Paul Hellstern / The Oklahoma NewsOK.com
Over fifty dead in the tragedy in Oklahoma, where a tornado struck yesterday. At least twenty of those struck down are little school children. Our hearts go out to all of the families who have experienced lost of loved ones in this tragedy.
Amidst all the horrors of the Gosnell murder trial, with all the gory details, images of mutilated babies, anger, frustration at a failing oversight of the abortion industry, and death, we, and I believe I speak for a lot of people in the world, would like to thank you Fr. Frank for your courage and leadership in seeing the dignity of these babies who you have named for all the world to recognize as real people with names.
As you stated in your article, Naming the Gosnell Babies,
“People have names. One of the first things we do when coming into the presence of another person — or even learning about their existence when apart from their presence — is to inquire as to their name. The name expresses the person, it invites the presence of the person, it both calls and welcomes the person, it acknowledges that there is something in common between the person and ourselves, and hence in receiving their name we offer our own.”
Also, thank you for requesting the bodies of the babies that were found at Gosnell’s clinic during the raid so that they can be given a proper burial.
May God bless you and keep you strong in the fight to end abortion!
See Pictures of the naming ceremony HERE.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: May 9, 2013
Contact: Leslie Palma
347-286-7277
Fr. Pavone presides over service to name babies found in Philadelphia clinic.
STATEN ISLAND, NY – Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, today presided over a service to give names to the 45 babies whose bodies were found in the West Philadelphia abortion clinic of accused murderer Kermit Gosnell.
“People have names, people deserve names,” Father Pavone said during the 30-minute service in the chapel of Priests for Life headquarters. “The name expresses the person. The name recognizes that there is a person there.”
But there was no such recognition for the babies whose remains were found in milk jugs, orange juice cartons and litter boxes.
“Who are these children, and whose are these children,” Father Pavone asked. “Are they medical waste or are they our brothers and sisters?”
Father Pavone said the nearly two-month-long trial, regardless of its outcome, goes to the very core of the abortion debate.
“What was not in dispute in that courtroom is that these were living children whose hearts were stopped,” he said. “Hearts were beating, and hearts were stopped.” Four of the babies were 22 weeks’ gestation or beyond, he noted, with heartbeats that could “be heard with a simple stethoscope.”
During the service, Priests for Life staffers and volunteers walked in procession to the chapel’s altar, carrying certificates with a name for each child. The babies whose deaths have been part of the trial record, Baby A through Baby G, were named first: Baby Adam, aborted at seven and a half months; Baby Michael, killed at 28 weeks; Baby Alex, breathed for 20 minutes after delivery; Baby Chris, delivered into a toilet and seen swimming there; Baby Andy, who was heard to whine, and Baby Lou, whose leg moved after being delivered.
To see the full list of names, go to www.PriestsforLife.org/library/4620-naming-the-gosnell-babies
“It is our honor to honor you with your name,” Father Pavone said after each child had been named.
The service also called for prayers and healing for the parents of the aborted children.
“Their parents may have aborted them in an episode of fear and despair… We embrace them, too. We acknowledge their humanity. They, too, are our brothers and sisters.”
These parents, he said, could benefit from a healing program like Rachel’s Vineyard, which specializes in helping post-abortive women and men.
Father Pavone has asked permission of the Philadelphia Medical Examiner to be allowed to give the babies a proper funeral and burial once the trial reaches its conclusion. That request is still pending, and the medical examiner has said it is under consideration.
Audio and video of the baby-naming service will be available at PriestsforLife.org
Priests for Life is the nation’s largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
See photos HERE
While I’m often accused of finding Pro-Life messages behind every tree, it can’t be denied that “42″ brings an inherent message of courage, compassion and composure that prevailed in the lives of Jackie and Rae Robinson as well as Dodgers Manager Branch Rickey. These same principles are needed so much in the ongoing heated moral debates of our time.
While the skin color/racism devil is somewhat subdued today, it still rears its ugly head. Then we are also contending with moral questions surrounding the sanctity of natural life and marriage. This “three headed monster” of racism, anti-procreative liberty and sexual perversion has crept into our lives with the intent of leading us further astray.
This is why the movie 42 is so inspiring; and the themes of racial unity, nonviolence, marital fidelity and Christianity are so very refreshing. They apply to our present day struggles; while they stir our hearts and rouse our conscience.
Today, we are fraught with unjust laws such as legal abortion – the killing of human babies in the womb. Where is the justice for the babies?
Uncle M. L., Jackie and Rae Robinson and Branch Rickey challenged the immoral unwritten laws of their day. We cannot afford to do less in Century 21. Uncle M. L. once said “a just law squares with the law of God.”
God’s Word is God’s law. The Bible charges us to love each other, and that law transcends human efforts to redesign God’s plan for continuity.
Jackie Robinson left the Dodgers the year after Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery. Yet that wasn’t the end of the baseball great’s mission to advance civil rights. He became a statesman and defender of my uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I know that Robinson was a super ball player and Rickey was a phenomenal businessman. But they were so much more than that. They dealt with the human issues if their day.
The movie 42 has heart. We could all learn a lot from their examples of courage, composure and compassion.
The year 2013 will mark the 40th commemoration of Roe V. Wade and the 50th Anniversary of the “I Have a Dream” speech.
Interestingly enough we’re just now celebrating the 50th anniversary of the James Bond movie series as well. Yours truly happened to have gone to see the latest Bond movie, Skyfall, and I found it poignant and current.
I also note that in many of the television programs now and things like that, we had a brief cycle where you had the question of abortion and a woman’s right to choose come up in the music, movies and television programming,
And now the homosexual agenda is kind of prevalent with men saying that they’re married to men and women saying they’re married to women.
So, my question now becomes, “Where do we go from here in 2013?
Certainly we have an actual obligation and we should take it up joyfully and energetically to continue to advance the message of life and the message of natural family values which includes marriage between one man and one woman, good education for our children, and lifestyles for those that we love being chaste and living lives that express agape love.
If you look at the book of Revelations in the Bible, we are living in the end times and we should be preparing ourselves. But our message of eternity, salvation, and love of Jesus Christ should continue to be front and center in our messaging. And so our end goal should be, not only to be convincing people to appreciate the sanctity of life and not abort babies and to support natural family planning and marriage, but to accept Jesus Christ as the loving Lord who desires to bless us all.
President Obama went on the Tonight Show last night to attack the comments of Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, who said in a debate that “even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something God intended to happen.” Mr. Obama said, “This is exactly why you don’t want a bunch of politicians, mostly male, making decisions about women’s health care decisions. Women are capable of making these decisions in consultation with their partners, with their doctors, and for politicians to want to intrude in this stuff often times without any information is a huge problem.” He added, “Roe v. Wade is probably hanging in the balance,” in the upcoming election.
In all fairness, I would say to Mr. Mourdock that God allows uncomfortable circumstances to occur, and that whatever is intended for evil, God can bring forth good. God loves the mother and the baby; both are victims of the rape. Babies are not evil, no matter the circumstances of their conception.
As to President Obama’s concerns regarding “a bunch of males” making decisions about women’s lives and their bodies, three African American males – Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr. my grandfather, the father of my son and my brother – made a decision for me when they insisted that I not abort my son. Granddaddy said the baby was not “a lump of flesh” but was a person. My brother agreed. The baby’s father was a medical resident and said to me, “no abortion. This is a baby with 46 chromosomes, 23 from you, 23 from me. I want mine back alive.” They, this bunch of males were right, I was wrong. Period. By the way, men do regret lost fatherhood. Read the eye opening book by Kevin Burke.
For more information regarding rape, incest and abortion, visit www.rebeccakiessling.com where Attorney Rebecca Kiessling discusses a three-step process in terms of how candidates should answer the question of rape, incest and abortion:
1. The Supreme Court has said that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment for rapists and that rapists don’t deserve the death penalty. I don’t think the innocent child conceived in rape deserves the death penalty for the crimes of her father. It seems to me that is cruel and unusual punishment.
2. Rape victims are four times more likely to die within the next year after the abortion, with a higher rate of suicide, murder, drug overdose, etc. As someone who really cares about rape victims, I want to protect them from the rapist, and from the abortion, and not the baby. A baby is not the worst thing that could ever happen to a rape victim — an abortion is. We need to educate the American public on the truth in this matter and not make public policy based on myth and misinformation.
3. Rape victims choose abortion at half the rate of the average unplanned pregnancy, which is over 50%. Only 15-25% of rape victims choose abortion, depending on the study. The majority of rape victims choose to raise her child — not “the rapist’s baby” — HER child.
Of course, I also think it helps to share a personal story (here’s mine)and there are lots available, of women who became pregnant by rape and either regret aborting, are raising their children or are birth-moms, as well as stories of those of us conceived in rape and/or incest. You can find those stories at www.rebeccakiessling.com/Othersconceivedinrape.html
Read this great article on the subject.
Someone wrote to me on Facebook yesterday, saying that it is wrong for Christians to promote voting Biblical values because of the Separation of Church and State. The writer spoke of being offended because I was coming against the sanctity of Separation of Church and State by asking people to pray to God before voting, and vote God’s values. People think that the original intent of SOCAS was to keep God’s Church from ruling the government. Actually, the opposite is true. Separation of Church and State is intended to prevent exactly what the government is trying to do currently. The government is attempting to muzzle the voice of God’s people by punishing the right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
THE HISTORICAL TEST: THE JUDICIAL STANDARD EMERGING FROM COLONIAL POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS HISTORY TO BE APPLIED TO CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES BASED ON THE RELIGION CLAUSES OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT
by
Tayra de la Caridad Antolick
© May 2002
The Law and Liberty Foundation gratefully acknowledges the author’s permission to use this Brief as part of the Foundation’s mission of “education in the public interest.” (Click on the author’s name above to read about her.) The popular idea of Separation of Church and State is one of the most intellectually dishonest, and legally indefensible ideas to ever come down the pike. John Sterling
Read full article here. http://www.lawandliberty.org/chur_sta.htm
Excerpt:
The current use of the “wall of separation” between church and state as a legal defense for the removal of the expression of American religious culture from governmental institutions and the prohibition of the free exercise of individuals working within them goes contrary not only to the original intent of the Founders and the Framers but also to the religious, political, and legal history and traditions of the United States of America. Courts, county school boards, teachers, and individuals, unwittingly devoid of the knowledge of the substantial role religion (primarily Protestant Christianity) played in the birth and formation of the United States are taking the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment beyond its scope: they are using it as a weapon against the free exercise of religion and abusing it by extending its interpretation beyond separating the jurisdiction of each institution. If the historical reasons or contentions for the separation of church and state were to be applied to the Establishment Clause as they were argued, it can be deduced that neither Congress nor any state legislature, after the incorporation of the First Amendment to the states, has never violated the clause, since there has never been a governmental declaration of a legally recognized national denomination or religion. The two jurisdictions have remained separate since the beginning. However, the presence of American religious culture within the public sphere has also been present since the birth of this country. Therefore, the “separation of church and state” can only be interpreted as the separation of jurisdiction of each institution and not the separation of the American religious culture from the public sphere.
Jefferson’s reply to them reassured that the “wall of separation” was a wall barring only the legislative body of government, the external entity, from establishing a particular sect of the Christian religion and prohibiting the free exercise of all religion. The text does not indicate that the people are barred from any action. Contrary to Kramnick and Moore’s view that “a wall of separation, after all, prevents trespassing in both directions,” [61] the First Amendment is only prohibiting one party from such trespass. A physical wall may prevent two parties from trespass, but a legal wall may prevent only one party from acting—much like an injunction—and that one party is the legislative branch, whether it is Parliament or Congress (emphasis added).
It is not difficult to deduce from historical revolutionary pamphlets and other documents that the consensus among the colonists and the consequent intent of the Framers was that government could not bestow special privileges to one Christian sect and deny them to others. Government could not legislatively establish one Christian sect over another in the same manner that the Church of England was the national church nor could government compel members of nonconformist religions to pay taxes to support a government-approved established religious institution. If one sect was endowed with special privileges, all should receive the same consideration. Furthermore, government could not bar anyone from public office because of the content of his or her religious convictions or lack thereof. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment has already effectively accomplished all these goals, and participation in the republican form of government guarantees representation in the legislature to secure the equal treatment. Nothing in the Clause or in the historical record alludes to the prohibition of government funding of religion as long as it is available to all religions, even if one religion is in the majority within a particular community. Thus, the Dworkin “conception” within the Establishment Clause is very narrow. Its enlargement can occur only by ignoring colonial history.
Read full article here. http://www.lawandliberty.org/chur_sta.htm
In 1957, Dr. Billy Graham invited Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. to preach with him at an evangelical revival meeting at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Dr. Graham wanted to break down the “race” barrier that required that there be separate seating for people according to their skin color. Dr. King joined Dr. Graham.
Dr. Billy Graham was preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in 1957 and he is still preaching the Gospel today. If Uncle M. L. were here today, he would still be preaching right along with Dr. Graham. Today, Dr. Graham is appealing to people to vote “biblical values” which includes supporting life from conception until natural death – no abortions; and natural marriage between one man and one woman. During his lifetime, Uncle M. L. supported the sanctity of life [Part 1] [Part 2], and in an Ebony magazine advice column, counseled a young man that “felt about boys the way other boys felt about girls” to seek God’s solutions for his “problem.”
Dr. Graham is still with us on planet earth. Dr. M. L. King is in heaven. Their parallel messages cross timelines and the boundaries that often bind us. Choose life! Honor Natural Marriage. Love (Agape – not sexual) thy neighbor as thyself. Vote Biblical Values!
Dr. Graham’s and Dr. King’s message of repentance and forgiveness of sin, the love of God our Father, and the lordship of Jesus Christ is timeless and universal. Sometimes I wonder why more people don’t ask me “what would Jesus do,” rather than asking “what would Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. do?”
Vote Biblical Values is the wise counsel Mr. Billy Graham is providing just days before the 2012 elections in America. At www.africanamericanoutreach.com and www.Godsaid.org, we agree with Mr. Graham. I met Mr. Billy Graham many years ago, when I was a freelance reporter writing for an Atlanta magazine. He was gracious enough to grant me an interview. I recall his intensely blue eyes that seemed to pierce straight through to my soul.
I remember attempting to be clever and trying to impress Mr. Grahm with my journalistic abilities and my biblical knowledge. I asked him why he would tell people to “pray without ceasing” since in my opinion, no one could pray nonstop. He answered by explaining that the Bible says to “pray without ceasing,” and then, with a gentle smile that crinkled the corners of those amazing eyes, he whispered: “I’m praying for you right now.”
His new ad reminds us that while life on earth can be short and precious, there are generations of children and grandchildren, some yet to be born, who are depending on us to stand and stay true to the values set forth for peaceful and blessed living – all found in the Bible.
As Director of African American Outreach for Priests for Life, Founder of King for America, a team member of the National Black Prolife Coalition, and one of several committed spokespersons at Godsaid.org, I can truly attest to the truth that Biblical values are the way to vote! Key issues such as life, natural marriage, quality education, economic empowerment and so many more are part of the human experience. We all need a manual for living abundant lives. That manual is the Bible.
Because of a hectic schedule, I am an early voter. As I walked up to the voting booth this year, I asked God for guidance. I depend on God’s Word as my standard for living. Mr. Graham and many national leaders are encouraging us to do the same. Pray, read your Bible and then vote God’s values.
Among the most hotly contested issues in this election are the impact of abortion and homosexuality on the institution of marriage and the foundations of our society. Efforts to promote abortion and unnatural contraceptives, and efforts to redefine marriage from the formula outlined in the Bible – one man + woman = natural marriage to a comprehensive model that includes homosexual unions and only God knows what else are mounting in intensity.
As an African American woman who has experienced the traumas of abortion, divorce and other challenges in life, I can only plead with people to do as I finally came to do. I turned away from seeking my own way, and accepted God’s way as outlined in the Bible.
Natural marriage is under siege, and the African American community is at the head of the line for the fallout that comes from the destruction and erosion of natural marriage. The economy is a major issue this election cycle, yet poverty rates are significantly higher when natural marriage is undermined. The concept of marriage between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman undercuts the successful Bible pattern of natural marriage. We should consider connecting the dots.
In 2009, I attended a marriage and family forum where a significant study, THE MARRIAGE INDEX was released. The study is available at www.dss.virginia.gov/files/about/sfi/intro_page/resources/marriage_index.pdf. More information about African American marriage can be found at http://www.hamptonu.edu/ncaamp/.
Natural marriage is a foundational institution that supports the human race. By voting our Biblical values for marriage, life and family, we will be making a commitment to the generations to come.
As the Church begins her observance of the Year of Faith today, Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, announced initiatives to take place this year that will highlight the integral connections between the faith and the commitment to the pro-life cause.
In a statement released today (see below), Fr. Pavone stated, “In his encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life, 1995), Blessed John Paul II reminded us, ‘The Gospel of God’s love for man, the Gospel of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a single and indivisible Gospel’ (EV, 2). Therefore, as the Church calls her children to embrace and proclaim with new vigor and joy the Gospel of Christ, this is at the same time a call to witness to, and to build, a Culture of Life.”
The pastoral team of Priests for Life, which leads a worldwide family of interrelated ministries including Rachel’s Vineyard and the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, as well as the African-American outreach led by Dr. Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King, Jr., will carry out a number of catechetical and other efforts to highlight the theme of the connection between faith and pro-life.
As part of the observance, Priests for Life will lead a pilgrimage to Rome from June 10-17, 2013 in order to take part in a celebration on June 16 with the Holy Father in Saint Peter’s Square focused on the sanctity of life. The event is among the official items on the calendar for the Year of Faith released by the Vatican.
In the Year of Faith, Believe and Proclaim the Gospel of Life
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, issued the following statement today as the Church begins her celebration of the Year of Faith:
The worldwide family of Priests for Life (an international Association of the Faithful) welcomes the Year of Faith, which begins today, Thursday, October 11, 2012, the twentieth anniversary of the publication of The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.
Priests for Life, like the whole Church, is irrevocably committed to proclaiming Jesus Christ as the hope, the Savior, and the life of the world.
In his encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life, 1995), Blessed John Paul II reminded us, “The Gospel of God’s love for man, the Gospel of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a single and indivisible Gospel” (EV, 2).
Therefore, as the Church calls her children to embrace and proclaim with new vigor and joy the Gospel of Christ, this is at the same time a call to witness to, and to build, a Culture of Life.
This is why one of the official events that the Vatican has announced in the calendar for the Year of Faith will be a celebration with the Holy Father focused on the theme of the sanctity of life, to take place in Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday, June 16, 2013.
Given that fact, Priests for Life announces today that during the Year of Faith, we will implement a number of efforts to help the faithful — both clergy and laity — to understand and teach the integral connections between saying “Yes” to Christ and saying “Yes” to life.
In particular,
a) We will make available in new formats to the clergy and laity our reflections on the readings of the liturgy for each Sunday and how those readings connect with the theme of life. Such reflections are available in written form at www.priestsforlife.org/liturgy and in video form at www.YouTube.com/priestsforlife.
b) We will initiate a series of catechetical resources that show the integral connection between various aspects of our faith and the call to defend the most vulnerable among us, the unborn. This series will start with a new resource for the Advent-Christmas season called Christmas for the Unborn.
c) We will present special seminars and study days, through the travels of our pastoral team to parishes, seminaries, conferences and local communities, focusing on how the pro-life message and movement are integral to the new evangelization.
d) We will lead a national pilgrimage to Rome from June 10-17, 2013 in order to take part, with the Holy Father, in the special celebration for the Gospel of Life on Sunday, June 16. (See www.priestsforlife.org/pilgrimage for more details.)
e) We will conduct a multi-faceted media campaign, via radio, television, and internet, to highlight the ways in which embracing the faith means embracing life, with special focus on how the witness of the Gospel leads us to serve those who are pregnant and in need, and to bring healing to those wounded by abortion.
f) We will expand our educational efforts in the arena of political responsibility, especially in these first few weeks of the Year of Faith, showing how the witness of faith demands that we vote in a way that affirms rather than denies the Gospel.
g) We will renew our call to the faithful to see the pro-life movement as not simply a cause but as a spirituality, an aspect of discipleship, and therefore we will invite them to undertake our program of training in pro-life spirituality and to become Missionaries of the Gospel of Life. (See www.MissionariesoftheGospelofLife.org.)
The implementation of these initiatives would not be possible except for the dedication of our pastoral team, who lead our interrelated family of ministries: Fr. Denis Wilde, O.S.A, Associate Director; Fr. Victor Salomon, Director of Hispanic Outreach; fulltime associates Fr. Scott Daniels, O.P. and Fr. Walter Quinn, O.S.A.; Janet Morana, Executive Director and co-founder of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign; Dr. Alveda King, Director of African-American Outreach; Dr. Theresa Burke, founder of Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries; Kevin Burke; Bryan Kemper, Director of Youth Outreach; and Marie Smith, fulltime associate of our Gospel of Life Ministries and director of the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues.
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