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March for Life a Tremendous Success! |
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The March for Life of 2006 was a tremendous success.
Click here for a reflection on the march from Fr. Frank Pavone, and see the following galleries for photos (you may find yourself in them!):
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Listen to audios of Fr. Frank from some of the March
for Life events (MP3 format) Talk at the National
Memorial for the Pre-born and their Mothers and
Fathers, Washington, DC (January 23, 2006) [Listen]
or [Download]
Q & A with a group from Chicago at the John Paul II
Cultural Center, Part 1 (January 22, 2006) [Listen]
or [Download]
Q & A with a group from Chicago at the John Paul II
Cultural Center, Part 2 (January 22, 2006) [Listen]
or [Download]
January 22, 2006 - Homily at St. Peter's on Capitol
Hill [Listen]
or [Download]
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Bishop Yanta Signs Our Constitutions! |
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Since our last edition
of Frontlines, the in our activity has been the
official establishment of the Missionaries of
the Gospel of Life as a Society of Apostolic
Life. What this means is that we are now able to
accept our own seminarians and train them in the
mission and spirituality of Priests for Life,
and eventually send them forth as priests,
deacons, or lay missionaries totally devoted to
ending abortion. The official ceremony in which
Bishop John Yanta
signed the Constitutions of the Society and
formally established it took place in St.
Lucien’s Chapel, on the grounds of the diocesan
headquarters in Amarillo, Texas. This chapel is a short walk from where
our seminarians live, and is where they have
daily Mass, holy hour, and other liturgical
services.
Above: Bishop Yanta, after signing
the official decree starting the new Society
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New Discernment Retreat |
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A few weeks after this
ceremony, much of our pastoral team was again
assembled in that chapel in order to conduct another
discernment retreat for men from around the
country who are considering joining the Society.
Along with these regular retreats, our priests are
busy calling and emailing people who have expressed
an interest in joining.
Right: Fr. Frank and
some of his priests at Mass for the discernment
retreat in January.
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The Purpose of Our Mission |
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On a
recent parish weekend in California, Fr. Denis Wilde, O.S.A., shared
with the pastor our brochure on preaching to children
about abortion. The pastor heard Fr. Wilde preach, and
was pleased. When the children’s mass came, the pastor
wanted to take the homily himself and did a great job
putting forth the pro-life message. Fr. Wilde said that
it was so satisfying to see, right before his eyes, a
pastor finding new courage to address the abortion
issue. Fr. Wilde told him that this is exactly what
Priests for Life aims to do, to equip our brother
priests to address abortion with confidence.
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| We Help Priests to Be
Courageous |
| Fr. Mark Clarke, C.M.F. preached at a parish where the pastor indicated that some of his parishioners say he talks too much about abortion and others say he doesn’t talk about it enough. He praised Fr. Mark and Priests for Life for coming, and told his people that as a pastor, he has an obligation to communicate the Church's teaching on abortion to his people, and Priests for Life is especially suited to communicate this message and encourage a more vocal and active role in the pro-life movement. |
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Preparing for a New Year to Protect Life |
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Meanwhile, in our Staten Island office, December is usually a month of reorganization. We regularly update our filing system, which consists of an advanced, interlocking system of hard folders and databases, tracking every pro-life group, book, audio, video, and project that we come to know about throughout the world. I took some much-needed time to focus in on the paperwork that accumulates on my desk while I travel – despite the help of dozens of lay staff who handle emails, faxes, and postal mail that arrives each day. We also update our staff procedure manual every December and give updated training to all these staff people.
Right: Dan Matejek, Administrative Assistant to Fr. Frank, updates filing on pro-life groups.
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| Christmas Time as a Family |
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In the midst of this, of course, we make the Christmas preparations and celebrate the joy of the season. This year was no different.
Above: Some of our Priests for Life priests with …you know who!
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| Father Pavone Visits EWTN |
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| In December, I also made
another visit to EWTN and preached at the daily
Mass. At the
urging of some of you, I have been announcing the
days of my EWTN preaching, and these are also
publicized throughout the year on the travel
schedule that you find
posted here on our website. |
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Janet Morana and Georgette
Forney Receive Anne B. Kincaid Pro Life Award |
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Janet Morana, our Associate
Director, and Georgette Forney, President of
Anglicans for Life, have been organizing the Silent
No More Awareness Campaign gatherings that
will take place in January throughout the country.
Both Janet and Georgette were honored by the
Virginia affiliate The Family
Foundation of Focus on the Family on December
5, 2005 when
US Senator George Allen presented
them each with the Anne B. Kincaid Pro Life
Award. Many of you send Janet congratulatory
messages and she is very grateful to all of you for
your encouragement.
Above:
Georgette (l.) and Janet (r.) with Senator
Allen (c.). |
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Janet Morana Appointed to Associate Director of the Respect Life Office in Amarillo |
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Because of our close association with the Diocese of Amarillo, Janet also serves as the Associate Director of the Respect Life Office of that diocese. In that capacity, she traveled to Amarillo in December and presented a day of training to the parish pro-life coordinators. Rita Diller does an excellent job overseeing the pro-life outreach of the diocese. Fr. Mark Clarke, CMF, full-time Priest-Associate of Priests for Life, also assisted with the presentations that day.
Right: Janet Morana (c.) and Rita Diller (in red) with aspirants and parish pro-life coordinators
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Gospel of Life with Father Peter West and Father
Giacomo Capoverdi |
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Our television taping for
our Gospel of Life television programs
continued full-force as the New Year began, with our
taping at the headquarters of Life Dynamics in Denton. This time we had Fr. Peter West and Fr.
Giacomo
Capoverdi come on the
set and talk about the importance of the 2006
elections, as well as the value of public protest
against abortion. You can listen to the contents of
each show, or get information on where to view it,
by clicking here.
Above: Fr. Frank, Janet Morana, and Fr.
Capoverdi on the “Gospel
of Life” TV set in Denton, TX.
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