Fr. Frank Pavone's Blog

Changing Hearts and Minds

David — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:33:50 +0000

Allow me to share with you today yet another email from someone who visited the Priests for Life website and saw the pictures of aborted babies. She wrote:

“To see all those innocent babies who didn’t even get to see the light of day except in pieces sickens and disgusts me. I once was pro-choice but now, I am definitely Pro Life because what is happening out there is nothing less than murder. All women should know the facts before even contemplating an abortion. I can’t understand why any one would perform one… I am 17 years old and to know this at this age, helps me prepare for the future and decisions I make.”

You can influence many others like this young woman by visiting priestsforlife.org, viewing the images, and sharing them with others.

Please take a moment to check out my Birthday Wish on behalf of the cause Pray to End Abortion.

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

David — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:13:16 +0000

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord recalls the fact that Jesus Himself was presented in the Temple to the Father. Jesus was sent by the Father, who is the origin of all, and the culmination of Jesus’ mission is to present everything back to the Father, after having destroyed every enemy. This Feast reminds us that we all belong to God, and to God alone. Therefore, nobody can own another human being, or have a veto power over another’s rights, or decide whether another lives or dies. Nobody’s choice takes precedence over anybody’s life. That is why no individual or nation can permit the act of abortion. On the Feast of the Presentation, may we rededicate ourselves to God and to a respect for every human life, which belongs only to Him.

Please take a moment to check out my Birthday Wish on behalf of the cause Pray to End Abortion.

The Truth is Surfacing

David — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:27:21 +0000

The fact that abortion is psychologically devastating to the mother who has one is becoming harder and harder for advocates of abortion to deny. In fact, abortionists themselves have admitted this fact in the context of their own conferences.

In one such conference, a presenter admitted that 10% of abortion clients experience serious psychological consequences. That translates into 350 women a day incurring serious psychological wounds from this so-called safe and legal procedure.

We know the damage is much greater than that, but an admission like this from the abortion industry is a clear sign that little by little the truth is coming out.

Please take a moment to check out my Birthday Wish on behalf of the cause Pray to End Abortion.

Post-Abortive Women, Cancer Victims Cheer Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation’s Decision to Defund Planned Parenthood

David — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:09:00 +0000

Staten Island, NY – Leaders of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign (SNMAC) today hailed the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation’s announcement that it will no longer give money to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, or any other organization under Congressional investigation.

“This is more than welcome news, especially to the post-abortive women of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign who are breast cancer survivors,” said Janet Morana, co-founder of SNMAC. “Of the 70 epidemiological studies that have been conducted worldwide since 1957, 80% report a risk increase of breast cancer for women who have had abortions. The Susan G. Komen Foundation’s donations to Planned Parenthood were as nonsensical as would be the American Lung Association donating to a tobacco manufacturer.”

“No one is more anxious to find a cure for breast cancer than the women of Silent No More,” added Georgette Forney, also a co-founder of SNMAC. “This is a plague that affects us personally and deeply. We recently lost a dear co-worker to breast cancer; the disease is all too familiar to our membership. On behalf of the breast cancer victims and survivors of Silent No More, I can’t thank the Susan G. Komen Foundation enough for this decision.”

The Silent No More Awareness Campaign and other pro-life women’s groups have worked for years to disseminate the facts on the abortion/breast cancer link. Eve Sanchez Silver, a former Susan G. Komen medical research analyst and Hispanic outreach director, deserves special thanks for her tireless efforts to educate women, especially Latinas, on the breast cancer risk caused by abortion. Ms. Sanchez Silver, a two-time breast cancer survivor who left the Komen Foundation because of its donations to Planned Parenthood, appeared on Priests for Life’s Defending Life television program as part of those efforts.

Alveda King, fulltime Priests for Life associate and a spokeswoman for SNMAC, added today, “There are abortion clinics across the United States located on or near boulevards named after my uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They have been dealing death to babies and, according to objective scientific research, breast cancer to women for decades. The Susan G. Komen Foundation’s new policy will save lives by making abortion, and therefore breast cancer, less prevalent in all communities.”

Since the launching of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign in 2003, 4,845 women and men have shared their testimonies publicly at over 865 gatherings in 48 states and ten countries where more than 110,830 attendees have heard the truth about abortion’s negative aftereffects. More than 10,100 people representing 57 countries are registered to be Silent No More. Raising awareness about the hurtful aftermath of abortion and the help that is available to cope with the pain are two of the Campaign’s goals. The Campaign has over 1,300 testimonies posted here, with over 120 that are shared via video!

The Silent No More Awareness Campaign is a joint project of Anglicans for Life and Priests for Life. For more information, please visit our website: SilentNoMoreAwareness.org

Reflecting on Catholic Schools Week

David — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:15:55 +0000

Catholic schools, of every educational level, face many challenges to maintain their Catholic identity. Ironically, sometimes those challenges come from the members of their own faculty. Sometimes these individuals simply do not believe what the Church teaches or refuse to accept the demands of the moral law.

There’s an old saying, “Nobody can give what he does not have.” Catholic schools exist to impart the Catholic faith and to form strong disciples of Christ. If a faculty member objects to some particular demand of the faith, it makes no sense for them to be in a position in which they are expected to pass it on to our children. For the good of the Church and of the students, they should find another job. Let us pray for strong Catholic schools and faculties.

Please take a moment to check out my Birthday Wish on behalf of the cause Pray to End Abortion.

The Purpose of Primaries

David — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:38:19 +0000

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 which 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.

For those in Florida, be sure to vote in tomorrow’s primary if you are eligible. This is your chance to choose the person you want to be the Presidential candidate. And for those in Oregon’s 1st Congressional District, you also have an important runoff election tomorrow. Find more details about these and other election–related events at politicalresponsibility.com/presidential-election-process.htm.

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 politicalresponsibility.com.

Please take a moment to check out my Birthday Wish on behalf of the cause Pray to End Abortion.

Leaders Here and Now

David — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:44:58 +0000

I often point out that our youth are not simply the “future leaders” of the pro-life movement. They are leaders here and now, in more ways than one. Often I am asked to speak about the role of youth in the pro-life movement, and to encourage parishes and pro-life organizations to focus more on recruiting youth for this cause. In fact, this is not a difficult task. Youth understand the pro-life message better than many adults, and the most common response they give to the question, “Why are you involved in trying to stop abortion?” is “Because it could have been me.” They are aware that they were not protected in the womb, and could have been killed. They are survivors and they know it. May our young people be strong in protecting the youngest.

Please take a moment to check out my Birthday Wish on behalf of the cause Pray to End Abortion.

The March

David — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:40:34 +0000

Last weekend was extremely powerful. I am always more energized than exhausted after spending the day greeting the participants in the West Coast Walk for Life, which took place on Saturday, January 21, and then taking the redeye flight to Washington DC to spend all of Sunday and Monday greeting the people taking part in the national March for Life.

So many of you were there and were able to tell me of your daily prayers for me and of the concern you have for me. You were encouraged by seeing that I am in great health and great spirits.

But more important even than that is being in great focus. So many people over recent months, and in the March for Life days, have said things to me like, “I know this has been a painful and difficult time, for you to be asked to stay for a while in Amarillo. I know this is a burden for you and it must be frustrating, but we are with you and it will work out.”

This is always a consolation, knowing that whatever difficulties we have, we are not alone, and as I said to thousands of people, I really appreciate the support and prayers. Keep them coming!

But what I want my friends and foes alike to understand is that my greatest burden is not the events of the last few months, nor the limitations on my travel, nor the false things said about me in the media. There is one single thing that gives me more pain than anything, and that is the ongoing slaughter of my brothers and sisters by abortion.

So many of you share that pain, and carry that burden. Day by day in our country, thousands of children are ripped apart, dismembered, decapitated, killed, and thrown in the garbage. The law permits it, the courts justify it, and so many are silent about it.

That’s what’s painful. That’s what keeps me up at night. That’s what makes my heart break. It’s abortion, not a decision by Church authorities.

And isn’t that what I’ve been saying all along, from the first day when, at the 1976 March for Life, as a high school senior, I decided to get involved in the pro-life movement? Isn’t that the same thing I’ve been saying from the first day Cardinal O’Connor authorized me to lead Priests for Life and Bishop Yanta received my promises to spend the rest of my life defending the lives of the unborn? Isn’t this what the Church means by saying that no right is more fundamental than life, and that abortion deserves urgent attention and priority? Isn’t this what the depths of the human heart and conscience say when, faced with the gruesome reality of abortion, they cry out in pain and demand that the killing stop and that justice prevail?

My friends, the alarm of conscience is sounding. If something is going to bother us, let it be abortion, and let our every action be focused on stopping it.

Obama Tampering with Conscience

David — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:35:28 +0000

In March of 2010, I had the opportunity to preach to members of Congress and their staff who were gathered at the worship service held inside the Capitol just prior to the vote on Obamacare. In that sermon, I told them that Christianity transforms politics and government, because every human being in Christ has access to God as His son or daughter. Therefore the voice of the people matters, representative government makes sense, and power becomes service, authority becomes a duty to protect human rights.

It’s a message President Obama and his Department of Health and Human Services still don’t get. As the National Catholic Reporter recently reported:

“The Obama administration has turned down repeated requests from Catholic bishops, hospitals, schools and charitable organizations to revise its religious exemption to the requirement that all health plans cover contraceptives and sterilization free of charge.

“…Under the plan, after Aug. 1 of this year, new or significantly altered health plans will be required to provide all FDA-approved contraceptives, including some that can cause abortions, without co-pays or deductibles as part of preventive health care for women.”

Some 200,000 comments were received from the general public regarding this. Rather than making any accommodation to those who object, the Administration arrogantly announced “that nonprofit groups that do not provide contraceptive coverage because of their religious beliefs will get an additional year ‘to adapt to this new rule.’”

An additional year to do what?

No, we don’t need an additional year nor an additional moment to adapt, study, consider, weigh, balance, or decide whether we are going to pay for the killing of human beings. The answer is no. Keep your year, and give us back our freedom of conscience!

The day before the Administration made this announcement, the Pope addressed a group of American bishops who were making their regular, obligatory visit to update the Pope. He mentioned the “worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience.” That’s what the President and his team are doing. Go ahead, worship in whatever Church you want, he tells us, but if you run a hospital or other entity, you have to do it our way.

The US bishops have written in Living the Gospel of Life that Roe vs. Wade poisons our entire society. This latest inflexibility in the face of conscience is a good example of that. It is, after all, about abortion. Its fanatical advocates will stop at nothing to expand it, including throwing religious freedom and the Church itself out the window.

What this also tells us is that elections matter. It would be wise for the Church, in tackling this problem, to plan what we are going to do regarding the elections, rather than spending all our energy trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube after it’s been scattered all over the room. Let’s elect more public servants who know the difference between serving the public and killing the public.

Join the Silent No More Awareness Campaign outside NARAL dinner

David — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:32:26 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. – All pro-lifers are urged to join the Northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland chapters of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign this evening, Thursday, Jan. 26, outside the ballroom where NARAL will host its annual celebration of abortion.

Supporters of life will gather at 5:30 p.m. outside the Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Avenue, NW, according to Nancy Tanner, Northern Virginia regional coordinator for Silent No More. They will remain in place until 7 p.m. and then will leave to have dinner and fellowship at a nearby restaurant. The Silent No More women and men and their supporters will return to the Hilton by 8:30 p.m. and will remain there until the NARAL event has concluded.

“It’s been pretty effective every year that we do this,” said Ms. Tanner. This is the seventh consecutive year she has organized the peaceful presence.

“We feel it’s important to have a presence when they’re celebrating, to show that there’s another side to this,” she said. “Many of us are hurt by abortion and regret that decision.”

Ms. Tanner will have signs on hand that say “I Regret My Abortion” or “I Regret My Lost Fatherhood,” as well as some that say “Women Do Regret Abortion” and “Men Regret Lost Fatherhood.”

At Monday’s March for Life, more than 50 women and men from the Silent No More Awareness Campaign shared their abortion testimonies in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. As they lined the streets with their signs awaiting their turn to speak, many were approached by marchers who thanked them for their courage, or whispered to them of their own regret.

“The pro-aborts in this country, like NARAL, say abortion is a good choice for women, but the women who have actually made that choice know better,” said Father Pavone, Pastoral Director of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign.

“One woman from Mississippi who shared her testimony said she wished she wasn’t standing on a cold, rainy street in Washington holding her sign. She wished she was home, with the 13-year-old she aborted,” Father Pavone said. “All the men and women of Silent No More feel that way.”

To contact Ms. Tanner, send an email to northernvirginia@silentnomoreawareness.org

Since the launch of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign in 2003, 4,845 women and men have shared their testimonies publicly at over 865 gatherings in 48 states and 10 countries where more than 110,830 attendees have heard the truth about abortion’s negative aftereffects. More than 10,100 people representing 57 countries are registered to be Silent No More. Raising awareness about the hurtful aftermath of abortion and the help that is available to cope with the pain are two of the Campaign’s goals. The Campaign has over 1,300 testimonies posted here, with over 120 that are shared via video!

The Silent No More Awareness Campaign is a joint project of Anglicans for Life and Priests for Life. For more information, please visit our website: SilentNoMoreAwareness.org