We have news that CPLC Board Member Mike Murray was at the Papal Mass in Washington D.C. and talked to the reporters from the Today Show the morning of the Mass.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24179006#24179006

Labels: Pope Benedict XVI

Click here to see a slideshow of the pictures from Karen's trip to DC.

The blog "Benedict in America" has the complete texts of all the talks given during the Pope's visit to America. (Hint, hint).

Scroll down to read Karen's day-of blog entries for the Arrival Ceremony for the Pope at The White House on April 16 and the Papal Mass at Nationals Park on April 17.

Labels: Pope Benedict XVI

From the Director of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee's Abortion AfterCare-Healing Ministry, Caryn Stevens. Caryn responds to Pope Benedict's address to a Vatican conference on the after-effects of abortion and divorce:

Pope John Paul II, the Great Mercy Pope, reached out to post-abortive people in paragraph 99 of Evangelium Vitae, urging them to not give in to despair, to "not lose hope." John Paul the Great encouraged those who had abortions to face what they had done, with honesty and understanding, and to ask for God's forgiveness and peace. He invited them to come back home!

Then, he says something so radical, at least to those who made the grave mistake of abortion . . . he says that "as a result of our own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life." I remember when I first read these beautiful words in the Abortion AfterCare-Healing brochure; I could hardly believe what I was reading! Not only could those of us who traveled down this tragic path be forgiven, but we could be among those who now fight for LIFE! We could stand with pro-lifers without being viewed as hyprocrites or outsiders. We who have sinned can be forgiven AND can now speak up for the unborn, and bring healing to our wounded sisters and brothers.

Now, Pope Benedict XVI is reaching out to the post-abortive, but this time, the focus is on the Church. He states that "the Catholic Church has an obligation to minister to women who have victimized by abortion." He says that "the Gospel of love and life is also always the Gospel of mercy . . ." The Pope of Charity and Hope directs the Church, you and me, to reach out and minister to those hurting from abortion, and to understand how abortion devastates women, men, families and societies. He tells us that abortion leaves an "unhealed wound" in the souls of the post-abortive, that millions of women are left "physically, emotionally and spiritually wounded" after abortion, and that "Catholics must reach out to them."

Certainly, the woman or man who has experienced abortion can witness to its devastation and ill effects. It is these sisters and brothers, once healed, who can help reach out to the suffering and take up the Pope's directive with a deep sense of conviction and passion. However, Pope Benedict challenges the whole Church to step up and take action to help these "walking wounded," to understand the deep scar that abortion has left on society, and to help those suffering from abortion to become the new defenders of LIFE!

Abortion affects us ALL, not just those who participate in it. We must work together as a Church to bring the message of healing and hope to the post-abortive if we truly want peace in the world and an end to the evil that is abortion.

Labels: post-abortion healing

Mary Elizabeth Sedeño of Dallas: The sanctity of every life

The Dallas Morning News
11:30 AM CDT on Sunday, April 20, 2008

Over the past year, young people have received much attention for their involvement in the presidential campaigns, showing that youth can be a powerful force. On another front, tens of thousands of youths across the country have become involved in an issue just as important to them as a presidential campaign – the pro-life movement – and are showing that their voices and actions are just as passionate as those on the campaign trail. And, we believe, we're also changing the hearts of many people.

Still, it seems the media refuse to pay any attention to this particular form of activism among young people.

Along with dozens of others from Dallas, I experienced the vibrancy of the pro-life movement in mid-January during the 35th Annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. More than 200,000 people gathered around the Washington Mall to pray for life, but what stood out for me was the large number of high school and college-age students who were there, huddled in the cold, holding hands, praying and marching.

It re-emphasized to me that these are young people with conviction, not "weirdos," as many times we're stereotyped because of our stance.

A recent report from the Guttmacher Institute says that the number of abortions has dropped to 1.2 million a year. That's down 25 percent from a peak in 1990, according to the organization that supports abortions, but whose statistics are accepted as reliable even by many pro-life groups.

Some would say that the decline can be traced back to the morning-after pill that induces miscarriage. But maybe it's because more and more women who become pregnant and are thinking of an abortion are being changed because of prayer and counseling. They realize, like pregnant teenage actress Jaime Lynn Spears, that adoption is an answer.

Earlier this month, I joined more than 1,000 people, including hundreds of youths, at Bishop Farrell's Pro-Life dinner. We heard from the bishop, from an unwed high school student who chose to have her child and from Father Frank Pavone, one of the country's leading voices on pro-life. His message was that the youth, as influencers in our generation, are key to spreading the pro-life message across the country and that we have been successful in that effort. The sanctity of life is surely one of the issues that drew thousands of young Americans to celebrate Mass and even meet in small groups this weekend with Pope Benedict XVI.

For me, pro-life also is a personal mission, driven by my sister Rachel.

In the first few weeks that my mother was pregnant with her, doctors told my parents that the baby had a major heart defect and that she had Down Syndrome. They were told that surgery could correct the heart defect, but that Down Syndrome would require constant care. Abortion, they were told, was an option.

Although they were shocked to hear the news, I remember my parents telling us that abortion was never an option and that they would welcome Rachel as happily into the world as my "normal" brothers and me. Complications forced Rachel to be delivered early on May 8, 1997. She weighed only 2 pounds and spent nearly the next four months in the hospital, gaining weight so she could have heart surgery.

She came home for a month, but on the morning of Oct. 22, just as my parents were taking Rachel to the hospital for surgery, I remember waking up and begging them not to take her because, I said, I would never see her again.

Later that night, my parents told us that Rachel had died in their arms after surgery. I cried all night long. We were all devastated.

After her death, my parents, their friends and other organizations created a garden at St. Thomas Aquinas to remember the "little angels."

I'll always remember Rachel. Many like her, either "not normal" or unwanted because their parents were young, unmarried or poor, I'm sure, have not been given a chance at life. Whenever I visit the garden, I pray for them and always read the inscription on the plaque to inspire me.

It says of Rachel, in part, "...her courageous battle for life inspired community prayer and reaffirmed that every life, despite the hardships, is precious and should be protected."

Mary Elizabeth Sedeño is a junior at the Cambridge School of Dallas and a Student Voices volunteer columnist. To respond to this column, send an e-mail to voices@dallasnews.com.

Labels: dallas morning news

Karen was interviewed by the Texas Catholic before she left on her trip. Below is the text to the article and a PDF showing the article in its format in today's Texas Catholic.

DALLAS. When Karen Garnett received a White House invitation recently, she thought it was a gift from heaven. She would be among those who would greet Pope Benedict when he arrived in the United States for the first apostolic journey of his pontificate. The pope, who is celebrating Masses in Washington, D.C., andNew York, arrived April 15. His journey extends through April 20, with a speech before the United Nations and a visit to Ground Zero.

For Garnett, Executive Director of the Dallas Catholic Pro-Life Committee, attending the White House ceremony and other papal events, is a way of showing her solidarity with the pope as he fosters a pro-life environment.

“Anyone who has ever heard me speak knows that I often reference Pope John Paul II’s prophetic message to America when he was leaving here on Sept. 19, 1987,” Garnett said. “He said that the condition for our survival as a society depended on restoring legal protection to the unborn. Since Roe v. Wade, there have now been nearly 50 million babies aborted in our country alone. It is a tragedy of unprecedented proportions.

“Pope Benedict XVI echoed John Paul’s message when he said that ‘guaranteeing the right to life is a duty upon which the future of humanity depends.’

“Serious stuff!”

Along with husband Eddie, Garnett counts colleagues and friends who are with her on the pilgrimage: From the USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat, Tom Grenchik, RichardDoerflinger, Deirdre McQuade, and Mary Jaminet; Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life; John Jakubczyk, father of 11 children and former president of Arizona Right to Life; David Bereit, National Director of the 40 Days for Life Campaign; Janet Morana, co-founder of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign; U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, head of the Bipartisan Pro-Life Caucus in the House of Representatives, and Dallas Bishop Kevin J. Farrell. About 9,000 people attended the welcoming ceremony.

“Pope Benedict XVI, like his predecessor before him, has not been afraid to vigorously proclaim the gospel of life at almost every opportunity,” Garnett commented.“He especially has made clear that attacks on human life and ‘the dictatorship of relativism’ we find ourselves immersed in are in direct conflict with the message ofthe gospel. The central path out of the conflict is reflected in his first two encyclicals, ‘God is Love’ and ‘Saved by Hope.’

“Both encyclicals attempt to restore the correct relationship between God and man in the light of God’s revelation, Jesus Christ, who is the one that brings God (life) to us in his person. This is an important distinction in the work of the pro-life movement today, knowing that those who have abortions often do not feel the presence of God in their lives,” she said. Both encyclicals also reorient the work of the Church toward the spiritual, she believes. “The work of the many social agencies in the Church, including those in the prolife movement, must be preceded by a living witness to the person of Jesus Christ which allows the work of the apostolate to bear fruit,”
Garnett maintained.

Besides greeting the pope and attending the papal Mass, Garnett also attended the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast April 18.

“Pope Benedict has continued the work of the great mercy Pope, John Paul II, in reaching out to those who have suffered from abortion,” she said. “In a recent address to participants of an international conference, he challenged all those in the church to help those who have been affected by abortion by saying ‘The Catholic Church has an obligation to minister to women who have been victimized by abortion.’

“Benedict tells us that abortion leaves an ‘unhealed wound’ in the souls of the post-abortive, that millions of women are left ‘physically, emotionally and spiritually wounded’ after abortion, and that ‘Catholics must reach out to them.’ “We greatly appreciate the pope’s candor in discussing the sometimes difficult truth about what abortion is,” she said, “and what it does to the women involved. We hope many people will follow his example.”

A spiritual bouquet from the Dallas pro-life community was presented to the pope while he was in Washington.

“I am absolutely elated, humbled, honored — I can’t adequately put in words how very excited I am to be among those who will be the first group to welcome His Holiness to our country — and at the White House, where I have never been,” Garnett told Texas Catholic shortly before leaving for Washington. “It’s such an honor for me to have been invited by the President and Mrs. Bush to represent the entire Dallas pro-life community at this historic event — only the second pope to visit the White House (Pope John Paul II was the first), and the arrival ceremony is happening on his 81st birthday as well.

“What a blessing to be able to be with our Holy Father on his birthday! I am excited to receive his blessing, for the entire Dallas pro-life community, in person, and to include everyone’s intentions with my own at the Papal Mass.”

(Debra Hampton is managing editor for Texas Catholic.)

PDF of article

Labels: Pope Benedict XVI

Labels: Pope Benedict XVI

Karen sent a report last night that indicates the extent of her activities in Washington D.C. It's safe to say that this is an historic trip for her and for the pro-life community in Dallas, which she is representing.

Our flight was cancelled so we were re-booked on the 7:45 pm. We headed to David Bereit's house with him (God bless David for waiting the extra 2 hours for us!) and got to bed at 1:30 am, getting back up at 3:45. We left his house at 4:30 and got in line for our 8 am assigned entry time at the White House at 6:25. David was in the "South Viewing Section" and we were in the "Center Viewing Section" so we were not able to be together during the ceremony. Former Texas Congressman Tim von Dohlen and his wife Pat joined Eddie and me in our line and we were allowed entrance at exactly 8 am. We were thrilled to be among the first to get inside among the thousands who were in the "Center Viewing Section." As it turned out, we got right up at the front of the section, one row behind the black wrought-iron fencing.

When we got there, Matt Lauer was right in front of us finishing up his Today Show (see pic). We were literally "50-yard line" to the podium and platform, and Tim estimated about 50 yards from it. While we were waiting, more folding chairs were set up just on the other side of the fence after Matt Lauer packed up. This was for the Navy Band. Their uniforms were beautiful! And to be able to hear them, up close, was amazing.

We were able to clearly see the President and Mrs. Bush walk through the doors of the White House and await the Holy Father. We saw him get out of the limousine and walk up onto the platform with President Bush. Our section spontaneously sang "Happy Birthday" to the Holy Father when he first got up onto the platform; the entire crowd was invited to sing it to him when he and President and Mrs. Bush were up on the balcony at the end of the ceremony before entering the White House for the private meeting with President Bush.

President Bush's words of welcome were wonderful. The greatest applause came when he spoke about the "dictatorship of relativism" which the Holy Father says we must fight, and when he said there were some who did not believe that all life needed to be protected and revered. It was awesome.

The Holy Father's address was moving; it was my first time to really hear him give an address in English. He has a precious accent. One fun thing we heard - when the Holy Father was finished with his speech, we heard President Bush whisper to him (over the speaker), "We need to listen to one more song" (imagine hearing "song" in "true West Texan"). That song was "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and it was spectacular.

It was also a huge blessing once the ceremony concluded to get photos with friends with the White House backdrop. Included were David Bereit, of course, National Director of the 40 Days for Life Campaign; Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life (who just keynoted at our dinner last week); Sean Wolfington, executive producer of Bella, who spent Bella's opening weekend with us in Dallas last October; and we also had the opportunity to get a photo with Dr. Scott Hahn and his wife Kimberly.

Though I couldn't see Bishop Farrell in the bishops' section, we got a shot of Bishop Vann, who was standing at the front of the line. After we left the White House, we saw the buses carrying all the cardinals and bishops and it was fun to see them waving to all the people. God bless our cardinals and bishops!

This evening Eddie, David and I were guests of Fr. Frank's at a 6 pm Mass he celebrated for Legatus, and his homily was fabulous (to be expected).

We're super tired, but grace abounds! We're looking forward to getting a good night's rest tonight as we need to be inside Nationals Stadium no later than 8:30 am. Our understanding is that there are 46,000 ticket holders for inside the stadium.

While today's White House ceremony was tremendous and a highlight of our lives, I am greatly anticipating the even greater blessing of Mass with the Holy Father tomorrow morning, and receiving the papal blessing not only for myself but for all of you whom I am representing. Thanks to all who sent in your intentions for the Mass. I have them in a special envelope that I am taking in with me.

A final note for today - I received an invitation to attend Friday morning's National Catholic Prayer Breakfast and will be sitting with Human Life International. President Bush is confirmed to be coming to speak at the breakfast. As I said on my interview with David today, God bless President Bush. I am so grateful that we have had this pro-life president in the White House these last 8 years. Finally we have seen some legislative progress at the federal and Supreme Court levels for the protection of life. So much hangs in the balance now. Let us pray for our President and for these crucial elections this year.

Love to all and God bless all!

In Christ, For Life,
Karen in DC
8:20 pm Eastern time

Labels: Pope Benedict XVI

4:17 pm - Karen did a short interview with David Bereit on the White House grounds.

4:14 pm - Karen has left the White House and checked into her hotel. She talked to me earlier as she was eating lunch in a cafe somewhere and mentioned that many of the pro-life leaders were gathering later on to talk pro-life.

It seems that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for pro-lifers and Catholics to gather in DC to plan the future of the pro-life movement.

Pictures are coming, Karen tells me.

9:22 am - David Bereit is live-cell-phoning the event and mentions that Karen is near Matt Lauer finishing up his taping of the "Today" show on the South Lawn. Listen to David's updates below:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=101

7:55 am - Talked to Karen. She is on the lawn at the White House with her husband.

Their plane out of Dallas last night was cancelled and they had to be rebooked on a later flight. Thank goodness American put their MD-80's back in service.

They got into DC around midnight, went to bed after 1:00 am, got up at 3:45, left David's at 4:30 to be in line at 6:30 to go in at their assigned 8:00 am entry time for the White House ceremony.

They just got in and are dead center on the lawn, looking directly at the platform and podium where the President and the Pope will speak.

http://www.foxnews.com/ is providing a live stream image of the lawn and you can see the podium. Karen is standing directly behind the image that Fox is providing.

Karen said they just saw Matt Lauer from NBC wrap up his morning show.

Labels: Pope Benedict XVI

Just received an e-mail update from David Bereit of the 40 Days for Life.

He also has been invited to be in attendance when the Pope arrives at the White House and has promised us that he will be live-cell-phoning the event.

What is live-cell-phoning? Well, he will be recording audio files on his phone while at the White House and downloading it onto his blog somehow.

I'll be listening tomorrow morning to see how it all goes. Check it out here:

Labels: 40 Days for Life, Pope Benedict XVI

Catholics in America for the next few days will turn our eyes towards Washington D.C. and New York City, the sites of the planned pilgrimage of Pope Benedict XVI.

It just so happens that the Catholic Pro-Life Committee's Executive Director, Karen Garnett, has been invited to be in attendance at the White House tomorrow for the arrival ceremony. She will be among about 13,000 others for this historic event.

She was also given two tickets to the Papal Mass to be held at Nationals Stadium on Wednesday, April 17th at 10:00 am.


Karen has promised to send over some posts for the blog to tell about what she is doing and who she is meeting while in D.C.

Here are some good blogs to watch during the Pope's visit:

http://www.pope2008.com/ - Tim Drake from the National Catholic Register

http://www.benedictinamerica.blogspot.com/ - Coverage from the Pope Benedict XVI fan club.

http://www.americanpapist.com/blog.html - lay Catholic Thomas Peters in Washington D.C.

I just watched the arrival ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base and it seemed to go pretty well. President Bush came out to meet the Pope and they walked into a building to talk. Somewhat uneventful but I am sure there will be sparks flying soon enough.

http://www.ewtn.com/ will be providing full coverage of the entire visit, plus commentary from Catholic leaders in America.

Labels: Pope Benedict XVI

Article #2: DO YOU KNOW THAT CHIEF JUSTICE REHNQUIST, IN 1992, HAD A FIVE VOTE MAJORITY TO OVERTURN THE 1973 ROE v WADE ABORTION DECISION?

As most of us in the active pro-life cause know, Father Frank Pavone of Priests For Life, has given us the Ten Reasons Why We're Winning the Fight to End Abortion!

1. The Survivors...more and more young people are pro-life!
2. Conversions...from pro-abortion to pro-life!
3. Remorse... all those speaking out against abortion from personal experience!
4. Fewer doctors and abortion clinics!
5. Litigation... information on the unborn entered into court records!
6. Science... evidence mounts that abortion harms women (It also now proves life begins
at conception)!
7. Abortion supporters have run out of arguments... they've all been discredited!
8. Voters... our pro-life cause has more of them!
9. Legislation... more pro-life laws being passed!
10.Corruption... abortion is destroying itself!

We've already won because Jesus WON the victory over death!
(See Father Pavone's website: http://www.preistsforlife.org/ )

Even Gloria Feldt, when she was president of Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in the U.S., admitted that abortion kills babies after science had finally confirmed that fact with DNA and new technology sonography. When some of their employees started questioning her about this, she simply told them we know abortion kills babies, so just get over it, cope with it, and get on with your job. Cecille Richards, who is now Planned Parenthood's president, is well past accepting the eventual reversal of Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton and is already in the midst of planning how to protect and grow their abortion busi-ness when regulation of it is turned over to the states.

But, in addition to our daily prayers, to make abortion illegal we need a favorable Supreme Court decision, and as early as 16 years ago, do you know we almost got it?

The 1973 Roe vs Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion was a 7 to 2 majori-ty. Reversal of Roe, however, only needs five favarable votes to get a majority because, of course, the court has only nine justices. The last Supreme Court vote on whether to reverse Roe v Wade was in the Casey decision in 1992 and it failed by a 5 to 4 majority.

But, Do You Know that in March 2004, when deceased Justice Harry Blackmun's personal notes were released, we found out that Chief Justice Henry Rehnquist, on the night in 1992 before the decision on Casey was to be made, had garnered a five justice majority to over-rule Roe v Wade? However, before the vote the next day, Justice Kennedy was influenced and persuaded by O'Connor and Souter to switch his "Yes" vote to "No." We came close, but no cigar.

Now that O'Connor and Rehnquist are gone and Roberts and Alito, both strict construction-ists, are on the court, we still need Kennedy in order to make a 5 to 4 majority for reversal. Sounds "ify," doesn't it? Well, we have the power to improve the swing of that pendulum.

Ladies and gentlemen, Christians of all denominations have an opportunity this fall to make their vote for a pro-life president mean more and carry more weight than anything they have ever done or will do in a lifetime. The lives of at least another 35 million unborn babies over the next thirty years (if the Lord lets us survive that long) swing in the balance in this year's election because newly appointed justices have no term limits and have no reason to retire (except poor health and old age), having reached the zenith of their careers.

Do You Know that it is almost certain that at least two of the elderly liberal justices, Gins-berg and Stevens, will have to retire in the next presidential term even if they don't want to because of age and health reasons? In addition, it is thought that they want to anyway regardless of who is elected president. Stevens is closing in on 90 years of age and Gins-burg, 73, is dealing with health issues.

Think about it! A pro-choice (pro-abortion) president next year will surely mean the appoint-ment of two more liberal justices to the Supreme Court, nullify all the good work President Bush has done with the hundreds of conservative appointments to all the courts over eight years including the Supreme Court, and condemn two generations of unborn babies to a fate of gruesome abortions. This, in itself, is enough to disregard all other issues in the election campaign. And, of course, we haven't yet mentioned the immorality of such slaughter and the retribution we can expect from our creator because of it.

If you are a black voter, Do You Know that 35% of all abortions are performed on black women or girls, and that since 1973, when the Roe v Wade decision made abortion legal, the black population in the U.S. has dropped from about 20% to only 11%. In other words, this murderous procedure, unequivocally condemned by God for any and all reasons, is literally destroying the black population in this country, which we know was the reason Margaret Sanger founded Planned Parenthood in the first place in 1946: eugenic cleansing of the country's population. She's had her way ever since. Read "Blessed Are The Barren, The Social Policy Of Planned Parenthood" and her autobiography if you doubt what I'm saying.

And, if it wasn't for abortion, this country as a whole would be well above the break even birth rate of 2.1 births from women of child bearing age, which is where it stands now.

Very few voters are aware of these high stakes in this year's election or that 48,000,000+ kids have been aborted. Don't believe me? Ask a few of them and note the "open mouth" reactions. Most don't even know the stark differences between the two party platforms and their presidential candidates on any of the pro-life issues: abortion, euthanasia, embry-onic stem cell research, human cloning, and homesexual "marriage." Catholic Answers, Karl Leating's Internet Letters service, calls these the Five Non-Negotiable Issues for Catholic voters.

Would you believe, hidden from sight and mostly absent from the debate as they are by the media and the candidates, these respect life evils taken together are the #1 issue in this year's election? We'll tell you why and answer the following questions and more in coming Articles:

1) Why are the five pro-life non-negotiable evils considered non-negotiables?
2) Why are they, particularly abortion, the #1 issue in this year's election?
3) What is the Catholic Church's teaching on these evils as it pertains to a Catholic's moral obligation while voting in this year's election?
4) How can the national Catholic vote this year save 35 million babies in the womb and may be the only hope for them?
5) What are the critical seven pieces of knowledge we need to know to meet our moral obligation on November 4th and avoid committing grave sin, five of which are taught by the Church and communicated to us by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops?
6) What can we all do between now and election day to magnify a favorable pro-life out- come, save millions of babies, and truly gain God's blessing on our nation.

And much more! Please phone or email comments or questions to 972-401-0471 or chuck.suter@sbcglobal.net .

Until then, our primary action is more prayer and our secondary action is to talk about pro-life.

Chuck Suter,
St. Monica's Pro-Life Parish Coordinator

Labels: Do You Know?

This post is an article written by Bryan Kemper of Stand True.

Tough Questions Series - I Went To Pray at an Abortion Clinic and People Were Screaming and Yelling. How Should We Reach Out To Women Considering Abortion?

I am often asked what people should say to a woman who is considering abortion. I wish there was a magic answer that I could give that would help change the mind of every woman thinking about aborting their baby, but there is not.

When answering this question you also have to address what not to say. I have stood outside abortion mills for over 13 years praying, protesting, and have even been arrested many times for praying in front of the doors.

I have watched thousands of women walk into abortion mills and have seen many different approaches by pro-lifers trying to save the babies.

The first mistake I see is anger. Pro-lifers can become so angry about abortion that they sometimes take it out on the women and just scare them right into the abortion mill. I have heard people call women murderers, whores, Jezebels, devil worshipers, and so much more. I have seen anti-abortion protesters so angry that they actually spit while they scream at people. I have never once seen this kind of behavior convince a women to stop and talk and change her mind.

I will admit that in the early years I used to scream and wave signs in people's faces. I let the frustration get to me as I watched these many young girls being taken into the abortion mill by their parents or boyfriends. I would see the boyfriends leave and go to get food, sit in the parking lot and eat and smoke while their child was being killed inside that building. I let the frustration get to me and began to rely on myself for results instead of relying on God.

I want to make it clear that not all people that go to abortion mills to minister and pray act like this. We at Stand True highly encourage people to go to the abortion mills for prayer and witnessing. There are highly effective ways of reaching women and helping them to make the right decision.

When a woman is going to an abortion mill she is usually scared and frustrated. She believes there is no other option for her other than abortion and there is no one to help her. These girls do not need someone yelling at them and telling them how evil they are, they need someone to love them and let them know how precious they are in God's eyes. They need someone to address their needs, not just the baby's needs. They need someone to approach them in the same way Christ would approach someone who was hurting and scared and about to make a huge mistake.

The first thing we tell people if they are going to try to talk to girls entering abortion mills is to not be holding a sign or wearing pro-life messages on their shirts. You should be dressed very friendly so you won't immediately scare the women away. We believe the first words to a woman entering the mill should be geared towards her and how she is doing, not just about the baby. Let her know you care about her.

The most powerful thing you can do when going to the abortion mill is pray. There is nothing more effective than prayer. When we go to our local abortion mill we spend the first hour as a group reading the Bible out loud, not shouting, but just reading out loud the Word of God. We then walk around the building praying for the women, the doctor, the nurses, the escorts, and everyone involved. We also look for opportunities to witness and share, not only with the women going in, but with the escorts and whoever is around. Not calling them names or condemning them to hell, but sharing Christ's love with them.

These ideas and principles are not just for the abortion mill, but for our everyday life when we run into situations like this. I recently read an article about a young girl at a Catholic school who got pregnant and was told she could not walk the stage at her graduation, while the young man was allowed to. Not only was this total hypocrisy, but it was a dangerous way to treat this young girl. It is exactly that kind of reaction and treatment of girls that drive them to abortion.

Our words, especially our first words to a girl who gets pregnant can determine the path she takes and be the difference between life and death.

As a father of three daughters I do wonder how I would react if one of my daughters came home one day and told me she was pregnant. What would I say? Would I blow up and lose my temper? Or would I love her no matter what mistake she made?

When we go to God in prayer and confess our sins, do you think He screams and yells and has a huge fit? I don't think so. Do you think he yells at us and tells us how horrible we are, and how much of a disgrace we are to the family? I don't think so. When we go to Him, He is faithful to love and forgive us. I pray that I never have to go through this with my daughters, but if I do, I pray that my first words to her are those of love.

Yes, we do believe that abortion is the act of killing a human person and can never be permitted. Yes, we believe that abortion is a sin and is detestable in God's eyes. Yes, we believe that we need to stand up against this evil and be there to try to help people from making such a tragic and horrific mistake. But more importantly than all of that, we believe those people need Christ and we need to love them as Christ would.

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

For Christ I Stand

Bryan Kemper - bryankemper@standtrue.com

Labels: Sidewalk Counseling