THE REDWOOD CROZIER

November, 2000

Priests for Life has moved into a new headquarters this summer. As our previous location, it is on Staten Island. The new office occupies close to 10,000 square feet, every one of which is being utilized to the full.

We are happy to announce that we have named our new headquarters the John Cardinal O'Connor International Headquarters of Priests for Life. We offer the following reflection in the Cardinal's memory:

Every bishop takes a motto, and the Cardinal's is "There Can Be No Love Without Justice." This, indeed, was the theme of his life on earth. He both preached and lived "love" not as some vague abstraction or spiritual entity separate and disconnected from the things of this world.

His, rather, was a practical and involved love, which had as its centerpiece the dignity and rights of the human person.

He was an advocate for the unborn, the infirm, the immigrant, the worker, the victims of prejudice, hunger, and violence. And he did all this because he was clearly focused on and motivated by the Gospel of eternal salvation as taught by the Catholic Church.

Some may be confused by what they see as "dichotomies" in the Cardinal's life. He passionately condemned the act of abortion, yet reached out to women of every age, religion, and ethnic background to give them help in crisis pregnancies. He taught clearly that homosexual activity is a sin, yet opened the State's first AIDS-only unit and personally tended to AIDS patients.

These are not dichotomies at all. It all made sense to the Cardinal. What held it all together was the dignity of the human person. That dignity demands that we offer the person the full truth about the meaning of their lives, their freedom, their choices, and that we ourselves respond to that truth by serving their needs.

I am particularly grateful to Cardinal O'Connor because he ordained me to the priesthood and authorized me to lead the Priests for Life movement.

The Cardinal constantly urged us never to be discouraged in carrying out the mission of the Church. Led by his shining example, let us redouble our efforts to bring that mission to its fulfillment.

-Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director