Christian Duty
Are Christians supposed to withdraw from the world or change the world? Christ
told us to make disciples of all nations. One way we do this is to vote, and to
elect candidates whose views reflect God's laws. We believers are not
second-class citizens; we have a voice! Don't stay home on election day.
Exercise your Christian duty to vote! This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of
Priests for Life.
Government Involvement
Some candidates for public office claim that the government should not be
involved in abortion. But the government got too involved in abortion the day it
presumed to have the right to remove protection from unborn human beings. The
first purpose of government is to protect the lives of its people. Nobody who
would deliberately fail to do that is worthy of public office. This is Fr. Frank
Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
No Separation
Election day is approaching. As Christians, we acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of
our lives at every moment, including the moment we enter the voting booth. The
same hands raised up to Him in prayer are the hands that pull down the levers
when we vote! Let there be no separation, then, between your beliefs and your
voting decisions! This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
Power Over Life and Death
Some political candidates think abortion has nothing to do with their job. But
abortion is legal only because the government has decided that some human beings
are not protected by the Constitution. Do we really want to elect people who
think the government has that kind of power over life and death? Think about it.
This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
Represent All People
Some pro-abortion politicians defend their position by saying they have to
represent all the people. The irony is that by allowing abortion, they fail to
represent the people still living in the womb. Be sure you know where candidates
stand on abortion. After all, if a politician can't respect the life of a little
baby, how is he supposed to respect yours? This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of
Priests for Life.
Right to Life is Primary
In every election, there are many issues to consider. Yet unless people can
first be born, there are no issues, and no people to talk about them. Every
right we have flows from the right to life. In choosing those who will lead us,
therefore, no issue can be more important than abortion. If our children are not
secure, neither is our future. This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for
Life.
Uphold God's Laws
Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but to God what belongs to God. In
this familiar Gospel passage, our Lord said the coin belongs to Caesar because
it bears his image. What, then belongs to God? That which bears His image,
namely, human life -- including Caesar himself! Let's vote for candidates who
will uphold the laws of God. This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for
Life.
Where Candidates Stand
Many candidates for public office claim to serve the public, but ignore unborn
children who are killed daily by abortion. These candidates speak glowingly of
human rights, but ignore the right to life. Be sure you know where candidates
stand on abortion. After all, if a politician can't respect the life of a little
baby, how is he supposed to respect yours? This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of
Priests for Life.
Distributing Literature in Church Lots
Hello, this is Fr. Frank Pavone. Many groups distribute campaign
literature in Church parking lots at election time. I recently asked some of the
nation's leading legal experts to comment on this practice. Their letter states,
"The distribution of campaign material by others in the Church parking lot will
not jeopardize the Church's tax exempt status." They go on to comment that
the IRS regulations on political activity only apply to the activities and
expenditures of the non-profit organization. When others distribute literature
in the Church parking lot, that is not an activity or expenditure of the Church.
The letter goes on to explain that, because the parking lot is open to the
public, churches may not prohibit people from distributing campaign
literature, because it is an issue of free speech. This is Fr. Frank
Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
Election Day
Hello, this is Fr. Frank Pavone. Today is Election Day. As our bishops
have said, "Every voice matters in the public forum; every vote counts."
We need to use our vote to advance the culture of life. Sometimes candidates for
local office say that their positions on big moral issues like abortion don't
matter. But they do, because they measure a person's character. Besides, those
in local office tend to move up to higher office.
And if a politician can't respect the life of a little baby, how's
he supposed to respect yours? Don't miss out on voting today. Find out who
is running, and where they stand on life issues. And call your friends and those
in your Church groups, and remind them to vote today as well. This is Fr.
Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
Limited Government Authority
Hello, this is Fr. Frank Pavone. In one of the most powerful quotes of any
religious body, the US bishops wrote the following words in Living the Gospel of
Life, "When American political life becomes an experiment on people rather than
for and by them, it will no longer be worth conducting. We are arguably moving
closer to that day." They are referring to what happens when government
claims authority over the right to life, pretending to be able to authorize
abortion and euthanasia, and tampering with destructive embryonic research and
human cloning. The great American experiment is one based
on the fact that no government can ever have this kind of authority. Any
political entity of any value exists for the human person, not the other way
around. This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
No Secret Discipleship
Hello, this is Fr. Frank Pavone. A preacher once wrote that there is no
such thing as secret discipleship. Either the discipleship will destroy the
secrecy, or the secrecy will destroy the discipleship. That's why being
pro-life cannot just be a personal, private conviction. If it's in our heart, it
needs to be on our lips and in our actions. Each person is one person,
not many. We each have a single conscience, and will have a single judgment on
the last day. Our bishops put it this way in "Living
the Gospel of Life," "Nor can we practice the Gospel of life only as a private
piety. American Catholics must live it vigorously and publicly, as a matter of
national leadership and witness, or we will not live it at all." This is
Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
Not Just a Catholic Issue
Hello, this is Fr. Frank Pavone. The US bishops wrote in Living the Gospel
of Life, "The inherent value of human life, at every stage and in every
circumstance, is not a sectarian issue any more than the Declaration of
Independence is a sectarian creed." From the start of the abortion war in
America, the other side tried to label it as a Catholic issue, and they still
use that strategy. Yet nobody complains that laws against stealing are a
Catholic issue -- despite the fact that the prohibition on stealing is in the
Bible, on the lips of Jesus, and in the Catholic Catechism. Yet people
realize that certain standards of right and wrong transcend religious belief and
belong to our common moral heritage. The right to life is one of them.
This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
Primaries
Hello, this is Fr. Frank Pavone. One of the great things about our
American system is that voters not only select which candidates get elected to
public office, but also which of those who want to be candidates actually end up
on the ballot. In other words, we get to create the choices we will have on
Election Day. That's what primaries are all about. Primaries are elections
that take place before the general Election Day. The dates of primaries differ
in each state. When you vote in a primary, you have a wider range of choices,
and are therefore more likely to find a candidate with whom you agree on more
issues. Let's not just settle for the choices we're given on Election Day.
Let's help create those choices in the primaries! Find out more at
www.politicalresponsibility.org. This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of
Priests for Life.
Priorities
Hello, this is Fr. Frank Pavone. The US bishops wrote in Living the Gospel
of Life, "[A]bortion and euthanasia have become preeminent threats to human
dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most fundamental human
good and the condition for all others. They are committed against those who are
weakest and most defenseless, those who are genuinely "the poorest of the
poor."" In the light of this statement, nobody should ever try to minimize
the central importance of the abortion problem simply because there are other
issues. To equate all issues as having equal importance contradicts not only the
words of the bishops, but ordinary common sense. We decide priorities
every day. And when it's a choice between improving life or preserving it, the
priority is obvious. This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for
Life.
Reflect Christ's Truth
Hello, this is Fr. Frank Pavone. The US bishops wrote, in "Living the
Gospel of Life,""[W]e call on U.S. Catholics, especially those in positions of
leadership … to recover their identity as followers of Jesus Christ and to be
leaders in the renewal of … respect for … life." For a believer, following
Jesus Christ is the center around which all the other elements of life revolve.
One might be a Christian husband or wife, a Christian politician, a Christian
film producer, or a Christian student -- but in each case, being a Christian is
primary. That does not mean that a person divides his or her life between being
a Christian and being any of those other things; rather, it means that all other
roles are carried out in a manner that reflects Christ's truth. This is
Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
Republic
Hello, this is Fr. Frank Pavone. John Adams, our second President, wrote
these words: "Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and
murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."
Other Founding Fathers said the same, basicilly because they did not establish a democracy. Instead, they established a
republic. In a democracy, what the majority says, goes, and if the
majority were to say that murder is OK, it would be OK. A republic,
however, is based not on the rule of the majority, but on the rule of law.
And the highest law is the law of God. In a republic, certain things are beyond
the reach of the majority, and basic wrongs can never be declared right.
Let's elect people who understand the difference between a democracy and a
republic. This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
Voter Registration in Church
Hello, this is Fr. Frank Pavone. Many Churches are now implementing a
national voter registration project, giving parishioners an opportunity to
register when leaving Sunday Mass. This activity is perfectly legal. The
Internal Revenue Service in its 2002 Tax Guide for Churches has written the
following, "Activities intended to encourage people to participate in the
electoral process such as voter registration and get out the vote drives would
not constitute prohibited political campaign activity if conducted in a
non-partisan manner." Now it's up to us. Wouldn’t it be tragic if we
wasted the opportunity to register millions of new voters simply because we
didn't know what the law allowed us to do? Find out more at
www.politicalresponsibility.org. This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of
Priests for Life.
Voter Registration Sundays
Hello, this is Fr. Frank Pavone. In the American system of government,
citizens have the privilege and duty of electing their leaders. When those
citizens are Christians, the opportunity to vote becomes an opportunity to shape
our society according to the teachings of the Gospel. Believers are not
second-class citizens. We have every right to base our voting decisions on our
belief in Jesus Christ and His teachings. This year, many Christian Churches
throughout the nation will observe National Christian Voter Registration Sunday.
Pastors will call upon their congregations to register to vote, and to exercise
their citizenship to the full. Find out the dates of Voter Registration Sundays
and how you can be involved by visiting www.politicalresponsibility.org.
This is Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life.
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