Fr. Frank Pavone preached a message of pro-life evangelization to about 900 people Friday, Feb 13, at Century II, Wichita.
Election pro-life candidates must be a top priority this year, he said during the banquet sponsored by Kansans for Life.
"We can't build a society of justice to help the poor when we kill the poor," he said.
Fr. Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said during this election year it falls on pro-lifers to make sure that "being pro-choice" is simply not an option.
Sounding like a television evangelist ramming home a point about sin, the priest of the Archdiocese of New York said it is possible to argue about how much we should assist the poor, but there is no room for argument when it comes to killing the unborn.
"In abortion, policy and principle are merged into one," he said. "There is no middle option, there is no third way."
The United States is in a critical point in history, Fr. Pavone said. "If we don't resolve this problem, we will break this nation."
The problem began with the U.S. Supreme Court admitting doubt about the humanity of an unborn child and permitting its destruction anyway, he said.
"That is not the kind of government that our founding fathers established in this land."
Laws that allow abortion are bad laws, he said, adding that unless pro-lifers speak out against them the country will have no foundation at all.
"We are not talking about viewpoints, we are talking about violence," Fr. Pavone said.
Don't listen to politicians who say abortion is just one of the issues, he added.
"Abortion is just one of many issues just as the foundation of a house is just one of the many parts of a house.
Sounding like a politician in the heat of an election, he said, "If a politician can't respect the life of a little baby, how can he respect yours!"
Politicians who support abortion might also tell pro-lifers that they will have to agree to disagree.
"We are victims of terrorism in this nation," Father said, "Do we agree to disagree with terrorists?"
Action at the voting booths and prayer at the abortion clinics is needed, he emphasized.
"When the fire alarm goes at a fire station do the firemen get down on their knees and pray?" he asked.
"Love demands not only a spiritual presence, it demands a physical presence."
Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life, also urged those attending to continue their pro-life activities.
"The momentum seems to be going our way," she said.
A statistic quoted by Fr. Pavone supported her assumption. Father said half of the abortion clinics in the United States have closed in the last 10 years.
Also appearing and making brief remarks were Mike Farmer executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, and Todd Tiahrt, U.S. Representative for the Fourth District of Kansas, and Dr. John McCormick, associate director of the diocesan Office of Respect Life and Social Justice.