An Appeal for Your Help

Dear Friend of Life,

There’s a lot of anger across the nation at members of Congress who want to force you and all taxpayers to pay for the intentional killing of the youngest members of our human family as part of so-called “health care reform.”

You and many others have made your voices heard!  And many legislators remain deaf.

But we can hold each member of Congress accountable for his or her actions!

                                   And with your urgently needed help today ... WE WILL!

                       Just click here to be part of the pro-life revolution now sweeping the country!

Here’s the situation as it stands today: 

• Polls continue to show the longstanding fact that the majority of Americans are pro-life!  You and Priests for Life deserve a lot of the credit for bringing about that reality. 
• What’s more, polls show that the vast majority of Americans oppose paying for abortions ... and yet Congress thumbs its nose at them. 
• America is still a republic.  We still get to elect our representatives in Congress. 
• This coming November every single seat in the House of Representatives is up for election ... and a third of the seats in the U.S. Senate. 
• Priests for Life is going to use the anti-life provisions of the “health care reform” proposals to highlight the disconnect between America’s pro-life beliefs and Congress’ pro-abortion agenda. 
• At the same time, Priests for Life is going to convince your fellow Americans to take their pro-life values with them when they go into the voting booth this November 2. 

That is our number one priority for this year, why I’ve sent you this urgent email ... 

         ... and why I need you to click here and rush Priests for Life the largest gift you can.

It’s going to cost Priests for Life $2,365,000 to carry out all of the actions we have planned for this year.

At the end of this email you will see a summary of those plans and what each section costs.

Of this much I can assure you: 

If we are successful in our efforts this year, we will bring about the transformation of Congress needed to protect all human life ... especially the most vulnerable and helpless among us. 

Which again is why I need you to click here and send Priests for Life the largest gift you can.

Rest assured, however, that we are not sitting back waiting for you and others to help.  Instead, knowing of your strong commitment to our pro-life cause and your deep desire to protect and defend the youngest members of our human family, I took a leap of faith and put these “Action Steps” in motion.

Even as you read this email, our Priests for Life “Political Responsibility Teams” are on the road working hard to increase the numbers of voters who, like you, will advance the culture of life in the voting booth.

One of the major elements of everything we do this year will be the recruitment of individuals who will volunteer their time to help register voters, hand out voter guides, go door-to-door with pro-life literature, man phone banks, write letters to the editor ... and more! 

Your job between now and November 2 is to do whatever it takes to help Priests for Life convince voters of the vital importance to put the right to life first in every election!

Given the fact that taxpayers oppose public funding of abortion by a three-to-one margin, I expect our efforts to meet with tremendous success. 

But those successes cannot and will not happen unless you and other members of our Priests for Life family continue to make the sacrifices necessary to provide us with the funds we need to carry out every single one of the “Action Steps for 2010 Election” that you can find at the end of this email.

I cannot overstate or over-emphasize the importance of the upcoming 2010 mid-term elections.

The radical pro-abortion position of Congress is clear for all to see.

This November, America will either reject that extremist anti-life agenda ... or embrace it.

Believe me the stakes are as high now as they were back in 1776 when our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and made this proclamation before all the world: 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

It is not by chance that the RIGHT TO LIFE is listed as the first of these unalienable rights.

As you and I both know, the RIGHT TO LIFE is the fundamental human right.  It is the basis upon which all other rights proceed ... all of them!

That is why it is so vitally important that you and I and every other pro-life American do whatever it takes and make whatever sacrifice is necessary to protect and defend every person’s unalienable RIGHT TO LIFE ... and most especially for our unborn brothers and sisters.

For the past forty years our nation has failed to meet that most basic responsibility.

Now, as a nation, we have reached the crossroads.  We are at the same place the Chosen People were when God said to them: 

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and the curse; therefore CHOOSE LIFE that you and your descendants may live.

That’s the choice our country will make this November. 

Those who are in control of the White House and Congress are determined to take us down the path that leads to death.  Their policies make that abundantly clear.

Priests for Life is working feverishly to steer our country down the path that leads to LIFE.

But there is no way we can succeed without your immediate and constant help.

That said I implore you to do whatever is necessary – including giving from your need – to help Priests for Life convince our fellow Americans to CHOOSE LIFE! 

So before you go on to your next email, click here and rush Priests for Life the largest gift you can send today.

But that’s not all I need you to do.

From now till the 2^nd of November, I need you to PRAY for Priests for Life ... for the members of our pastoral team ... for our “Political Responsibility Teams” ... for our bishops and priests ... for the clergy of every religious denomination ... for pro-life leaders and activists ... for our fellow Americans! 

Pray without ceasing. 

And I need you make real sacrifices and send Priests for Life the dollars we need to save our nation ... and I mean that literally!

When God told the Israelites to “CHOOSE LIFE that you and your descendants may live” He didn’t spell out the alternative, but you can see what it was:

If you choose death, you and your descendants will die! 

Which means America as a nation will die if our fellow Americans choose death this November. 

So right now, while you’re still reading this email, click here and send Priests for Life the largest contribution you can! 

Give us the dollars we need so that we can carry out our “Action Steps for 2010 Elections” and bring about a pro-life renewal in our government ... a renewal that will once again proclaim and defend the unalienable RIGHT TO LIFE for all Americans ... born and unborn! 

And resolve to do this on a regular basis ... from today until November 2. 

As the “Action Steps for 2010 Election” shows you, we need every dollar you can send so that we can carry out all the work we must do between now and Election Day 2010. 

There is no greater good that you can do for the youngest members of our human family than by giving of yourself to defend their right to live. 

So please set aside your needs and wants at this critical moment in history and click here to help provide Priests for Life with the funds we need to fulfill our God-given mission.

If you do this, and if your fellow Priests for Life family members do so as well, then I am confident that God will see our commitment to Him and reward us with VICTORY in November. 

Again, though, it all starts with YOU ... TODAY ... RIGHT NOW.  

And know that in humble gratitude for your help, all of the priests of Priests for Life remember you at each Mass that we offer.  May God bless you for the sacrifices you make on behalf of His innocent unborn. 

And if I may ask you one more favor. Each year I survey our supporters to learn how we can serve their needs more effectively. After giving your donation, would you take a moment and fill out the short survey I've placed at www.priestsforlife.org/survey. It is very important to me to know what you're thinking about our ministry!

Sincerely yours in Christ, 

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests For Life and Gospel of Life Ministries

Action Steps for 2010 Elections

“We are not a sect fleeing the world, but a community of faith called to renew the earth.”
- US Bishops, Political Responsibility 

The mission of Priests for Life is to fully activate the Church, in all her dimensions, to proclaim, celebrate, and serve the Gospel of Life.  Church teaching makes it clear that an integral element of building the Culture of Life is full and informed participation of the faithful in the political process.

With that mission clearly in mind, the following is an itemized list of the projects and activities that Priests for Life has planned for the 2010 election cycle. 

1.         Coordination of Leaders, Organizations and Churches:

• Creation and facilitation of a “Vote Pro-life” coalition of leaders, organizations, and Churches which will assist groups to join together in common action, training, and communication related to the Elections.
• The coalition will have a website and Facebook presence and likewise utilize other similar social networking sites.
• We will train and activate tens of thousands of citizens through regular teleseminars throughout the year.  These mega “conference calls” conducted simultaneously through phone and internet will bring panels of experts right into the homes of people eager to learn from them and implement their advice. Some will be especially for clergy and others for laity.

Estimated Cost: $55,000 

2.         Mobilization of the clergy:

• Development and dissemination to every parish in America of pastoral resources for priests and deacons, including homily hints, bulletin inserts, general intercessions for Mass, outlines for special prayer services, and suggested activities for the congregation.
• Development and dissemination of election-related material for clergy and laity to Churches of other denominations, through Priests for Life’s close working relationship with other Christian groups. 
• Promotion of the interdenominational Nine Weeks of Prayer for the Elections (Sept. 1 to Nov. 2, 2010) at www.PrayerCampaign.org.
• Use of our newsletter, which goes to every priest in the nation, to give them election-related resources.
• Regular mailings, faxes and emails to all the parishes of the United States, giving priests, deacons, and lay ministers information on all the pastoral resources Priests for Life has. Our pastoral team will also make personal visits to parishes to meet with priests regarding the elections.
• Communication and collaboration with the various respect life diocesan offices and state Catholic Conferences to foster more activity and dissemination of materials.
• Inviting clergy to sign our commitment pledge of political responsibility, and then publicizing these pledges.
• Providing bishops and pastors with summaries of papers presented at the Symposium of attorneys Priests for Life conducted some years ago on the topic The Church and Politics: Are We as Restricted as We Think?  These will show Church leaders that they can do far more to activate their people politically than they might think. 
• Translation of our election-related pastoral resources into Spanish, and distribution to pastors of Spanish-speaking congregations, through our Hispanic Outreach Department and collaboration with other Hispanic ministries nationwide.

Estimated Cost: $415,000

3.         Media efforts:

• TV spots on political responsibility for EWTN (reaching 90 million homes in the USA) and other Christian and secular outlets.
• Radio spots on political responsibility for EWTN (reaching over 200 million) and other Christian and secular outlets.
• Special radio and TV programs on political responsibility. These opportunities will be harnessed through our “Defending Life” series on EWTN, our “Gospel of Life” series on Protestant networks, and our many appearances on local media outlets.
• Appearances of our pastoral team in the secular media, both local and national, as a result of our press conferences and frequent press releases.
• Full-page newspaper ads in diocesan and secular papers, as well as in national publications.
• Grassroots letters-to-the-editor campaign, organizing teams in specific areas whereby activists will help each other in composing and sending such letters, of which we will provide samples.
• Distribution of our 6-part video series on “Political Responsibility” which contains interviews of Cardinals in Rome, well-known political figures in Washington, D.C., and top-level lawyers who will outline the boundaries of what those in the church and the non-profit world can do when it comes to political activity.

Estimated Cost: $1,550,000

4.   General Education of Christians on their political responsibility and on the key issues:

• Guided multi-media study on website, with staff prepared to answer questions by mail, phone, fax, email, text messaging, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
• Travels and speaking of our pastoral team at parishes, seminars and conventions.  (Six priests and five lay leaders, making an average of two trips per week. That’s over a thousand trips!).
• Collection and dissemination of the addresses, homilies, and pastoral letters of bishops who speak out about political responsibility.
• Continued dissemination of thousands of copies of the US Bishops’ document Living the Gospel of Life, along with our study guide for that document, as well as other Church documents about political responsibility.
• Columns sent out several times each month to Catholic press, Christian publications, pro-life newsletters, and tens of thousands of individual subscribers.

Estimated Cost: $225,000

5.  Internet Efforts

• "Internet-blitz" activity, whereby teams of volunteers go into various blogs and discussion groups, raise issues pertinent to political responsibility, and point visitors to specific links that will give them helpful information.
• Use of dozens of website domains related to political responsibility to spread non-partisan information on the candidates' positions on a range of issues.
• A constant stream of videos concerning the elections will be broadcast on Facebook, YouTube, and a variety of other web-posting sites.
• The Priests for Life website – www.priestsforlife.org – has a special “Political Responsibility Center” (www.PoliticalResponsibility.com) which provides visitors with everything they need to fulfill their mission as pro-life Americans ... including concrete action alerts, training materials, and valuable literature they can share with others. 

Estimated Cost: $20,000 (including payment of webmaster)

6.  Grassroots Effort and “Get Out the Vote” Work

• At every place they visit, our priests will encourage those they meet to become actively involved in all aspects of the political process ... writing letters to the editor, manning phone banks, organizing “voter registration” drives, conducting “get out the vote” campaigns ... and more.
• Outreach to the African-American community.  This will be accomplished primarily through the travels and media work of our Pastoral Associate Dr. Alveda King and by wide distribution of the “Maafa 21” DVD and the publicity generated from our 2010 “Freedom Ride” project.
• Equip believers to exercise their right to vote through our Voter Registration Sundays, which we enable parishes and other organizations to undertake.
• Through targeted communication in specific states, inform voters of registration deadlines, dates of primary elections, and early voting dates and requirements.
• Reminding and equipping Churches to reach homebound parishioners with absentee ballots.
• Volunteers will be identified and asked to help with distribution of literature during the weekends just before Election Day, and will be bringing people to the polls on Election Day.
• Pre-recorded phone calls will be made just before Election Day to urge voters to get to the polls and to help others to do so.

Estimated Cost: $100,000

TOTAL Estimated Cost of 2004 Election Activities Budget: $2,365,000

PS One more reason we need your consistent financial support is because of the important work Priests for Life does to set the record straight about what the Church teaches on abortion and other life issues versus what self-proclaimed “Catholic” politicians say it teaches.  The distinction many of them try to make between their public life and their private beliefs is absurd.  Public servants are supposed to know the difference between serving the public and killing the public.  No one has the right to kill an innocent human person!  Period!  If we are going to win our fellow Americans over to our pro-life position and steer our nation down the path that leads to LIFE, it is critically important that Priests for Life be able to refute the false teachings which pro-abortion politicians promote.  And the only way we can do that is if you and other pro-life individuals make the sacrifices necessary to provide us with the funds needed to do that important work.  So please do whatever it takes today to click here and send Priests for Life the largest gift you can.  Thank you and may God bless you.