The leadership of prayerful activism exhibited by Bishop
[Paul] Loverde [of Arlington] and many of his fellow-bishops is being well
received by pro-life leaders. "Most Catholics are simply passive on this
subject, but they cannot but be affected by the witness of the bishops,"
Kenneth Whitehead, author of "Political Orphan? The Pro-Life Cause after
25 Years of Roe vs. Wade" (New Hope, $15), told Our Sunday Visitor.
"This new witness is going to motivate a lot more people. This is what the
country needs and that is what the babies need."
Tenacious abortion foe Joe Scheidler, head of the Chicago-based Pro Life
Action League, sees the mobilization of bishops as encouraging activists and
legitimizing the pro-life movement.
"He's encouraging credibility and doing what a bishop is supposed to do; he's
standing at the foot of the cross;" he said.
And Father Frank Pavone, national director of the Priests for Life, told a
revealing story. "I will never forget the comment of Joy Davis, who once
administered six abortion facilities," he said. "She told me that when pro-life
people prayed at them, business was slow, women changed their minds and even the
staff wavered.
"To sum it up, she said, 'It was a bad day' But when there was a priest or
bishop present, Joy told me, the abortion staff knew that 'It would be a very
bad day.'"
