May  2017

Friends,

What a five-month run it’s been for us and the fight to end abortion!  

Ever since President Trump took the oath of office we’ve been able to push a pro-life agenda.

What a dramatic turnaround from the past eight years.

But with June and the summer upon us all that momentum is in danger of coming to a screeching halt.  

That’s why I’m fervently hoping you make a special Summer Pledge that will allow Priests for Life to help you fulfill your pro-life vocation and keep all of our projects on track and moving forward from now until August 31 so that we can keep our pro-life momentum going full speed ahead with no slowdown and no interruption all summer long. I’m only asking you to consider making a Summer Pledge because of all the progress we’ve made in just the past few months. Momentum is definitely on our side in the fight to make abortion in America not merely illegal, but even more importantly, unthinkable.

The first and greatest thing, of course, is the fact that President Trump is not Hillary Clinton! Imagine how I’d be writing to you today if she had won the White House last November.  

But praise God, she didn’t.  

And because you and the Priests for Life family were so instrumental in that outcome it’s important to recognize how President Trump has fulfilled the multiple promises he made to us during the campaign and what he’s doing to protect children in the womb from abortion.  Consider:

• Judge Neil Gorsuch is now JUSTICE Neil Gorsuch and is on the Supreme Court. I am very optimistic that he will be as strong an advocate for the unborn as was his predecessor, the late Justice Antonin Scalia. We must pray for Justice Gorsuch and all members of our federal judiciary.
   
• The House passed HR7, the first step to make the Hyde Amendment permanent law and keep your tax dollars from paying for abortions. 
   
• President Trump signed into law House Joint Resolution 43 that empowers states to take funds, known as Title X, away from Planned Parenthood and direct them instead to non-abortion providers including community health centers, county health departments, or other types of providers. Previously, Obama's Department of Health and Human Services had blocked states from choosing not to fund abortion providers.
   
• Internationally the President reinstated and strengthened the “Mexico City Policy” so our tax dollars cannot fund international abortion agencies and organizations.
   
• He also extended that policy by instructing the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to withhold U.S. funds from any foreign non-governmental organization that refuses to pledge that it will not perform or promote abortion as a method of family planning.
   
• In addition he instructed the State Department to stop funding the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) because of its support for China’s one-child policy.

All that in just his first four months in office … and in spite of tremendous opposition from both the Party of Death, the abortion industry and liberal pro-abortion members of the news media.

Plus …

-    Vice President Mike Pence was the first sitting Vice President and the highest elected government official to ever address a March for Life rally.

-    Other prominent pro-life individuals have been tapped to head up important government positions, including my friend and colleague Charmaine Yoest, former president of Americans United for Life.  She will be assistant secretary of public affairs in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

-    In Congress the President is determined to …

-    Repeal ObamaCare and rid the nation of this abortion monstrosity.

-    Get rid of the HHS mandate that threatens Priests for Life and all pro-life and religious organizations 

-    Defund Planned Parenthood

And I can say without a moment’s hesitation that you and Priests for Life have had a hand in almost all of these pro-life achievements.  

Which brings me to that Summer Pledge I’m asking you to make right now.

Your Pledge will allow Priests for Life to sustain all that pro-life momentum and keep it going full speed ahead with no slowdown and no interruption throughout the financially challenging summer months of June, July and August.

Let me explain.

Being the long-time and loyal Priests for Life ministry partner that you are, you know how much of a struggle it is for us to keep all of our projects and programs fully funded throughout the summer. That’s because summer is the time of year when people are off on well-deserved vacations or simply spending more time outdoors.  

In any case donations typically start to drop come the middle of June … and oftentimes significantly.

Well in looking over what’s coming down the pike at us from the abortion industry and the critical battles I know Priests for Life is going to be involved in, I figure it’s going to take a minimum of $1,200,000 to fund all of our work over the next three months.  

And that doesn’t even include the money needed to move into our expanded headquarters in Florida that I told you about a couple weeks ago.  

But I don’t want to think about the move just now. Today I need you to focus on the coming battles and how you can help Priests for Life win them. They’re going to be huge and they will have a major impact in our fight against abortion. Some of the more important ones include:

• The next Supreme Court battle. If you thought the fight to get Justice Gorsuch confirmed to the Court was a donnybrook, wait till you what happens when the next vacancy occurs … which literally could come any day now. Rumors are flying around Washington that one of the other Justices is going to retire. In an interview with The Washington Times the President said he will stick with the same list of potential nominees for his next choice. And his list is a good one!  Confirming the President's next choice will put Constitutionalists – or “originalists” as they are now called – in control of the Court. That would bode well for the unborn, for the pro-life movement, for people of faith and for the country as a whole. And because it would expect an all out, knockdown, drag out fight from Schumer and the Party of Death.
   
• As important as the Supreme Court fight will be there are over a hundred other federal judicial vacancies that President Trump has the opportunity to fill. And you can be sure Priests for Life is making its voice heard in those considerations.
   
• The battle to defund Planned Parenthood is not going to come easily … or inexpensively. Planned Parenthood is the darling of the abortion industry. They along with their puppets in the Party of Death – led by Chuck Schumer in the Senate and Nancy Pelosi in the House – will fight tooth and nail to keep tax dollars flowing into this baby killing machine.
   
• There are more pro-life bills that we need to get Congress to pass; in particular:

-    “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” 
-    “The Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act” that would protect unborn children from the brutality of being torn apart limb by limb by abortionists
-    Making the Hyde Amendment permanent. The House passed this (HR7) way back in January. Still awaiting action on this in the Senate.

That’s just a small sampling of the kinds of pro-life initiatives Priests for Life needs to help move forward. We are doing that using every means of education, mobilization and communication in our Priests for Life arsenal; including:

-    Action-oriented letters sent directly to pro-life activists in their homes
-    New programs in our “Defending Life” series that airs on EWTN
-    “Action Alert” emails that I send to over 100,000 activists almost weekly
-    “Action Items” on the home page of the Priests for Life website, which hosts over 200,000 visitors every month
-    Eye-opening fact-filled videos that we post on "Facebook Live" and Youtube sites
-    Speaking engagements that energize pro-life activists all across the country
-    Liturgy aids to help and encourage priests to preach against abortion from the pulpit
-    Pro-life bulletin inserts that we send to every parish in the country
-    Training seminars for clergy and pro-life activists

… and a host of other activities.

Well, if ever there was a summer when Priests for Life needed to be driving full steam ahead it’s this summer while we have all this pro-life momentum spearheading our fight to end abortion.

And that’s why I sent you this email and am asking you to prayerfully consider making a 3-Month Summer Pledge.  

As you do keep in mind that Priests for Life is the only organization that has the expertise and manpower and materials to do the work I’ve outlined for you above.

As for how much you should Pledge, I leave that to you. If you can make a Pledge of $75 –  $25 a month for the months of June, July and August – that would be a tremendous help. So would a Pledge of $60 or even $45.

Whatever size Pledge you can make will go a long way in helping Priests for Life raise the $1.2 million we need to keep all of our programs and projects funded through to September. 

I know you’ll be as generous as you possibly can and I thank you in advance for your critically needed help now and over the next three months. 

And because it will entail sacrifice on your part to fulfill your Pledge, I will remember you at every Mass I offer; as will all the priests of Priests for Life. Thank you again for responding right away and may God bless you.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

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

P.S. If there is any way to send your entire “Summer Pledge” today that would be a real blessing. Your dollars are critically needed so Priests for Life can work to keep the pro-life momentum going!  There’s still a LOT we have to do.  And with your continued partnership and financial support, Priests for Life will rally the pro-life movement and help lead us to victory over abortion.

NOTE: If you prefer to send a check, please make it out to Priests for Life and send it to us at PO Box 141172, Staten Island, NY 10314.  If you have any questions, call us toll-free at 888-735-3448.