social change and civil rights in our nation’s history.”

The ruling comes on a divisive issue, with threats of violence being made by some. The bishops made a plea for peaceful opposition.

“Now is the time to begin the work of building a post-Roe America,” the USCCB said. “It is a time for healing wounds and repairing social divisions; it is a time for reasoned reflection and civil dialogue, and for coming together to build a society and economy that supports marriages and families, and where every woman has the support and resources she needs to bring her child into this world in love.”

More than 63 million babies were aborted in the United States while Roe v. Wade was in effect, data from the Guttmacher Institute said.