An American Takeover of America

March 12, 2012

Below you will find my latest column, An American Takeover of America, but first let me give you some other important updates.

Please view my latest YouTube video at http://youtu.be/rWqMHgbVBwg of my speech at the 2012 National Memorial for the Unborn in Washington D.C.

Tomorrow, March 13 is the one year anniversary of the rescue of Baby Joseph in Canada. One year ago I flew to Canada to bring Baby Joseph to the United States so he could get the treatment he needed to breathe on his own. Baby Joseph received a tracheotomy - which the Canadian health care system refused to give him - at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St Louis. Baby Joseph was then able to live peacefully with his family until he passed away at his home on September 27, 2011 surrounded by his family. For more information on Baby Joseph see www.babyjosephcentral.com. Let’s never forget Baby Joseph and others like him.

October Baby is a new pro-life movie that will be in the theaters on March 23. The movie is about a young girl who learns that she was adopted after a failed abortion attempt. She then embarks on an incredible journey to discover her hidden past … and find hope for her unknown future.

Please support this pro-life movie by going to see it and encourage your friends to do the same. The producers of October Baby have assigned 10% of the profits of the movie to the Every Life is Beautiful Fund, which will distribute funds to frontline organizations helping women facing crisis pregnancies, life-affirming adoption agencies, and those caring for orphans.

Join us for a Lenten Prayer for Life through April 5 and make a special commitment to help others to see and defend the dignity of every human life, starting with the unborn. You can find the prayer at www.prayercampaign.org. Priests for Life provides great resources to help you make your Lenten journey, see www.priestsforlife.org/lent.

Our prayer novena in remembrance of Terri Schiavo begins on March 23. Go to www.priestsforlife.org/novenas/terris-day.htm to find the prayer and order prayer cards.

Finally, you are invited to stand up for religious freedom on March 23 by joining one of the nationwide rallies which Priests for Life is helping to organize. Thousands will take a stand to rally on that day to defeat the Obama HHS mandate. For information on a rally near you see www.standupforreligiousfreedom.com. For resources and talking points about the mandate see www.priestsforlife.org/hhsmandate/index.aspx. And as we fight the mandate, we want to encourage all our priests to be front and center; see how you can support them at www.priestsforlife.org/stand-with-the-clergy/index.aspx.

Blessings,

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

Praise for our Work

Dear Bryan [Kemper], What you have been sharing on Facebook has really convicted my heart in getting more involved with my local 40 Days for Life campaign. I never would have been open to standing outside an abortion clinic and praying before. Thank you for the work you do & God Bless You and your family.

An American Takeover of America

Senator Roy Blunt, who sponsored the amendment in the Senate that, had it received a few more votes, would have protected conscience rights of employers, said, "This is a debate that might be settled at that building across the street," referring to the Supreme Court.

Indeed, as of this writing, eight different lawsuits have been launched against the Obama administration to block the unjust HHS mandate. I am proud to have authorized the fourth of these eight, Priests for Life vs. Sebelius, filed in US District Court, Eastern District of New York on February 15, 2012. Ours was the first lawsuit filed subsequent to the so-called "accommodation" announced by the President on February 10, hence signaling the administration in no uncertain terms that we did not consider his "accommodation" helpful at all.

The eight lawsuits so far, arranged by the date they were filed, are as follows:

November 10, 2011 Belmont Abbey College v. Sebelius
December 21, 2011 Colorado Christian University v. Sebelius
February 9, 2012 Eternal Word Television Network v. Sebelius
February 15, 2012 Priests for Life v. Sebelius
February 20, 2012 Louisiana College v. Sebelius
February 21, 2012 Ave Maria University v. Sebelius
February 21, 2012 Geneva College v. Sebelius
February 23, 2012 Bruning v. Sebelius (This is the one whose plaintiffs include the states of Nebraska, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.)

(You may want to share this list with your local media, since some outlets continue to get the count wrong.)

Though freedom of religion has been the theme most central to this debate, a common theme in these lawsuits is likewise freedom of speech. To quote from the Complaint we filed (which you can find at www.PriestsForLife.org), "The…mandate compels Priests for Life to provide education and counseling regarding contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and abortifacients…[and hence]…to engage in speech that violates its sincerely-held religious beliefs."

Freedom of speech, in other words, by giving you the right to say what you want to say, necessarily also contains the right to not say what you don't want to say. And it doesn't matter if you are forced to say it yourself or to pay someone else to say it.

The Complaint also states that we have filed this suit "to protect the rights of all Americans." Freedom of speech and freedom of religion do not belong only to religious groups, but to everyone. The other side wants to frame this battle as just a sectarian issue -- most particularly a Catholic issue.

During the 2000 elections, a reporter said at a Priests for Life press conference at the National Press Club, "Fr. Frank is calling for a Vatican takeover of America."

As I said then, I am not calling for any Vatican takeover of America; I'm calling for an American takeover of America! It's fine to say we stand with our religious leaders, but let's make it clear that they and we are standing with our Constitution and our great nation, rooted in God's gift of freedom.

Find this column online at www.priestsforlife.org/articles/4123-an-american-takeover-of-america

Listen to this column online at www.priestsforlife.org/audio/audio.aspx?audio=603083-american-takeover

Comments on this column? Go to www.askfrfrank.com

Fr. Frank's columns are podcast. See www.priestsforlife.org/podcast

Remember to support our work at www.priestsforlife.org/donate/index.aspx

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