The Catholic Transcript - June 1999

By Rita Reali News Editor

WETHERSFIELD -As he trod along the shore in Florida - having given a pro-life sermon at a church across the street - Father Frank A. Pavone noticed a large sign that warned beach-goers not to disturb the giant sea turtles or their eggs.

In Florida, giant sea turtles and their eggs are protected by local, state and federal law. Unborn humans are not.

Father Pavone, national director of the New York City-based Priests For Life, pointed out the disparity in concern for the sanctity of life at Sacred Heart and Corpus Christi churches April 10 and 11.

"If in this country we don't have the right to choose to smash the egg of a sea turtle, why do we have the right to choose to smash a baby?" he asked, gazing out into a sea of faces. "Isn't there something wrong with this?"

Calling Christians "the people of life," Father Pavone urged an end to abortion. He said the so-called "safe and legal" procedure takes more lives each year than the total number of lives lost during every war in which the United States of America has ever been involved.

Abortion kills 4,400 babies each day in the United States - which translates to one every 20 seconds.

"There's no -crime, no disease, no natural disaster, no war that claims more lives than abortion does," he said.

He brings a positive message to the pulpit, starting by outlining the alternatives to abortion and urging reconciliation for women who have had abortions.

"There is a very strong emphasis on forgiveness for those who have been involved in this but who want to find healing and peace," he told The Catholic Transcript.

Many Catholics underestimate the effectiveness of the greatest tool in the pro-life arsenal.

"As Catholics, the best weapon is the Eucharist," he said.

Priests For Life was founded in 1990 by Father Lee Kaylor of San Francisco. Its founders set out to defend life, focusing mainly on abortion and euthanasia.

"These two issues are [the] flash points of the battle of the culture of death," Father Pavone said. He said Priests For Life defends life across the board.

"If human life is sacred under one set of circumstances, it's sacred under another as well," he said.

The group has 5,300 members in the United States and Canada, with offices in Dallas, Washington D.C., St. Paul, Milwaukee and Rome.

Father Pavone became national director of Priests For Life in 1993. He spends 90 percent of his time traveling as far as Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, India and the United Kingdom.

"I get enough invitations to be on the road 100 percent of the time if I wanted to," he said. Three other member priests also work full-time. "We get enough invitations to keep them busy, too. ... There is a real thirst for the pro-life message."

In late May a Connecticut superior court judge ruled that in Connecticut, a man charged with fatally stabbing a pregnant woman can be charged with murder. The baby, delivered by cesarean section after the mother's death, lived six weeks.

"Even [when states] formulate a law which would protect unborn children from circumstances like this, they would put an exception in there for abortion," he said, "some statement like, 'It is understood that this law does not apply in cases of abortion.'"

He said he wants to give people confidence that they can work together to end abortion.

"The message of Priests For Life ... is, 'Yes, we are making progress and there is something you can do about it,' " he said, "and we want to encourage people to have the sense that we are making progress."

For more information on Priests for Life, call (888) PFL-3448, write to P. 0. Box 141172, Staten Island, N.Y. 10314 or visit www.priestsforlife.org, their website.

Priests for Life in the News