Priests for Life Newsletter
Volume 17, Number 5
September - October 2007
Click here for the PDF of the newsletter
Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions about Priests for Life
1. Is Priests for Life funded
by dioceses, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, or the Vatican?
No. Priests for Life is funded by the generous and regular contributions of
individual laity and priests across the country. Priests for Life is a 501 (c) 3
organization and therefore donations are tax-deductible and are made out to
“Priests for Life.” We raise our money mostly through direct-mail fundraising.
2. Does Priests for Life have
a Board of Directors?
Yes, the Priests for Life Board
of Directors is composed of priests and laity who oversee the operations of the
corporation in accordance with all federal and state laws. Among its other
duties, the Board sees to it that annual audits are conducted, and these have
demonstrated from year to year the fiscal responsibility of the organization.
3. Who started Priests for
Life?
Priests for Life actually started
in San Francisco by a number of priests who wanted to activate and encourage
their brother priests in the pro-life cause. Fr. Lee Kaylor was the first
President of the organization. He came to know Fr. Frank Pavone and Fr. Jim Heyd,
and eventually asked them to serve in leadership capacities. It was in 1993 that
Fr. Frank Pavone became the first full-time director of Priests for Life, with
the permission of Cardinal John O’Connor, and Fr. Jim Heyd became the first
part-time Associate Director, with the permission of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.
At that time the headquarters of Priests for Life moved from San Francisco to
New York.
4. Does Priests for Life cover more issues than abortion?
(As if abortion isn’t enough…!)
Priests for Life was established to address the primary, overriding moral issue
of our day, which is abortion. The organization’s founding documents also
indicate that the tragedy of euthanasia, which likewise directly attacks the
right to life itself, would be a focus of its concerns. Pope John Paul II,
particularly in his encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” (1995), and the United States
bishops, particularly in their document “Living the Gospel of Life” (1998),
likewise point to these two issues as primary in urgency. At the same time, and
consistent with those same documents, Priests for Life points out the linkage
among all the life issues, and the fact that our concern for life must be
consistent. Therefore Priests for Life does provide preaching resources on
related issues such as contraception and the death penalty (see
www.priestsforlife.org/contraception
and
www.priestsforlife.org/deathpenalty). However, as Cardinal Joseph Bernardin
pointed out years ago and as the US Bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro-life
Activities still points out, acknowledging the “consistent ethic of life” does
not mean that all issues are of equal importance, and does not remove
the right of organizations and individuals to focus on one or more particular
issues. Priests for Life, therefore, focuses on abortion, and to a lesser
extent, on euthanasia.
5. Is Priests for Life just
for priests?
No, because priests are not just
for priests. Priests are called to serve, nourish, and stir into flame the gifts
of the whole Church for the building of the Kingdom of God. The great task of
transforming society into a Culture of Life, starting in the family and
extending into the realm of business, media, politics, and every other arena,
belongs to the laity by virtue of their baptism and confirmation. Priests for
Life seeks to help the laity do so, and to help priests to provide such help
more effectively.
Therefore, Priests for Life
serves the entire Church. Lay men and women can join Priests for Life as “lay
associates.” Priests for Life offers pro-life training, networking, and
encouragement for the laity.
6. What is the status of
Priests for Life in Canon Law?
Priests for Life belongs to the
category of “Associations of the Faithful,” which enable members of the Church
who want to join such associations to work together to advance particular
aspects of the work of the Church.
Priests for
Life Is International!
Priests for Life is an international movement. Aside from the fact that our
television and radio broadcasts, internet resources and mailings go to many
countries, we also are present in person on every continent. Our ministry of
Rachel’s Vineyard conducts retreats and training for post-abortion healing in
Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Portugal, Ireland, England, Spain, Italy, Korea,
Poland, Taiwan, and various countries in South America and Africa. The retreat
manual has been translated into French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.
Flemish, Korean, Japanese, Italian and Chinese translations are forthcoming.
Our
Silent No More Awareness Campaign, co-sponsored by Anglicans for Life, has held
gatherings in Canada, Mexico, Ireland and others.
Priests for Life has helped to establish “Priests for Life Canada” and has been
present often in Mexico to assist pro-life efforts there. We maintain a
permanent office in Rome.
Other
Priests for Life speakers have presented in India, Slovakia, England, Ireland,
Scotland, Wales, Portugal, Poland, and the Philippines.
Life on the
Line
Each week, Priests for Life
presents a half-hour radio program called “Life on the Line,” bringing practical
updates, action items, in-depth analyses, and vibrant conversations with leaders
and activists in the pro-life movement. This radio program airs on the Bott and
Salem Radio networks. This is a great way to keep up to date on what is going on
in the movement, and to stay motivated and inspired. You’ll hear the success
stories, see the challenges coming on the horizon, and hear broadcasts from on
location at some of the nation’s most exciting pro-life events! You can also let
us know if you have a story or testimony that should be shared on the show!
We ask you to both tune in and
also promote these programs. If Life on the Line airs in your city, please your
friends, and place the information in your church bulletins and pro-life
newsletters.
Click
here to see where Life on the Line currently airs.
Stay
Connected with us!
Subscribe to our Email
services:
Information and inspiration
every two weeks from Fr. Frank Pavone:
subscribe@priestsforlife.org
Weekly email with pro-life
liturgical resources for priests and deacons: clergy@priestsforlife.org
Watch our TV Programs:
Defending Life
on EWTN every Friday at 10pm ET (repeated Saturday at 2:30am).
Gospel of Life
on Sky Angel’s “Angel One” every Monday at 3:30am ET, Tuesday at 2:00 am,
Thursday at 8:30am, and Saturday at 7:30pm.
Listen to our Radio Programs:
Life on the Line
is on every weekend on AM stations nationwide. Consult
www.LifeOntheLine.com for stations
and times.
Come to hear our speakers:
It won’t be long before one of
our speakers will be near your community again! The schedule of most of the
public talks given by our pastoral team is posted on our website at www.priestsforlife.org/speakers.
Please publicize this
information in your parish bulletins and pro-life newsletters to assist more
people to come into contact regularly with the latest pro-life information!
Twelve Make
Promises to Defend Life as Missionaries of the Gospel of Life Expands
-- James Pinto, Jr., National
Coordinator
July 1, 2007 was a glorious day
for the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life and the defense of life, as twelve
Lay Missionaries made their promises in two separate locations. During a
concluding Mass of the Come Aside and Rest Awhile Retreat, Malvern, PA.,
Father Pavone, Founder and Moderator General, led six inquirers in their first
promises. These first promise makers were then followed by four Lay
Missionaries, who made perpetual or lifetime professions. That same day, Father
Peter West, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life, conducted a Promise Ceremony
at St. Francis of Assisi, Allentown, PA., leading two more inquirers in first
promises.
In part, these Associates promise
to: “…live as a Lay Associate of the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life…defend
my brothers and sisters whose right to life is under direct attack, and to be,
especially for the unborn the voice they do not have…pursue union with God in
all things…to engage in pro-life work, according to the spirituality of the
Missionaries of the Gospel of Life… to the best of my ability and within the
context of my own vocation.”
The Missionaries of the Gospel of
Life-Lay Associates has been blessed with extraordinary growth. In only two
years over 970 people, representing all 50 States, have joined as Inquirers of
this new Society of Apostolic Life. Life Cells are developing throughout the
Country, gathering Lay Missionaries in prayer, study, community and witness.
Promise Ceremonies for those who have completed a period of formation are being
conducted and the laity are being empowered as, Missionaries of the Gospel of
Life, sent to evangelize the world! If you have not done so already, I
personally invite you to further consecrate your pro-life work by uniting with
the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life. To find out more about the Missionaries
and the Promise Ceremonies, visit www.priestsforlife.org/missionary.
Prayer
Intentions
You are encouraged to remember
the following intentions as you pray the Liturgy of the Hours:
September intention: That God may
bless and strengthen the pro-life efforts of college students.
October intention: That
parish pro-life organizations may grow in numbers and effectiveness.
Featured Products
Defending Life 2006 on DVD
Fr. Frank Pavone and Janet
Morana host this EWTN 13-episode series whose guests discuss diverse aspects of
the pro-life movement. These shows feature guests such as: Fr. Tadeusz
Pacholczyk speaking on Stem Cells, Bishop John Yanta and the family of Terri
Schiavo.
Fr. Frank’s Homilies from
EWTN Live Televised Mass
Now available on four CD’s
Fr. Pavone enlightens and
inspires millions with his homilies on EWTN. You too can benefit from his
wisdom with these four new CD’s! He will teach you how to live the Gospel
in your everyday life and in particular how you can live your commitment to the
pro-life movement.
Order at
www.priestsforlife.org/store
or mail your order to: Priests for Life P.O. Box 141172, Staten Island, NY
10314; Or fax it to (718) 980-3853; Or Email: orders@priestsforlife.org.
Click here for a medical diagram of the dilation and evacuation abortion
procedure (D&E) of a 23 week old fetus.
