Dear Friends,
Below is our Priests for Life newsletter for July-August. Please enjoy it and
pass it along.
As Election season intensifies, we need your help. Are you willing to become a
volunteer for the candidate of your
choice? Please let us know at vote@priestsforlife.org
This past Friday, C-Span aired a speech I gave about the election. You can
listen to it at
www.priestsforlife.org/audiosd/04-07nrtl.ram
If you are not familiar with our growing ministry of post-abortion healing, be
sure to check out
www.RachelsVineyard.org
One of the best things you can do for someone who has had an abortion is to
refer her to
this retreat program.
And don't forget that now you can donate online to Priests for Life; just go to www.priestsforlife.org/donate
and
support the work of your priests nationwide who are not afraid to step out
clearly for the right to life, including in an
election year!
God bless you!
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
President, National Pro-life Religious Council
Priests for Life Newsletter
Volume 14, Number 4
July - August 2004
In the News...
Priests for Life Associate Director Present for Bill Signings
Janet Morana, Associate Director of Priests for Life, was present for the
signing ceremonies of two bills
which have advanced in law the standing of the unborn child: The ban on partial
birth abortions (signed on
November 5, 2003) and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (signed on April 1,
2004). In her words of
greeting to President Bush, Janet expressed the gratitude of Priests for Life
for the President's continuous call
that "every child be welcomed in life and protected by law," and for
not hesitating to do what can be done in
the political and legislative arena.
The Feinstein amendment, defeated by only one vote, would have created a
separate and additional federal
crime for "causing the termination of a pregnancy," but would not have
recognized the unborn child as a
separate victim. All the Republicans except four voted to protect the unborn
child; all the Democrats but four
voted not to protect the child.
Update from the Director
The Mission of Priests for Life
Dear Brother Priests and Lay supporters,
From the time Priests for Life was first established, our intention was not to
found new structures, but to
network and encourage people within the existing structures of the Church, to
accomplish the mission laid
out by our bishops.
That remains our task and vision today. Priests for Life does not come into a
diocese in order to impose
some "outside" plan or agenda, or to take away anything of what is
already there. Rather, we want to lend an
additional measure of support for what is already planned. We are an association
of priests helping our
brother priests work in union with their bishops and the pastoral plans of their
diocese.
We are always ready to offer our perspective from a national level, and the many
projects and strategies we
have come to learn from pro-life groups in every state. We likewise are ready to
connect you with others in
different parts of the nation who are doing similar things. Finally, there are
many people who come to us,
saying that they want to help the pro-life movement. We meet them in our
travels, they hear us on TV and
radio. We want to channel them back to you, so that they can assist local
efforts. So let us know what you are
doing; alert us to your programs and plans, and we will be ready to help you!
With prayers,
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director
Deadlines for Registration
Often we think that a political race is a contest between two candidates. It is
not. It is, rather, a contest
between two teams, and the team that has the greater number of effective
activists is the one who wins. This
winning is not accomplished by big money or media, but ultimately by people
"on the ground" who actually
show up at the polls. This is why the activation of our parishioners is the key
to doing what the bishops call
for in Living the Gospel of Life, namely, using the power of the vote to build
up the culture of life.
To that end, our people need to be registered to vote. Registration deadlines
for each state are posted on our
website at www.priestsforlife.org/vote/deadlines
and we ask you to alert your people to these dates. We also
urge you to make voter registration forms available to your people in ChurchThis
is consistent gospel
activity -- we don't just preach nice words about "renewing the face of the
earth"; we give our people the
tools to do it!
Abortifacients...The Other Forbidden Grief
By Janet Morana and Theresa Burke, Ph.D.
We've learned a good deal about the emotional and spiritual pain of abortion.
Aside from surgical
procedures, the Pill, the IUD, and other hormonal "contraceptives"
such as the morning after pill, Depro-
Provera and Norplant can also cause an abortion of human life.
Ovulation is not always suppressed by oral contraceptives. In these cases,
the egg is fertilized, conception
takes place, and a new human being begins to develop. These abortifacients
interfere with the pregnancy by
changing the lining of the uterus so that a newly conceived child cannot implant
in the womb. This hostile
environment causes the child to die.
Janet Morana, Associate Director of Priests for Life and co-founder of the
Silent No More Awareness
Campaign, shares her personal story:
"Three months before my wedding date I started taking birth control pills.
I continued taking the pill
for two years until it seemed like it was time to start a family... Eventually,
I had a tubal ligation.
"As I began to study the teachings of the Church I learned about God's
beautiful plan for marriage,
including what NFP was all about.
"My grief finally hit me as I watched a video about the wonder of life and
I realized completely what
taking the birth control pills really meant: aborting new life. I came to
grips with the fact that I had
not only shut myself off to life, but had also destroyed an unknown number of
children. At the end of
that video I began to sob uncontrollably. I was overwhelmed with sudden
feelings of grief and
remorse. I was able to come to grips with these feelings of grief and loss
recently at a Rachel's
Vineyard Retreat. It was a first step in having my feelings validated, and
I began to deal with my loss
in a new light."
The Church has always asserted that the method by which a child is killed, or
the age at which the killing
occurs, do not make an abortion any less real or wrong. The Church can
therefore serve at the forefront in
ministry to the countless hearts wounded by abortifacients. Our church
continues to be a prophetic guide in
a new movement to re-claim inner voices that have been silenced, paralysed and
obscured by the demands of
a contraceptive and abortive culture.
Priests for Life invites all who have experienced the grief of abortion to share
your testimony. Contact
Janet@priestsforlife.org
To find out more information about attending a Rachel's Vineyard Retreats for
healing after abortion, visit
www.rachelsvineyard.org
Parish Education Program
Our study guide to the US Bishops' document "Living the Gospel of
Life" is an excellent way to prepare
your parish for the elections! It can be conducted as a six-week study and
discussion group from mid-
September to the end of October. More information is at www.priestsforlife.org/gospel
The guide is $10.
Call (718) 980-4400, x239.
Silent No More Awareness Campaign
If you have had an abortion...Please visit www.SilentNoMoreAwareness.org
The Silent No More
Awareness Campaign is a project of Priests for Life and NOEL, and enables women
to speak out about how
their abortion hurt them. Also visit www.RachelsVineyard.org,
to learn about retreats on which you can find
healing. Rachel's Vineyard is also a ministry of Priests for Life.
Priests for Life Episcopal Board of Advisors
His Eminence Alfonso Cardinal Lopez-Trujillo
President, Pontifical Council for the Family
His Eminence Renato Cardinal Martino
President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Most Rev. John F. Donoghue
Archbishop of Atlanta
Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput OFM Cap.
Archbishop of Denver
Most Rev. Edwin F. O'Brien
Archbishop of Military Services
Most Rev. John J. Myers
Archbishop of Newark
Most Rev. John W. Yanta
Bishop of Amarillo
Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted
Bishop of Phoenix
Most Rev. Ronald M. Gilmore
Bishop of Dodge City
Most Rev. Sam G. Jacobs
Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux
Most Rev. Emilio S. Allue
Auxiliary Bishop of Boston
Most Rev. Rene H. Gracida
Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi
Most Rev. Paul V. Donovan
Bishop Emeritus of Kalamazoo
Most Rev. James D. Niedergeses
Bishop Emeritus of Nashville
Most Rev. James C. Timlin
Bishop Emeritus of Scranton
Most Rev. James S. Sullivan
Bishop Emeritus of Fargo
Most Rev. Francis A. Quinn
Bishop Emeritus of Sacramento
Most Rev. Albert H. Ottenweller
Bishop Emeritus of Steubenville
Most Reverend Juan Fremiot Torres
Bishop of Ponce
Most Reverend John Quinn Weitzel
Bishop of Samoa Pago Pago
Priests for Life opens Washington, DC Office!
Priests for Life has opened an office in our nation's Capitol, literally across
the street from the Supreme
Court! With the assistance of Dr. Paul Schenck, our pastoral associate, and his
brother Rob, this office
opened in April, and will be a companion office to our international
headquarters in New York and our
office in Rome. Our Washington office will serve as a center of communications
with our nation's leaders in
the White House, Congress, and the Court, as well as with the many organizations
that are based in
Washington, including the headquarters of the US Bishops' Conference. This new
office will also serve as
the headquarters of Gospel of Life Ministries, a partner organization with
Priests for Life.
Announcing Gospel of Life Ministries
Many people want to spread the message of Priests for Life to their friends who
are not Catholic. Now, we
have given you a way to do that. Gospel of Life Ministries is a new organization
that takes the writings,
teachings, and television programs that Fr. Frank Pavone and Priests for Life
have produced, and presents
them in an ecumenical format.
Pope John Paul II calls for this kind of effort when he writes in The Gospel of
Life, "Service of the Gospel of
life is thus an immense and complex task. This service increasingly appears as a
valuable and fruitful area
for positive cooperation with our brothers and sisters of other Churches and
ecclesial communities, in
accordance with the practical ecumenism which the Second Vatican Council
authoritatively encouraged. It
also appears as a providential area for dialogue and joint efforts with the
followers of other religions and
with all people of good will. No single person or group has a monopoly on the
defense and promotion of life.
These are everyone's task and responsibility. On the eve of the Third
Millennium, the challenge facing us is
an arduous one: only the concerted efforts of all those who believe in the value
of life can prevent a setback
of unforeseeable consequences for civilization" (#91).
Dr. Paul Schenck, a pastoral associate of Priests for Life and a former Anglican
pastor and priest, brings his
extensive knowledge and experience of the Protestant world to his role as
Executive Director of Gospel of
Life Ministries. We encourage you to invite your friends or relatives who are
not Catholic to visit
www.gospeloflife.com for more
information.
The entire set of General Intercessions for each Sunday may now be obtained from
us at
www.priestsforlife.org/prayers
The intercessions contain a pro-life petitions, and are in English and
Spanish.
Suggestions for bringing the respect life theme into your homily are now given
for every Sunday of the year
at www.priestsforlife.org
Can you make a gift to enable us to send this newsletter to every priest in your
diocese? Call Jerry at (718) 980-4400
Prayer Intentions
You are encouraged to remember the following intentions as you pray the Liturgy
of the Hours:
July intention: For all who volunteer their time and talent to the pro-life
cause.
August intention: That medical students and nurses may resist any pressure to
take part in abortion or euthanasia.
Our Latest Products -- Original Intent; Respect Life Petitions
Respect Life Petitions
In order to help parishes fulfill the request of the bishops that "parishes
should include in the petitions at every Mass
a prayer that ours will become a nation that respects and protects all human
life, born and unborn, reflecting a true
culture of life," Priests for Life is happy to make available our booklet
"Respect Life Petitions," which will put on
your desk, in a single place, all the respect life petitions you will need for
every Sunday of the three-year liturgical
cycle. Each of them is based on the readings assigned for the Mass of that
particular day. A more limited section of
petitions in Spanish is also included.
Original Intent
This is one of the best books in existence about the relationship between the
Constitution, the Courts, and religion.
Learn how to explain what "Separation of Church and State" means and
what it doesn't mean. Read about how the
Founders of our Country were religious men who praised Jesus and proclaimed his
Gospel. Learn why our Founders
did not establish a "Democracy." Learn what the Founders really
thought about the role of the courts and who has the
right to interpret the Constitution. Great gift for students, teachers and
clergy!
Order form
(Please mail to Priests for Life, PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314 or fax
to 718-980-3900)
Name: ________________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________________
City: _________________________State: _________ Zip: _______
Phone: _______________________Email: ____________________
-Please send me ____ copies of Original Intent, at $13.00 each, for total of
$___________
-Please send me ____ copies of "Respect Life Petitions" at $2.00 each,
for total of $___________
-Additional Donation $___________
Total Donation $___________
-I made my check payable to: Priests for Life.
-Please charge my contribution to my credit card:
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