Priests for Life Newsletter
Volume 9, Number 1
Jan.-Feb. 1999
CONTENTS
Abortion and the Politician: Thinking points,
Talking points
Bearing Christ, the Author of Life
Our priests are ready to help your
priests!
Excerpts from Homily of Fr. David A. Konderla
A New Resource for Youth: Computer Game on Life and
Chastity
Help not just in the bulletin, but on
the bulletin!
Dana’s Song Gives Priest Life
Prayer intentions
Abortion and the Politician:
Thinking points, Talking points
Fr. Frank Pavone
Priests for Life is grateful for the recent statement of the United States
bishops, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge for American Catholics,
in which, among other things, politicians are challenged to defend life. More
and more Catholic voices are being heard to challenge those in public office who
fail to take steps to protect children from being killed by abortion.
We can in the first place reflect in a general way upon the obligations of
officeholders -- simply by virtue of their office, regardless of their
religious affiliation -- to protect the unborn. We can then further comment
on the special obligation of those who claim to be Catholic.
The obligation of one who holds public office to protect the unborn derives
from the broader obligation of government officials to defend life. Defending
human life is not merely a "position" or a plank in a party "platform." It is,
rather, fundamental to the very purpose of government.
Many of the disputes between parties or candidates revolve around how to
achieve particular goals, such as, for example, the education and safety of our
children in inner cities. While many different proposals may be debated about
how to do it, there is no argument about whether the education and
safety of those children should be secured. One of the distinguishing
characteristics of the abortion debate, however, is that it is a controversy
about whether the children in the womb should be protected at all. Hence
it goes beyond the level of many other political debates.
A very fundamental question for a politician to consider is that of who
belongs to the political community. When dealing with the politics of abortion,
some take refuge in a false neutrality by declaring, "I have to govern all
the people." Yet that assertion is precisely at the basis of the pro-life
position. Roe vs. Wade is a decision to exclude a segment of the human
community from protection. The decision stated, "The word person, as used in the
Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, does not include the unborn." The
politician who takes a pro-life position and seeks to implement it is working
within the best tradition of inclusiveness and equality.
Along with these and other reasons why the right to life is a fundamental
concern of every
politician and legislator, those who are Catholic have particular obligations to
be consistent. Catholic teaching is unequivocal in its rejection of abortion. To
claim to be Catholic, therefore, necessarily involves an acceptance of that
teaching. To claim, furthermore, to be "personally opposed" to abortion but
unwilling to pass laws to stop it is a "false dichotomy," as Bernard Cardinal
Law called it at a recent Vatican meeting. The Cardinal said,
"It has been a particular sadness to the bishops of the United States and to
Catholics active in the pro-life movement that so many Catholic politicians have
succumbed to the pressures exerted by pro abortion advocates. Many of these
politicians resort to the explanation that they are personally opposed to
abortion, but they do not feel that they can impose their own moral judgment
upon others. Again and again the Bishops of the United States have attempted,
both collectively and individually, to disabuse politicians of this false
dichotomy." (October 23, 1998, meeting of European politicians and legislators
convened by the Pontifical Council for the Family, Vatican City).
Certainly there is, and should be, religious and ideological pluralism in our
nation. But freedom of belief can never be used as a justification for trampling
the rights of others, especially the most basic right on which all the others
depend…the right to life.
One man on the street put it simply and effectively when he asked me,
"Father, if that politician can't respect the life of a little baby, how can I
expect him to respect mine?" Good question.
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Bearing Christ, the Author of Life
Priests for Life is happy to have a collaborative relationship with the
Christophers and their director, Fr. Tom McSweeney. The purpose of the
Christophers is summed up in the word "Christopher" from the Greek
"Christophoros," meaning Christbearer. Their aim is to encourage everyone to
take personal responsibility for raising the standards of all phases of human
endeavor by taking the spirit of Christ into the world. The Christopher motto
is, "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness." The
Christopher movement depends on the initiative of individuals. There are no
chapters, meetings, or dues. News Notes,
published ten times a year, along with television and radio broadcasts, spread
the Christopher message to millions throughout the world.
Fr. Frank Pavone recounts that as a teenager, the Christopher publications
greatly strengthened his faith and sense of mission to spread the Gospel, and
hence nurtured his vocation.
Priests for Life would like to draw special attention to two Christopher News
Notes brochures. To Save a Life provides key statistics, practical action
steps, and real-life stories related to the effort to end abortion. It is number
341 in the News Notes series. Sharing the Gospel of Life takes quotes
from Pope John Paul II's great encyclical Evangelium Vitae, and
illustrates how that teaching is being carried out by people all around us. It
is number 383 of the series. A copy of Christopher News Notes is sent to anyone
who requests it, and they are available in bulk quantity at very reasonable
rates.
Contact the Christophers at 12 E. 48th St., New York, NY 10017,
212-759-4050, and visit their website at
www.christophers.org
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Our priests are ready to help your
priests!
Priests for Life is a ministry of encouragement. Our full time priests travel
the nation to meet with priests, speak to pro-life groups, and assist the growth
of pro-life projects. Seminars, Masses, prayer vigils, retreats, talks in
schools, and media opportunities are just some of the activities are priests are
ready to carry out in your area.
Fr. Richard Hogan, Fr. Peter West, Fr. Denis G. Wilde, OSA, and Fr. Frank
Pavone (when available from Rome) can be scheduled for visits.
Contact the Priests for Life Travel Office at
P.O. Box 441
Front Royal, VA 22630
Phone: 540-636-4855
Fax: 540-636-4890
E-mail: 110733.124@compuserve.com
Excerpts from Homily of Fr. David A. Konderla
Associate Director of Campus Ministry, St. Mary's Catholic
Center
Texas A&M University
on the occasion of the 1998 Respect Life Mass of the Diocese of Austin, TX
Brothers in the priesthood, our ordination calls us to this battle. Through
baptism and confirmation God has surrounded us by troops ready to help us win
it. We support one another in this great battle. The ministerial priesthood
exists to serve the priesthood of the baptized…All of us live and work and shop
and play and go to Church in a society that is marked by many confusing messages
and half-truths. As we preach, as we converse with our family, friends and
co-workers, as we read the morning paper and prayerfully prepare ourselves to
vote…there are four essential truths that we must learn and make known to
everyone about abortion.
First, abortion is always a grave evil and the worst kind of injustice
because it takes the life of the most innocent and defenseless among us. The
child is killed and the mother is terribly wounded. Legalized abortion
undermines the laws of the nation, rendering them hollow and weak.
The second truth that we must work to make known is that abortion is never
necessary. As long as there is life, there are possibilities. How is it that the
most powerful nation on earth, with the technological capability to launch into
space rockets weighing thousands of pounds, cannot figure out what to do with a
little, eight pound baby? ... The song says they will know we are Christians by
our love. The Gospel says they will know we love and protect life by our work
and commitment to provide pregnant mothers in crisis situations with alternative
solutions to abortion and loving support.
Thirdly, we must educate ourselves about the dangers of contraception, about
its causal connection to abortion, and about Natural Family Planning which is
God's gift to spouses.
And the final truth that absolutely must be made known is the desire on the
part of the Church to heal and reconcile those who have been wounded by an
abortion…Those who have been wounded by an abortion already know the pain of its
consequences. They do not need to be reminded of the penalty, but surrounded by
people who will love them and help them heal…Never preach about abortion without
also preaching about the Church's desire to heal and forgive.
In Christ the final victory over abortion and all sin has already been won
for us. Let us do our part to hasten the day of its fulfillment in our nation.
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A New Resource for Youth: Computer Game on
Life and Chastity
Priests for Life has been happy to assist our long time friend, Kathy
DiFiore, of Several Sources Foundation, in her effort to reach teens with the
pro-life, pro-chastity message by means of The Choice Game, now available
on CD-rom. Making use of Real Quicktime Video, the game gives the player the
opportunity for interactive real-life decision-making about such things as
friendship, dating, sex, abortion, adoption, and more. The dialogue, which over
100 young people assisted to produce, presents the consequences of various
choices and represents the pressures of bad advice and the wisdom of good
advice. Players can also "chat" with others who are playing the game around the
world.
Find out more about the game by visiting www.thechoicegame.com. To order it,
call 1-877-2BY-GAME.
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Help not just in
the bulletin, but on the bulletin!
Abortions can be stopped and lives can be saved long before laws are changed.
The children scheduled to die tomorrow don't have time for legislators to pass
laws to protect them. This is one of the ways in which the pro-life cause
reveals itself to be much more than a "political" issue. It is an emergency to
which the People of God need to respond here and now, to save the lives of the
most defenseless among us.
There is a simple way we can activate our parishes to respond: Spread the
phone numbers at which people can find alternatives to abortion.
And one of the most effective ways to spread them is not only to put them
in the bulletin but to put them on the bulletin, in other words,
right there on the front cover along with the other standard phone numbers that
we always want to make known to our people. After all, the need for abortion
alternatives is not seasonal or occasional, and, as a matter of life and death,
certainly has priority importance over other numbers.
Now which numbers do we use? Certainly, local numbers through which people
can contact resources in the diocese or community are always valuable.
As a national movement, we also make known national hotline numbers that can
connect people to help in any part of the country. The criteria we use for which
numbers we publicize are that they are 1) toll-free, 2) accessible 24 hours a
day, 3) available from anywhere in the country, and 4) serviced by a live person
at all times. You may wish to call the number yourself to find further
information in order to determine which you want to publicize.
We therefore invite you to put one or more of the following numbers somewhere
on the cover of your bulletin as a permanent item:
Nurturing Network 800-TNN-4MOM
Pregnancy Hotline 800-848-LOVE
Bethany Christians Services. 800-238-4269
Several Sources Foundation 800-NO-ABORT
America’s Crisis Pregnancy Helpline 800-67-BABY-6
Birthright 800-550-4900
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All our information at your fingertips!!
No waiting for orders to be filled…and no cost!
Receive our printed material, listen to our audio tapes, watch our videos,
find research material for papers, homilies, or just personal inspiration…
See whether our priests are traveling to your area, and hear the latest
Priests for Life news from the Vatican…
All this and more at
www.priestsforlife.org
Good news continues: Our staff counselors, who take phone calls each day,
continue to tell us good news about babies who are saved because a relative saw
the Priests for Life TV programs and called us for help finding alternatives to
abortion. All of you who support our work share in the merit of saving
these lives!
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Dana’s Song Gives Priest Life
by Fr. Bill Quinlivan
Diocese of Buffalo
Several years ago Fr. Pavone shared with Irish-born Christian singer Dana his
insight that ironically, people defending "choice" in life issues use the same
words Christ used to institute the Eucharist, "This Is My Body." She
subsequently wrote a powerful song incorporating that concept into a musical
conversation which weaves the "voices" of a woman considering abortion, one who
has made that tragic choice, and Jesus himself (available on her CD, Humble
Myself, Heartbeat Records, (800) 433-3262).
Last summer, I had the unique privilege of being invited to sing the part of
Jesus at a Dana concert in Buffalo. Being familiar with Dana’s recording (with
professional singers including gifted tenor Mark Girardin as Jesus) I was more
than a little nervous. But I believed strongly that a life performance of "This
is My Body" would beautifully cap off an evening of her music. Since Dana was
sharing the witness of her candidacy for President of Ireland with a Pro-Life,
pro-family emphasis, this song seemed perfect!
Dana agreed, and was especially convicted that having a priest sing the words
of Jesus would add another powerful element to an already moving song.
However, the final decision of whether we would sing it was left up to me
(more irony: a choice!) My point of concern was that this Irishman is an avowed
baritone, and my voice had always cracked when I tried to sing the part of Jesus
with the recording. Dana’s key is too high for me.
Therefore, my "choice" was difficult: should I risk my voice cracking and
spoiling the musical movement? And, more personally, should I let my pride keep
us from giving life (in live performance) to this important message?
In the end, I decided to take the risk. Dana’s kind reassurances during a
quick pre-concert rehearsal and her encouragement to "soften" my approach
(singing falsetto) for the highest notes were a deciding factor. I decided to
put my body (including my voice box!) into sacrificial mode, and my ego on hold,
so that the song could be heard. And the Holy Spirit did the rest, as the
performance became a prayer that was profound for all of us.
In the end, the Lord in His mercy provided what was needed, and the good news
of the Gospel of Life was proclaimed in song.
My brother priests: we use our voices to pray Jesus’ words daily, as we
celebrate the Eucharist. May it always be a life-giving song!
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Prayer intentions:
You are encouraged to remember the following intentions as you pray the
Liturgy of the Hours:
January intention: That as the United States marks 26
years since Roe vs. Wade, God may grant the nation more judges who discern
the dignity of every human life.
February intention: That in this year of God the Father,
all fathers may be renewed and strengthened to protect and care for the
lives entrusted to them.
New EWTN series by Priests for Life will begin airing soon! Check our
website for airtimes or call EWTN at 205-956-9537.
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