March 14, 2005
Dear Friends,
The column for this month could open a whole new chapter for the pro-life
movement
within the Church. Please read it prayerfully. Please also give your feedback by
means of
the new online poll question (found at
www.priestsforlife.org), which is, "Cardinal
O'Connor established the Sisters of Life as a community of women religious who
focus
on promoting the sanctity of life. Do you think it is a good idea that a similar
community
of priests and brothers be established now?"
Your help is needed on three other matters.
1. Some of you have been contacted by our staff about what you can do to help
assure
that more pro-life Federal Judges are put on the courts. Please contact your US
Senators
(202-224-3121) and urge that they vote on all the President's nominees. You can
also sign
up online to offer more assistance. More information:
www.priestsforlife.org/government/judges.htm
2. Terri Schiavo and her family need you to speak up for Terri's life. For
updates and
action items on this situation, visit
www.priestsforlife.org/euthanasia/terri.htm
3. As we know, progress on all these battles would be faster if we heard more
from the
pulpits. A key to having active pro-life priests is intense training of
seminarians. From
August 16-21 this summer, Priests for Life will have our annual Pro-life
Conference for
Seminarians in Newark, NJ (not far from our Staten Island headquarters.) If you
are a
seminarian, or know one, please spread the word. Information on the conference
can be
found at
www.SeminarianLifeLink.org/frontlines/conference2005.htm
Thank you for all you do!
Fr. Frank Pavone
Help Wanted: Priests and Brothers for Life
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
In a column he wrote called "Help Wanted: Sisters of Life," Cardinal John
O'Connor
presented the idea of a religious community of women specially dedicated to
promoting
the sanctity of life. He received hundreds of responses, and on June 1, 1991,
eight women
entered the newly formed community. They now have over 45 members and several
convents in the New York City area.
Meanwhile, Priests for Life has helped priests become stronger in their pro-life
work,
within their own assignments, and will continue to do so.
But is it not time to take yet another step, and create a community whereby
priests and
seminarians can dedicate their entire lives completely to the defense of life?
Being pro-life is not a hobby. It is a vocation. It is, first of all, a basic
aspect of our
vocation to be human, and a foundational element of our vocation as Christians.
For these
reasons, it is integral also to the priesthood. Everyone is called to live out
this aspect of
his or her vocation in one way or another; many do so by dedicating time to
various
forms of pro-life activities and prayers.
In the Church, various communities focus on a particular aspect of the Christian
vocation,
in order to strengthen the rest of us in our fidelity to that dimension of the
Gospel. So, for
example, the Sisters of Charity focus on service to the needy and vulnerable
around the
world. They are not the only ones called to exercise charity, but their
existence reminds
all of us of that common call. Likewise, the Blessed Sacrament Fathers are not
the only
ones who worship the Blessed Sacrament, but their focus on that aspect of our
Faith
encourages us all to worship the Sacrament more fervently.
So it is with a community focused on life. Pope John Paul II has written, "No
single
person or group has a monopoly on the defense and promotion of life. These are
everyone's task and responsibility" (Evangelium Vitae, n.91). The purpose,
therefore, of
such a community is not to say, "We will take over doing pro-life work -- the
rest of you
don't have to worry about it." Indeed, the purpose of the community would be
just the
opposite -- to raise a trumpet call to the whole Church to give the defense of
life the
priority it deserves, at every level of Church life and ministry!
Some would wonder why, with such a shortage of priests, we would "divert" them
to this
specialized work. The answer is that the pro-life movement is precisely the
source of
many new vocations. Many will be led to the priesthood precisely because such a
pro-life
community exists. And this community would serve parishes nationwide.
I am convinced that the time has come, and I have met numerous young men across
the
country ready to devote their lives to their unborn brothers and sisters. And
therefore I,
too, issue this "Help Wanted" call. Those who are interested can contact me at
vocations@priestsforlife.org
This column can be found online at
www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2005/05-03-14helpwanted.htm
Please support our work at
www.priestsforlife.org/donate
Comments on this column? Email us at
mail@priestsforlife.org, Priests for Life, PO Box 141172, Staten
Island, NY 10314; Tel: 888-PFL-3448, 718-980-4400; Fax: 718-980-6515; web:
www.priestsforlife.org