Dear Friends,
I am happy to send you my bi-weekly column. Our Subscription drive continues, and I urge you to help us reach many more people by inviting them to subscribe to this regular message. They need only write to subscribe@priestsforlife.org.
May I also share with you the good news that in addition to my ongoing leadership of Priests for Life, I have been asked to serve as President of the National Pro-life Religious Council. This is an inter-denominational group that works to advance the pro-life cause; you can learn more about it at www.nprcouncil.org.
Best wishes for a Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Fr. Frank Pavone
Fetal Memory
Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
When faced with the competing claims of two women about who was the mother of a newborn baby, King Solomon found the truth by threatening to have the baby cut in half.
Had he known of the research of behavioral scientist Stephen Evans, however, he might have asked for each mother's favorite music to be played.
Stephen Evans has conducted research that shows how babies who hear particular pieces of music while in their mother's womb will remember and recognize that music after birth. Mr. Evans took unique musical selections and had mothers play them for their baby in utero for 16 minutes a day, for seven days in a row, during the 20th week of pregnancy. Then he took the music back so it would not be heard by the child until after birth.
After birth, he played the music for the child and likewise for a control group of children who had never heard the music. The results surpassed his highest expectations. While any baby will normally calm down upon hearing music, the babies who had heard the music at 20 weeks were dramatically more calm when they heard it than were the babies who were hearing it for the first time.
Similar findings in various areas of fetal learning, fetal memory, and fetal psychology have been reported in recent years. There are even international associations dedicated to the psychology of the baby in the womb.
A natural question that arises, of course, is whether those who consider themselves to be "pro- choice" have heard of these findings, and whether it impacts their view of abortion.
Most people are affected by this research. Simply put, the "fetus" is revealed to be more and more like the newborn, and permitting the fetus to be killed begins to look about as unattractive as permitting the newborn to be killed.
But some will try to maintain that research about the fetus has nothing to do with abortion. Psychology Today featured a story in September 1998 about fetal psychology. A sidebar to that story asked, "What's the Impact on Abortion?" "I don't think that fetal research informs the issue at all," responded psychologist Janet DiPietro. Another psychologist, Heidelise Als, said, "If you believe that life begins at conception, then you don't need the proof of fetal behavior...Your circumstances and personal beliefs have much more impact on the decision."
That kind of side-stepping is pretty unpersuasive. When we separate "beliefs" from any kind of supporting evidence, we end up in a "fideism" that Christianity has always rejected. Christian faith, even about things that cannot be demonstrated by science, is always connected to rational motives for believing.
Moreover, victims of past abuse -- like African Americans burdened by slavery and segregation, or children burdened by child labor -- have had their rights recognized based on mounting evidence of the harm being inflicted on them.
Whether some want to deny it or not, the same is happening now for the unborn.
Contact Priests for Life at PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314; Tel: 888-PFL-3448, 718- 980-4400; Fax: 718-980-6515; email: mail@priestsforlife.org; web: www.priestsforlife.org
Memoria fetal
P. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
Cuando el Rey Salomón enfrentó las reivindicaciones contradictorias de dos mujeres sobre la maternidad de un niño recién nacido, encontró la verdad amenazando cortar al bebé por la mitad.
Sin embargo, si hubiera conocido la investigación del científico conductista Stephen Evans, habría pedido que se tocara la música favorita de cada madre.
Stephen Evans ha realizado investigaciones que muestran como los bebés que escuchan determinadas piezas musicales mientras están en el seno materno recuerdan y reconocen esa música después del nacimiento. El Sr. Evans tomó selecciones musicales únicas e hizo que las madres las tocaran para sus bebés en el útero durante 16 minutos por día, siete días seguidos, en la vigésima semana de embarazo. Después recuperó la música de modo que el niño no volviera a escucharla hasta después del parto.
Después del nacimiento, tocó la música para el niño y también para un grupo de control con niños que nunca la habían escuchado. Los resultados superaron sus expectativas. Mientras que un bebé cualquiera normalmente se calma al oír música, aquellos que habían oído la música a las veinte semanas estaban mucho más calmados que los otros que la oían por primera vez.
Resultados similares en varias áreas de aprendizaje fetal, memoria fetal y psicología fetal han sido reportados en años recientes. Incluso hay asociaciones internacionales dedicadas a la psicología del bebé en el vientre.
Una pregunta que surge naturalmente, por supuesto, es si aquellos que se consideran "pro- elección" han oído sobre estos hallazgos y si impactan su visión del aborto.
Esta investigación afecta a mucha gente. Simplemente, cada vez más el "feto" revela ser como el niño recién nacido, y permitir que se mate al feto comienza a aparecer tan poco atractivo como permitir que los recién nacidos sean asesinados.
Pero algunos tratan de argumentar que la investigación sobre el feto no tiene nada que ver con el aborto. Psychology Today incluyó una historia en el número de septiembre de 1998 sobre psicología fetal. Un recuadro al costado de la historia preguntaba: "¿Cuál es el impacto sobre el aborto?" "Pienso que la investigación fetal no aclara la cuestión de ninguna manera," respondió la psicóloga Janet DiPietro. Otra psicóloga Heidelise Als dijo: "Si Ud. cree que la vida comienza en la concepción, entonces no necesita prueba de comportamiento fetal... Las circunstancias y creencias personales tienen mucho mayor impacto sobre la decisión."
Ese tipo de divagación es bastante poco convincente. Cuando separamos las "creencias" de cualquier tipo de evidencia de apoyo, terminamos en un "fideismo" que el cristianismo siempre rechazó. La fe cristiana, incluso cuando trata de asuntos que no pueden demostrarse por la ciencia, está siempre ligada a motivos racionales para creer.
Más aún, las víctimas de abuso en el pasado, como los afro-americanos que cargaron con la esclavitud y la segregación, o los niños afectados por el trabajo infantil, han visto reivindicados sus derechos en base a la evidencia acumulada del daño que se les había inflingido.
Aunque algunos quieran negarlo, lo mismo está pasando con los no nacidos.
I am happy to send you my bi-weekly column. Our Subscription drive continues, and I urge you to help us reach many more people by inviting them to subscribe to this regular message. They need only write to subscribe@priestsforlife.org. May I also share with you the good news that in addition to my ongoing leadership of Priests for Life, I have been asked to serve as President of the National Pro-life Religious Council. This is an inter-denominational group that works to advance the pro-life cause; you can learn more about it at www.nprcouncil.org. Best wishes for a Happy New Year! Sincerely, Silent No More Abuse victims often use the phrase "Silent No More" to indicate their response to being victimized. It may be surprising to some in our society, therefore, that as our nation reaches the 30-year mark of the abortion decisions Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton, that women from coast to coast are uniting under the banner of "Silent No More" because they have had abortions. Not illegal ones in "back alleys" -- which is more propaganda than reality -- but legal ones in federally protected "clinics." These women do not consider themselves freed, empowered, or ennobled because of their abortion. Rather, they testify that they were enslaved, weakened, and wounded. They were, in short, given a false promise, which is the essence of all temptation. They were told that this "procedure" would solve their problems. Instead, it brought more problems than they care to think about, namely, the whole range of physical and psychological wounds often described by the term "post-abortion syndrome." What are these women doing this year that is different from what they have done over the past 30 years? In our nation's Capitol and in cities across the country, they will gather publicly at rallies and prayer events and hold signs that say, "I Regret My Abortion." The Washington, DC gathering will, in fact, be at the steps of the Supreme Court, on the very date, January 22, that abortion was legalized 30 years ago. This campaign is being sponsored by NOEL (the National Organization of Episcopalians for Life), the Justice Foundation, and Priests for Life. But why do this? If abortion is so painful, some will ask, why make a public display out of one's experience? The answer is understood only if one knows how shameful and painful the silence of abortion is. The grief that follows abortion is, in the words of Dr. Theresa Burke, a "forbidden grief." The grief is not acknowledged; it is not validated. People don't send sympathy cards or talk about it openly. In fact, those who grieve their child killed by abortion are often made to feel silly for feeling sad. After all, they are told by society that they exercised a choice that solved a problem. Why grieve over that? Such questions, of course, reveal a complete blindness to the fact that killing one's child hurts, and leaves a wound that Mom does not ever forget. These women are tired of having pro-choice advocates pretend to speak for them. They want to tell the world, in their own words, that what is too easily celebrated as a "choice" and a "right" is in fact a painful burden. Not every post-abortive woman has found enough healing to be able to participate in these public rallies or hold these signs. But the participants in Silent No More pray that their presence will assist their sisters on the road to healing, and give them some measure of comfort to know that their grief is no longer forbidden. Contact Priests for Life at PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314; Tel: 888-PFL-3448, 718-980-4400; Fax: 718-980-6515; email: mail@priestsforlife.org; web: www.priestsforlife.org Nunca más calladas Las víctimas de abuso usan a menudo la frase "Nunca mas callados" ("Silent No More") para indicar su respuesta a los que los han victimado. Por eso, puede sorprender a algunos en nuestra sociedad que a medida que nuestra nación se acerca a los 30 años de las decisiones Roe vs. Wade y Doe vs. Bolton, mujeres de costa a costa se unan bajo el emblema "Nunca más calladas" porque han tenido abortos. No se trata de los ilegales en "callejones oscuros", que es más propaganda que realidad, sino de los legales en "clínicas" protegidas a nivel federal. Estas mujeres no se consideran liberadas, habilitadas o ennoblecidas por sus abortos. Más bien, dan testimonio de haber sido esclavizadas, debilitadas y heridas. En definitiva, recibieron una falsa promesa, que es la esencia de toda tentación. Les dijeron que este "procedimiento" resolvería sus problemas. En cambio, les trajo más problemas de los que se quieren imaginar, a saber, todo el rango de heridas físicas y psicológicas que a menudo se describen con el término "síndrome post-aborto." ¿Qué están haciendo estas mujeres este año que sea diferente de lo que han hecho en los últimos 30 años? En el congreso de nuestra nación y en ciudades en todos el país, se van a reunir públicamente en manifestaciones y jornadas de oración portando carteles que dicen: "Me arrepiento de mi aborto." La reunión de Washington D.C., de hecho, será en la escalinata de la Corte Suprema, el 22 de enero, día mismo en que el aborto fue legalizado hace 30 años. Esta campaña está organizada por NOEL, National Organization of Episcopalians for Life, la Fundación Justice y Priests for Life. Pero, ¿por qué hacer esto? Si el aborto es tan doloroso, algunos preguntarán: ¿por que hacer una demostración pública de esta experiencia? La respuesta solo se entiende si uno conoce cuan vergonzante y doloroso es el silencio del aborto. El dolor que sigue al aborto es, según palabras de la Dra. Theresa Burke, un "dolor prohibido." No se reconoce el dolor. No se valida. La gente no envía tarjetas de pésame ni habla abiertamente de esto. De hecho, a aquellos que sufren la muerte de un hijo por aborto a menudo se les hace sentir tontos por estar tristes. Después de todo, la sociedad les dice que han ejercido la elección que resolvió el problema. ¿Por que estar doloridos por eso? Esas preguntas, por supuesto, revelan una ceguera absoluta al hecho que matar al propio hijo duele, y deja una herida que mamá nunca jamás olvidará. Estas mujeres están cansadas de que los que abogan por la "elección" pretendan hablar por ellas. Quieren decirle al mundo, en sus propias palabras, que lo que fácilmente se celebra como "elección" y "derecho" es de hecho una pesada carga. No toda mujer ha encontrado suficiente sanación después del aborto para poder participar en estas manifestaciones públicas o mostrar estos carteles. Pero las participantes en "Nunca Más Calladas" ruegan que su presencia asista a sus hermanas en el camino de la sanación, y les traiga algún alivio al saber que su no dolor no está mas prohibido.
I am happy to send you my bi-weekly column. Our Subscription drive continues, and I urge you to help us reach many more people by inviting them to subscribe to this regular message. They need only write to subscribe@priestsforlife.org. May I also share with you the good news that in addition to my ongoing leadership of Priests for Life, I have been asked to serve as President of the National Pro-life Religious Council. This is an inter-denominational group that works to advance the pro-life cause; you can learn more about it at www.nprcouncil.org. Best wishes for a Happy New Year! Sincerely, Choice on Earth This year's holiday season brought some added attention to a Christmas card produced by the nation's largest single abortion provider, Planned Parenthood. The message of the card? "Choice on Earth." Planned Parenthood advertises the card as containing "an inclusive seasonal message." Inclusive for everyone, of course, except the unborn child, who is destroyed by the so-called "choice" that Planned Parenthood defends. But, of course, Planned Parenthood is not ashamed. In fact, when their card was called anti-Christian, they responded by adding a "Choice on Earth" T-shirt to their line of products. Added to this, some who call themselves ministers of the Gospel preached their seasonal message by claiming that Jesus would not have been against the "choice" of a woman regarding whether or not to continue her pregnancy. You may be aware that there is a "Clergy for Choice Network" operated by the "Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice." My comment on all of this is that it should not surprise us in the least. The essence of the abortion mentality is not to deny that the unborn child is a child. Rather, it is that we take the place of God. It is the idea that what I choose is right, not because the thing I choose is good, but rather because I choose. Choice is more important than life, and my choice takes the place of God Himself. Hence, clergy preach "choice" and the message of Christ becomes "choice on earth." Ultimately, human beings have to feel like they are in line with God. Therefore, if they do not change their lives to conform to God's will, they will change their very concept of God to conform to their own will. That's what the "Choice on Earth" cards demonstrate. The notion that Christ does not have a problem with the choice to destroy an unborn child turns the Gospel inside out. By giving His life for us, Christ teaches the essence of love: I sacrifice myself for the good of the other person. Abortion teaches exactly the opposite message: I sacrifice the other person for the good of myself. Jesus, furthermore, broke down false barriers that placed people in "higher" and "lower" social and spiritual categories. He ate with tax collectors and sinners when the common wisdom was to avoid them. He sought out the lepers when the custom was to stay away from them. He called the children to come to Him, when the apostles thought that the right thing to do was to chase them away. He gave the Samaritan woman the gift of salvation, breaking through barriers that put both Samaritans and women on a lower level. Does it make sense, then, that the Lord permits the false barrier between the born and the unborn, and does not mind the discrimination by which the unborn are considered disposable non-persons? God is a God of justice -- in other words, He saves the helpless. And He expects us to do no less. That's peace on earth. Contact Priests for Life at PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314; Tel: 888-PFL-3448, 718-980-4400; Fax: 718-980-6515; email: mail@priestsforlife.org; web: www.priestsforlife.org Elección en la tierra Este año la temporada navideña ha atraído la atención a una tarjeta de Navidad producida por el mayor proveedor de abortos de la nación, Planned Parenthood. ¿El mensaje de la tarjeta? "Elección en la tierra" ("Choice on Earth") Planned Parenthood anuncia la tarjeta como una que contiene un "mensaje inclusivo para la temporada." Inclusivo para todos, por supuesto, menos para el niño por nacer, que es destruido por la mal llamada "elección" que Planned Parenthood defiende. Pero, por supuesto, Planned Parenthood no está avergonzado. De hecho, cuando su tarjeta fue tildada de anti-cristiana, respondieron agregando a su línea de productos una camiseta con el motivo "elección en la tierra." Además, algunos que se auto-denominan ministros del Evangelio predicaron su mensaje navideño afirmando que Jesús no se hubiera opuesto a la "elección" de una mujer con respecto a la continuación o no de su embarazo. Quizás Ud. sepa que existe una "Red de clérigos por la elección" ("Clergy for Choice Network") operada por la "Coalición Religiosa para la Elección Reproductiva" ("Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice") Mi comentario sobre esto es que no debe sorprendernos en lo más mínimo. La esencia de la mentalidad abortista no es negar que el niño por nacer sea un niño. Se trata, en cambio, de que tomemos el lugar de Dios. Es la idea que lo que elijo es lo correcto, no porque lo que elijo es bueno, sino más bien porque lo elijo yo. La elección es más importante que la vida, y mi elección toma el lugar del mismo Dios. Por lo tanto, hay clérigos que predican la "elección" y el mensaje de Cristo se vuelve "elección en la tierra." En definitiva, los seres humanos tienen que sentirse unidos a Dios. Entonces, si no cambian sus vidas para conformarlas a la voluntad de Dios, tienen que cambiar el mismo concepto de Dios para que esté de acuerdo con su voluntad. Esto es lo que demuestran las tarjetas de "elección en la tierra." La noción que Cristo no tiene problemas con la elección de destruir un niño por nacer invierte al Evangelio. Al dar su vida por nosotros, Cristo enseña la esencia del amor: Me sacrifico yo por el bien de otra persona. El aborto enseña exactamente el mensaje opuesto: Sacrifico a la otra persona por mi bien. Más aún, Jesús rompió las falsas barreras que separaban a la gente entre aquellos en "mayor" y "menor" categoría social y espiritual. Comió con recaudadores de impuestos y pecadores cuando la norma vigente era evitarlos. Buscó a los leprosos cuando la costumbre era mantenerse alejado de ellos. Llamó a los niños a que se acercaran a él, cuando los apóstoles pensaban que lo correcto era alejarlos de él. Le dió el don de la salvación a la mujer samaritana, rompiendo las barreras que ponían tanto a los samaritanos como a la mujeres en un menor nivel. ¿Tiene sentido entonces, que el Señor permita una falsa barrera entre nacidos y no-nacidos, y no le importe la discriminación por la cual los no nacidos son considerados descartables y no-personas? Dios es un Dios de justicia. En otras palabras, salva a los desamparados. Y espera que nosotros hagamos lo mismo. Eso es paz en la tierra.
Below is the text of our Priests for Life newsletter for January and February. Thank you for being one of our subscribers. We want to expand the numbers of those who receive this email. Can you help us? Please invite those on your own email lists to join ours by writing to subscribe@priestsforlife.org. God bless you! Priests for Life Newsletter CONTENTS: Calling all Priests: Please Sign Statement Dear Fathers, Just prior to November's elections, we began asking priests nationwide to sign the statement that appears on page 2, and many of you have faxed or mailed us your signed copy. If you have not yet seen it, please take this opportunity to read it and attach your name. The simple points it makes about our responsibilities in the civic arena echo precisely what our bishops have said. We intend to use this statement during the next two years to motivate voters as well as elected officials. Right now the statement is on our website, and we will keep you informed of its use. You may fax the statement to us at any of the following fax numbers: 718-980-6515 or 718-980-6944 or 718-980-3900 or 718-980-7191, or you may mail it to PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314. A sad contradiction to what the statement says was recently seen in Michigan, where a few priests wrote a letter to the Detroit Free Press actually calling into question the fact that being "pro-choice" on abortion is a clear contradiction to one's Catholic faith. While we prefer in this newsletter to focus on the positive things priests are doing, we are obliged to give some response to this particular incident. The letter states, "Catholic church teaching throughout most of its history did not regard the embryo and fetus in its early stages of development as a full human being." Response: Catholic Church teaching throughout its entire history clearly asserts that God alone is Lord of the entire process by which human life comes about. Therefore, despite any changing views about the status of the embryo based on changing scientific knowledge through the centuries, the moral teaching that all direct abortion is wrong has always been clear, constant, and definitive. The letter states, "Many of the most respected Catholic theologians...conclude...that the lack of differentiation of the individual in the first 14 days of development preclude concluding that we have at this stage a unique individual human being." Response: Not only does such a conclusion ignores the latest science, it also ignores the fact that abortion occurs throughout pregnancy. The procedure involves dismemberment and decapitation. Just see page 3 and 4 of this newsletter and you will see what these priests are missing. There are few better ways to ignore our responsibilities in the face of this atrocity than to start some abstruse theological argument about the individuality of 14-day old embryos. The letter by these priests makes other misleading, erroneous points that we believe amount to scandal. Our message to the priests: please use your time and energy to help end abortion rather than to confuse people about it. Letter for Priests to Sign Dear Father, We invite you to sign and fax (or mail) back to us the following statement. It will be used in a non-partisan way on our website and sent to media outlets nationwide to express our common commitment to life. God bless you! -- Fr. Frank Pavone and Staff "As Catholic priests, ordained to preach the Gospel of Life, Justice, and Peace, we a) affirm, in union with our bishops, that all citizens, particularly Catholics, should exercise their duty to vote and should "embrace their citizenship not merely as a duty and privilege, but as an opportunity meaningfully to participate in building the culture of life" (US Bishops, 1998, Living the Gospel of Life, n. 34); b) embrace a consistent ethic of life, which asserts that all life issues are linked and important, and which acknowledges that "among important issues involving the dignity of human life with which the Church is concerned, abortion necessarily plays a central role" (US Bishops, 2001, Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities, A Campaign in Support of Life); and c) echo our bishops' teaching that "No public official, especially one claiming to be a faithful and serious Catholic, can responsibly advocate for or actively support direct attacks on innocent human life" (US Bishops, 1998, Living the Gospel of Life, n. 32). We are confident that the Lord of Life and Peace, who has conquered the power of death, offers His people the grace necessary to build a Culture of Life. The Dilatation and Evacuation (D&E) Abortion Procedure Analysts of public opinion widely acknowledge that the public debate on partial-birth abortion, beginning in 1995, caused many Americans to re-evaluate their assessment of whether abortion should be legal in all circumstances. A key element of the public debate was the fact that illustrations of the procedure were shown on national television and in print ads. Now, Priests for Life has obtained medically accurate drawings of an even more common and widely acknowledged second-trimester abortion procedure, dilatation and evacuation (D&E). The chart you see on page 4 of this newsletter was developed by medical illustrators with the advice and input of physicians. (The images were obtained through Nucleus Communications, Inc. and may only be reproduced with their permission.) With the help of our own medical advisor, Dr. Tony Levatino, who used to perform D&E abortions before he was converted to the pro-life position, Priests for Life will publicize and explain this chart. Following are some quotes from medical and legal sources about the D&E procedure, which is legal throughout the United States. "Dilatation and evacuation has become one of the two most frequently used methods of abortion in the second trimester" (Berger et al, ed., Second Trimester Abortion: Perspectives After a Decade of Experience, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1981, p.120). [Note: According to the Alan Guttmacher institute, 12% of abortions are performed at 13 weeks or more, by any procedure, which would translate into approximately 159,600 per year.] "Second-trimester D&E abortions are performed on an outpatient basis in both hospitals and free-standing clinics...Most surgeons rely on large forceps to evacuate the products of conception" (Berger, op cit., p.121-128). The following account of D&E is part of sworn testimony given in US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (Madison, WI, May 27, 1999, Case No. 98-C-0305-S), by Dr. Martin Haskell, an abortionist: "And typically when the abortion procedure is started we typically know that the fetus is still alive because either we can feel it move as we're making our initial grasps or if we're using some ultrasound visualization when we actually see a heartbeat as we're starting the procedure. It's not unusual at the start of D&E procedures that a limb is acquired first and that that limb is brought through the cervix and even out of the vagina prior to disarticulation and prior to anything having been done that would have caused the fetal demise up to that point." "When you're doing a dismemberment D&E, usually the last part to be removed is the skull itself and it's floating free inside the uterine cavity...So it's rather like a ping-pong ball floating around and the surgeon is using his forcep to reach up to try to grasp something that's freely floating around and is quite large relative to the forcep we're using. So typically there's several misdirections, misattempts to grasp. Finally at some point either the instruments are managed to be place around the skull or a nip is made out of some area of the skull that allows it to start to decompress. And then once that happens typically the skull is brought out in fragments rather than as a unified piece..." Note: Color diagrams of the D&E procedure can be viewed on our website at www.priestsforlife.org/resources/medical/de.jpg Catalog of Resources! Priests for Life is happy to announce a comprehensive catalog of all our brochures, booklets, audio and video tapes that have inspired people worldwide to fight abortion. Materials from Fr. Frank (including episodes from his Defending Life program on EWTN) as well as from other pro-life leaders are included. Some items available in Spanish. Contact our Orders department for more information: (718) 980-4400, ext. 239, or orders@priestsforlife.org. Bulletin item in Spanish for the 30th Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade Norma McCorvey, conocida como "Jane Roe" del caso Roe vs. Wade de 1973 en el que la Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos legalizó el aborto, es ahora una Católica pro-vida. El 23 de Marzo de 1997, ella declaró con las siguientes palabras: " Yo soy Norma McCorvey. Fui conocida como Jane Roe el 22 de Enero de 1973 cuando la Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos declaró que la mujer tiene el "derecho de abortar". Ahora me reconozco como una hija de Dios, una nueva criatura en Cristo; He sido perdonada y redimida. Hoy, públicamente me arrepiento de haberme involucrado con el aborto. Humildemente pido perdón a los millones de mujeres y niños no nacidos que han experimentado la violencia del aborto. En este lugar de sanación, El Monumento Nacional de los no-nacidos, me uno a todos los que honran el valor de cada niño creado a la imagen y semejanza de Dios, y declaro que lucharé en el nombre de Jesús, hasta ver abolido este holocausto". Prayer Intentions You are encouraged to remember the following intentions as you pray the Liturgy of the Hours: January intention: That the faithful more deeply study the words and actions of Christ, to know how to care for the least of our brothers and sisters. February intention: That God may bless and strengthen the pro-life efforts of college students. Remember, the Bishops' Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities calls for Pro-life Petitions at Every Mass! Suggestions: That God's people, who proclaim that death has been conquered in Christ, may be active in defending His gift of life, we pray to the Lord... That God's people may use their many talents to proclaim the sanctity of life in the arenas of business, media, the arts, and politics, we pray to the Lord... More suggestions, tailored for each Sunday of the year, are at www.priestsforlife.org/prayers/intercessionindex.htm
Announcing special Subscription Drive! Dear Friends, As I send you my bi-weekly column, I ask you to join us in a special "Subscription Drive." Currently about 7000 people receive this email update. We would like to get that number up to 10,000 by the end of the year -- and the best people to help us do that are those, like you, who already receive this commentary. You can help in several ways: a) Give a personal invitation to others to subscribe to it by email (subscribe@priestsforlife.org) A large list not only helps us educate and inspire others, but helps us to mobilize people for concrete action, as we did for the recent election. Please know that you and your family are in my prayers in a special way as we approach Christmas! Sincerely, Extreme Compromise Thirty years have passed since Roe vs. Wade and its companion case Doe vs. Bolton were issued by the US Supreme Court. As many of us continue to work to overturn these decisions, many think that the decisions constitute a "compromise" position on the divisive issue of abortion. After all, they say, our current national policy on abortion allows a woman to have a child if she wants, and to abort the child if she wants. But Roe and Doe are about as far away from a "compromise" as you can find. The decisions allow for abortion throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy, and do not recognize any right of the unborn child to be spared death by abortion. With a nation divided about abortion, one might think that under a "compromise" solution one could find some reason to protect at least some unborn children. But in Roe and Doe, one searches in vain for any situation in which an unborn child is protected. As the University of Detroit Law Review pointed out, "The Supreme Court's decisions...allowed abortion on demand throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy" (Paul B. Linton, Enforcement of State Abortion Statutes after Roe: A State-by-State Analysis, Vol. 67, Issue 2, Winter 1990). In this framework, every unborn baby is disposable. Every. That's hardly a "compromise" position. "Leave it up to the woman to decide" sounds to many like a fair compromise. But this position completely destroys equality before the law, because it constitutes a complete removal of protection from the child. The lives of unborn children who are wanted and carried to term do not have any more protection from the law than the lives of unborn children who are unwanted and carried to the abortionist. The lives of the wanted are protected only by their "wantedness," which, of course, can be subject to change at any time. As far as the law is concerned, they are all non-persons, regardless of circumstance. That's hardly a "compromise." A "compromise" usually, and by definition, allows some accommodation to both sides in the dispute. But current abortion policy allows no accommodation to the claims that innocent human life makes upon us. The more you know about the Roe and Doe decisions, the clearer this becomes. In fact, the Gallup polling company, in an extensive analysis of the opinions of Americans on abortion, admits that the level of support in surveys for Roe vs. Wade is lower if more information about the decision itself is offered in the question, and higher if less information is offered. (See www.gallup.com/poll/specialReports/pollSummaries/sr020122iii.asp) In Judgement at Nuremberg, one of those responsible for the Holocaust says that he "never thought it would go that far," and was told that it "went that far" as soon as a single innocent life was taken. There is no room for "compromising" about human life. Permitting one life to be destroyed is already extreme. Unless we're all protected, we're all in danger. Concesión Extrema Han pasado treinta años desde que la Corte Suprema dictara Roe vs. Wade y su caso relacionado Doe vs. Bolton. Pero Roe y Doe distan tanto de ser una « concesión » como uno pudiera pensar. Las decisiones permiten el aborto durante los nueve meses del embarazo y no reconocen el derecho del niño por nacer a ser salvado de la muerte por aborto. Con una nación dividida sobre el aborto, uno podría pensar que una solución de « compromiso » permitiría encontrar una razón para proteger por lo menos algún niño por nacer. Pero en Roe y Doe, uno busca en vano alguna situación en que el niño por nacer esté protegido, « Las decisiones de la Corte Suprema...permitieron el aborto a pedido durante los nueve meses de embarazo completos. » (Paul B. Linton, Enforcement of State Abortion Statutes after Roe : A State-by-State Analysis, Vol. 67, Issue 2, Winter 1990) En este marco, todo bebé no nacido es descartable. Todos. Esto es difícilmente una « concesión .» « Dejen que la mujer decida » suena para algunos como una concesión justa. Pero esta posición destruye completamente la igualdad frente a la ley, porque constituye una remoción completa de la protección al niño. Las vidas de los niños por nacer que son deseados y llevados a término no se encuentran más protegidas por la ley que las vidas de los niños por nacer que no son deseados y son llevados al abortista. Las vidas de los deseados solo están protegidas por el « deseo » que, por supuesto, está sujeto a cambio en cualquier momento. En lo que hace a la ley, son todos no-personas, independientemente de las circunstancias. Esto es difícilmente una « concesión. » Una « concesión » generalmente, y por definición, permite algún acomodamiento a ambas partes en una disputa. Pero la actual política de aborto no permite ningún acomodamiento a las demandas que la vida humana inocente nos hace. Cuanto uno más se sabe de las decisiones Roe y Doe, esto se vuelve más claro. De hecho, la compañía de encuestas Gallup, en un extenso análisis de las opiniones de los estadounidenses sobre el aborto, admite que el nivel de apoyo en las encuestas sobre Roe vs. Wade es menor si se ofrece mayor información sobre la decisión en la pregunta, y es mayor si se ofrece menor información. (Veáse www.gallup.com/poll/special/Report/pollSummaries/sr020122iii.asp) En Juicio en Nuremberg (Judgment in Nuremberg) uno de los responsables por el Holocausto dice que « nunca pensó que iría tan lejos » , y le dijeron que « fue tan lejos » a partir del momento en que se tomó una sola vida inocente. No hay lugar para « concesiones » sobre la vida humana. Permitir la destrucción de una sola vida ya es extremo. A menos que todos estemos protegidos, todos estamos en peligro.
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Thank you! Sincerely, Oppression My favorite verse of the hymn "O Holy Night"
says, "Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love, and His
Gospel is peace. Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother, and in
His name, all oppression shall cease." Oppression. Like that which
daily enslaves our brothers and sisters still growing in the womb. The
source of all oppression is sin, rebellion against God and His will. In
Christmas, oppression is broken precisely because in Christ, God and sinners
are reconciled. Evil at its root is conquered. Yet the victory is still
unfolding. The kingdom has come, yet we still pray, "Thy Kingdom Come!"
Jesus has saved us, yet we still pray, "Lord, save us!" This is not a
contradiction. It is simply the reality that the Kingdom is growing, and God
gives us a part to play in its growth. What is our part? We are called to
allow the victory Christ has won to shape our lives and our society. We
fight sin, we strive for virtue, we seek to build unity, justice and
peace. Hence, all oppression must cease. To welcome the good news
that "A Savior is born for us," is to welcome the very power that does save
us from sin and oppression, and to allow it to save us. To welcome the Savior is
also to accept the obligation to participate with Him in saving others. The
love Christ shows us in His birth places a burden on us: as He intervenes to
save us, we are to intervene to save one another. He came to stand between
us and our oppressors, and it brought Him to the cross. Celebrating
Christmas indicates our willingness to stand between our neighbors and their
oppressors. When we welcome our Savior, we welcome their
Savior. Nothing is more oppressive than abortion. No form of slavery has
ever been worse in all human history. No assertion is more degrading than to
say one is a non-person, a non-entity, whose life is not recognized and
whose death does not count. So bold is this evil, in fact, that it not only
destroys the unborn, but seeks to punish those who try to save
them. So be it. We will accept the task; we will share the burden. "In
His name, all oppression shall cease." We will participate in liberating our
unborn brothers and sisters. We are the people who have heard the good news
of the angels: "A Savior has been born for you, who is Christ the Lord!" We
will not be merely hearers of the Word. We will not celebrate a superficial
Christmas that seeks the joys of the season but doesn't strive for the
victories of the season. We will not be people who proclaim that a Savior
has come, but who do nothing to save anybody. Rather, we will commit
ourselves to fight and end all oppression, as we welcome the coming of the One
who is Life. Contact Priests for Life at PO Box 141172, Staten
Island, NY 10314; Tel: 888-PFL-3448, 718-980-4400; Fax: 718-980-6515; email:
mail@priestsforlife.org; web: www.priestsforlife.org
Fr. Frank Pavone
Fr Frank Pavone/Priests for Life
P. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
Fr. Frank Pavone
Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
P. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
Fr. Frank Pavone
Volume 13, Number 1
January-February 2003
Calling all priests: Please sign Statement Letter for Priests to sign The Dilatation and Evacuation (D&E) Abortion Procedure Catalog of Resources! Bulletin item in Spanish for the 30th Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade Prayer Intentions
______________________________________ __________________________
Signed Date
______________________________________ __________________________
Parish City, State
b) Send such an invitation to your own email lists.
c) Extend the invitation through newsletters or other publications.
d) Make an announcement at pro-life meetings or other gatherings (such as K of C Councils, etc.)
Fr. Frank Pavone
Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
P. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
Mientras muchos de nosotros continuamos trabajando para revertir estas decisiones, algunos piensan que estas decisiones constituyen una « concesión » en la divisiva cuestión del aborto. Después de todo, dicen, nuestra actual política nacional sobre aborto permite a una mujer tener el niño si quiere y abortarlo si quiere.
Fr. Frank Pavone
Fr. Frank
Pavone, Priests for Life
