The thirteenth season of Fr. Frank Pavone's "Defending Life" programs, taped in the Fall of 2007 began on June 6, 2008.  Watch on EWTN every Friday at 10:00pm ET and every Saturday at 2:30 am ET.  Listen on EWTN radio every Friday at 1am ET, Saturday at 6:30pm ET and Sunday at 5am ET.    

This season contains a bonus episode! 

The theme of each program is as follows:

Episode 1: Principles of Political Responsibility

Description: The People of God are called to make a difference in the rough and tumble world of politics. Jesus does not ask them to watch from the sidelines, any more than he just sat and watched us from heaven.

Action Segment: Promoting and using Pro-Life License plates, www.choose-life.org. We encourage the use of specialty license plates that are available in many states to convey a pro-life message and fund alternatives to abortion.

Featured Product: 2009 Priests for Life Wall Calendar.  Photos from the front lines of pro-life activity, quotes from Fr. Frank and other Priests for Life team members, and notations on special days significant to the cause of life mark this 12-month wall calendar distributed by Priests for Life.  Order in advance at orders@priestsforlife.org.

Mail Bag Question: What's the difference between a "Living Will" and the "Will to Live"?  Which one offers better protection against euthanasia? (Deborah, Chicago).  Click here for more information.

Episode 2: Spirituality of Being Pro-Life, Part One

Description: Our commitment to the pro-life cause does not spring from the desire to have a hobby, or from a political platform. Rather, it arises from our commitment to the Gospel. There is, therefore, a particular spirituality to being pro-life, and particular virtues that shape pro-life activism.

Action Segment: Use Pro-Life Action Cards.  These are business-card size, with powerful pro-life statements that answer common pro-abortion slogans and make people think. Great to distribute everywhere!

Featured Products:  Our Lady of Guadalupe booklet.  Written by Fr. Frank Pavone, this booklet explains the deep connection between Our Lady of Guadalupe and the defense of human life, showing how she saves lives today from abortion.  Available in English and Spanish.

Mail Bag Question:  How do I make moral "end of life" medical decisions? (Louise, Tampa)

Episode 3: Spirituality of Being pro-Life, Part Two

Description: Involvement in the pro-life movement is shaped by particular virtues and characteristics. Fr. Frank describes this spirituality, in which he has trained thousands of priests, deacons, seminarians, and lay activists over the years and around the world.

Action Segment:  SNMAC update using the testimonies & our new brochure, What’s So Bad About Abortion?  Preachers, writers, bloggers, and all the rest of us can take the evidence that abortion harms women, and the testimonies of those who have had abortions, and bring them to the attention of others.

Featured Products:  Three books on post-abortion pain and healing: Contraception of Grief: Dr. Theresa Burke, with Janet Morana and others, reveal the grief so many experience because they lost children through "contraceptives" which caused early abortions, and reveals a road to healing. Redeeming a Father's Heart:  By Kevin Burke.  In this book, fathers who lost children to abortion share in their own words the grief and anguish that brings, and the road to healing for other men like them.  Forbidden Grief: With many memorable examples, this book enables both professionals and lay persons to understand the trauma that follows abortion, how it manifests itself, and how to find the road to healing.

Mail Bag Question:  How can I get training to be a sidewalk counselor? (Michelle, Los Angeles)

Episode 4: Reaching out by Preaching out to the 'Choir,' the 'Estranged' and all in Between

Guest:  Fr. Denis Wilde, O.S.A., Priest Associate of Priests for Life

Description: Fr. Wilde has preached the pro-life message full time with Priests for Life since 1998, and shares the wisdom and experience he has gathered about how to convey that message with conviction and compassion.

Action Segment: Using the Yellow Page ads as an educational tool.  The Yellow Pages are all the evidence you need to show people how extreme the abortion policy is in our country, as you point to ads for late term abortions.

Featured Products: 1) Voting with a Clear Conscience: This booklet explains ten steps to get you to the end of Election Day with a clear conscience, knowing you exercised your political responsibility in a manner pleasing to God. Available in a Catholic version which includes many key statements of the Catholic Church about voting and an Ecumenical version. 2) Living the Gospel of Life This is a detailed commentary on each section of the US Bishops' document "Living the Gospel of Life," detailing the political responsibilities of voters, candidates, and office holders, and providing questions for group discussion. 3) Religious Beliefs, Abortion and the Law brochure: In English and Spanish.  Find out how to answer the accusation that you are trying to impose your beliefs on others. 4) Caesar Must Obey God brochure:  In English and Spanish.  What happens when the law of God and the laws of man conflict?

Mail Bag Question:  As a Catholic, I volunteer at a Care Net Pregnancy Center.  Those who run the center respect my faith completely, but are not Catholic themselves.  Is it OK for a Catholic to volunteer at Care Net? (Lorraine, Virginia)

Episode 5: Facing Hard Truths

Guest: Dr. Philip Ney

Description: How brutally honest should we be with each other about difficult topics like abortion, especially when trying to help those who have had one? Dr. Ney explores the answer to that question, including some expert advice about showing graphic images of aborted babies.

Action Segment:  Use YouTube and My Space to get out the pro-life message.  Social networking sites like YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace are one of the best ways to communicate with youth and adults alike and to get the pro-life message out.

Featured Product: Earth's Trash; Heaven's Treasure painting.  This 11 by 14-inch painting shows that babies thrown in the trash on earth are loved by the God of heaven.

Mail Bag Question:  How can I find a Pro-Life doctor? (Alexandra, St. Louis).  See www.priestsforlife.org/doctors.                        

Episode 6: Abortion Isn't Medicine

Guest: Dr. Philip Ney

Description: Abortion is America's most common surgery. In this discussion, Dr. Ney explores why it does not even deserve the name "medicine."

Action Segment: Media Challenge: Show an abortion on TV!  On line petition.  We invite you to join us in challenging the media to show the American public what an abortion looks like.

Featured Product: Ending Abortion; Not Just Fighting It.  Fr. Frank's book is a collection of short essays on every major aspect of the pro-life message, and includes many talking points and action items for individuals, groups, and the nation.

Mail Bag Question:  What is the Truth about Stem Cell Research? (Sharon, Minneapolis).  For more information see www.stemcellresearch.org

Episode 7: Abortion and Guilt

Guest: Dr. Philip Ney

Description: Guilt is one of our most common emotions. Its relationship to abortion, across cultural and religious lines, is the topic of this discussion.

Action Segment:  Prayer Campaign and special novenas throughout the year. At www.PrayerCampaign.org, you can download special pro-life prayers throughout the year that pertain to particular seasons and novenas, as well as the Daily Prayer to End Abortion.

Featured Products:  Silent No More Awareness Products:  What's So Bad About Abortion? brochure. This brochure provides scientifically referenced evidence that abortion harms women.  Be a Regional Coordinator and Be Silent No More brochure. This brochure explains how you can help women and men in your community speak out in an organized way about their abortion experiences.- to obtain this brochure, email mail@silentnomoreawareness.org.

Mail Bag Question:  How can I encourage my Pastor to be more actively pro-life? (Dave, New York)

Episode 8: The Abortion-Child Abuse Connection

Guest: Dr. Philip Ney

Description: Why has child abuse skyrocketed in America? In this program Dr. Ney explores the mutual relationship between abortion and child abuse/neglect.

Action Segment:  Liturgical Resources email for priests & deacons.  Make clergy aware of the email they can receive from Priests for Life each week containing homily hints, bulletin inserts, and General Intercessions for each Sunday.  Subscribe to receive these free resources via email on a weekly basis at clergy@priestsforlife.org

Featured Product:  Latter Rain DVD: Dr. Alveda King shares her gift of music in this prophetic collection of song and video.  Let Freedom Ring CD: Dr. Alveda King shares her gift of music in this prophetic CD.

Mail Bag Question:  Am I morally obligated to boycott businesses that contribute to pro-abortion groups? (Laurie, New Jersey)

Episode 9: Abortion Survivor Syndrome

Guest: Dr. Philip Ney

Description: Our youth carry a heavy burden -- abortion survivor syndrome. There are various types of survivors. Dr. Ney explores some of the symptoms and the road to healing.

Action Segment:  Make use of the Option Line number 800-712-HELP.  Use this hotline number to connect anyone, anywhere in the nation, at any time, with alternatives to abortion and healing after abortion.

Featured Product:  The Cross and the People of Life: The Seven Last Words and a Good Friday Homily CD.  This CD set contains Fr. Frank's reflections on the Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross, and a Good Friday Homily, delivered at Holy Apostles Seminary in 2007.  Fr. Frank's homilies from the EWTN live televised Mass.   A total of four CD's.

Mail Bag Question:  How do I justify showing images of aborted babies in public? (Roxanne, Nevada)

Episode 10: A Powerful Witness

Guests: Alveda King, Niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and her mother Naomi King, wife of slain civil rights leader A.D. King (brother of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Description: A piece of history comes alive as Martin Luther King's sister-in-law reflects on the civil rights movement and the rights of children in the womb.

Action Segment:  Getting the Pro-Life Message Out: Signs on the Streets.  A key way to bring the pro-life message to the community is to convey it through gatherings of people holding signs on public sidewalks.

Featured Product: Resources written by Fr. Frank Pavone: 1) Preaching on Abortion booklet.  This manual shows a busy priest why and how he should preach about abortion. 2) Preaching on Contraception brochure;  3) Preaching on Capital Punishment brochure; It is easier to convey the Church's beautiful teaching on contraception than many priests think it is. This brochure explains how.  4) Preaching on Euthanasia brochure.  The "right to choose" is easily extended to justify killing the sick as well as the unborn. Learn how to dispel the most common myths about euthanasia.

Mail Bag Question:  Is there and outreach to abortion providers to invite them to stop killing babies? (Charles, New Orleans)

Episode 11: Principles of Pro-Life Action:  Education

Description: Fr. Frank explores pro-life educational principles. Education is one of the pillars of the Church's pro-life activity, as outlined in the US Bishops' Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities (2001).

Action Segment:  How You Can Influence Your Local Church & Community With The Pro-Life Message.  Connect with existing groups in the Church and community, and tie the pro-life message into the themes they care about!

Featured Product: Pro-Life Spirituality and Activism: A Training Seminar - In these nine CD's, using the US Bishops' Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities and the vision of Priests for Life, Fr. Frank Pavone presents the spirituality of pro-life activism, the virtues we need to exercise and the strategies we need to carry out.

Mail Bag Question:  Is it moral for a woman to save the life of an embryo through adoption, that is, by having the new life implanted in her womb and bringing the child to birth?  (Marie, Phoenix)

Episode 12: Principles of Pro-Life Action: Pastoral Care

Description: Along with education, the pro-life movement reaches out to provide concrete assistance to those in need of alternatives to abortion and healing after abortion. Pastoral care of such people is one of the pillars of the Church's pro-life activity, as outlined in the US Bishops' Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities (2001).

Action Segment: Bringing the Pro-Life Message at Graduation, Sports Events etc.  Graduation is a time to remember children who were killed before they had the chance to go to school. Other public gatherings are opportunities to convey the pro-life message by large signs or lit drops.

Featured Product: Theology of Abortion.  In this short book, Fr. Frank Pavone draws from Scripture, Christian teaching, and Catholic spirituality to show how a strong pro-life commitment is integral to our faith.

Mail Bag Question:  I regret my abortion.  Where can I get help? (Donna, Detroit).  See www.silentnomoreawareness.org

Episode 13: Principles of Pro-Life Action: Public Policy

Description: The pro-life movement doesn't just teach what is right or help people avoid what is wrong. It strives to shape public policy, using all the means our system of government provides. Working on public policy is one of the pillars of the Church's pro-life activity, as outlined in the US Bishops' Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities (2001).

Action Segment: Political Action.  Registering voters, get-out-the-vote drives, voter education, letters and blogs, are just some of many ways individuals and groups can exercise political responsibility.

Featured Product: Mass Cards for the Living.  This card will enroll a living person in the benefits of the prayers and masses of Priests for Life. It is great to use on special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries, or any time a person needs the encouragement of our prayers.  Mass Cards for the Deceased. This card will enroll a deceased person in the benefits of the prayers and masses of Priests for Life.

Mail Bag Question:  I know someone who is pregnant and thinking of abortion.  How can I help her?  (Melissa, Washington, DC)

Episode 14: A Conversation with Naomi King

Guests: Alveda King, Niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and her mother Naomi King, wife of slain civil rights leader A.D. King (brother of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Description: In this extra segment, Naomi King gave us more of her time to reflect on the historic past of her family, and draw lessons for the future.

Action Segment:  SNMAC update using the testimonies & our new brochure, What’s So Bad About Abortion?  Preachers, writers, bloggers, and all the rest of us can take the evidence that abortion harms women, and the testimonies of those who have had abortions, and bring them to the attention of others.

Featured Product:  Latter Rain DVD: Dr. Alveda King shares her gift of music in this prophetic collection of song and video.  Let Freedom Ring CD: Dr. Alveda King shares her gift of music in this prophetic CD.

Mail Bag Question: What's the difference between a "Living Will" and the "Will to Live"?  Which one offers better protection against euthanasia? (Deborah, Chicago).  Click here for more information.

More Information about Defending Life