CPLC Prayer Director makes final promises as a Missionary of the Gospel of Life

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"Hundreds of thousands of Catholics, hundreds of priests, and dozens of bishops have called upon Notre Dame to end this scandal by withdrawing its invitation to President Obama. The result of that demand is not in our control. But one final response to this scandal is fully in the control of each graduating senior: don’t show up."

" . . . the fact that many don't have a problem with Barack Obama sitting in a place of honor at a Catholic Commencement is simply a corollary of the underlying problem that so many don't have a problem with Barack Obama sitting in the White House."

Read the whole thing here.

Labels: Fr. Pavone

From Fr. Frank Pavone:

Friends,

As of this morning, over 105,000 people have watched the You Tube video that I posted last month describing the D and E dismemberment abortion procedure.

Last night, I posted a new video talking about the prostaglandin method of abortion, which induces delivery. See it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDj12ffvpgY

After I briefly describe it (including the technique of killing the baby before induction via a needle to the heart), I have one of our medical advisors, Dr. Byron Calhoun, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, examine two babies who died by this procedure.

The bodies of the babies are intact, and were entrusted to us for burial. They show the bruise marks from the violent contractions. And the video ends in a powerful way as I bless the bodies and close the lid of the casket.

Take a look, spread the video around, and let me know what you think.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDj12ffvpgY

Blessings!
Fr. Frank Pavone

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RU-486 Reversal
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

An ancient saying tells us, “Where there’s life, there’s hope.” The truth of that statement was demonstrated powerfully by an experience that two of our medical advisors at Priests for Life recently related to us.

Dr. Matthew Harrison had a visit from a 20-year old woman named Ashley. She was seven weeks pregnant, but she feared for the life of her baby – not because there was anything wrong with the pregnancy, but because, two days earlier, she had taken RU-486 at an abortion mill. Now, she had changed her mind about having the abortion and wanted to see if the baby could be saved!

The RU-486 process requires taking the drug itself (called mifiprex) at the abortion mill, and then taking a second drug (called cytotec or misoprostol) three days later on one’s own. Ashley had taken the mifiprex, but had not yet taken the cytotec. Now in a small percentage of cases, the RU-486 will not kill the baby by itself. It’s normal function, however, is to starve the unborn child by interfering with the working of progesterone. The RU-486 goes to the cells that receive the progesterone and block them, so that the real progesterone cannot do its work. This would be analogous to putting a counterfeit key into a keyhole so that it fits but cannot turn the lock to open the door. Meanwhile, the real key cannot go in. The cytotec, then, will induce contractions so that a dead baby is delivered.

Dr. Harrison had not faced such a situation before. Ashley told him that her boyfriend had pushed for the abortion. But after she took the RU-486, Ashley thought to herself, “O My God, what have I done?” She told her mother what had happened, and her mom called a local pregnancy center. The center then referred her to Dr. Harrison.

The doctor excused himself, went into another room, and prayed. He consulted a number of medical resources, and decided to give Ashley a progesterone treatment. With an extra dose of progesterone, he thought, maybe the effects of the counterfeit progesterone could be overcome. It was worth a try. This was not, however, without its risks, about which he clearly informed Ashley. He told her, first of all, that this effort might not work, and her baby might die anyway. He also told her that this effort might prolong the death process, or might bring additional complications to her or her child, or might even kill her. Ashley was courageous, and signed the consent form saying, “Whatever happens is in God’s hands – I just pray that my baby will be OK.”

She took the shot, and she began bleeding that weekend. But then the bleeding stopped, and with continued progesterone treatment by Dr. Harrison, the pregnancy continued normally. Dr. Daniel L. Holland, who is Dr. Harrison’s partner, delivered a healthy baby girl named Kaylie – a survivor of an attempted RU-486 abortion!

It’s easy to think it’s “too late!” But where there’s life, there’s hope!

The original column can be found at www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2007/07-07-16-ru486-reversal.htm

Labels: Fr. Pavone

Fr. Frank Pavone, the Director of Priests For Life and the Moderator General of the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life (MEV) writes a bi-weekly column dealing with pro-life issues.

Yesterday's column, which we reprint below in full, has to do with the differences between "absolutists" and "prudentialists" in reference to which kinds of legislation can be morally supported.

Fr. Pavone lays out the standard that all Christians should follow within the very human limitations that our political system entails.

You can subscribe to his columns by sending your e-mail address to subscribe@priestsforlife.org

Absolutely No Exceptions
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life

One of my favorite pro-life shirts is the one that says, "100% Pro-life, Without Exception, Without Compromise, Without Apology.

"That's exactly the stand each of us is called to take; in fact, it is the only pro-life stance. Abortion is an intrinsic evil. It is evil by its very nature, and that evil is not altered by circumstances. To put it another way, if one lived for a million years -- or forever -- and did nothing but try to imagine circumstances that could justify a single abortion, one could never imagine one. It simply does not exist.

Every abortion, no matter what the circumstances, contradicts the law of God.

The circumstances in which a child is conceived -- whether in love or by rape -- can never make an abortion morally permissible. The circumstances in which the pregnancy advances -- whether with sickness or health -- can never justify the direct killing of a child. Every child, starting at the single cell stage, is a human person. The children conceived in rape and incest must have equal protection. The children of mothers with medically complicated pregnancies must have equal protection. Our duty to these children is absolute, and admits of no exceptions. To say that an abortion might sometimes be permissible is like saying an act of terrorism, of child abuse, of rape, or of Satanism is sometimes permissible.

There is no Court, King, Governor, President, Parliament, or Prince anywhere on earth or any time in history who can issue any decision, decree or declaration that would justify even a single abortion. When human lawmakers attempt to do so, the "law" that results is not simply a bad law; it is, in fact, no law at all, and carries neither authentic juridical validity nor any obligation to obey it.

But why, then, don't we stop all abortions today? What are we waiting for? Obviously there are limits to what we can do. Every abortion is wrong. But as I dissuade one woman from doing it, many other women don't hear me. As I speak to one group, there are countless groups not hearing me. And even if I blockade the door to an abortion clinic, what about all the other clinics that are operating at the same time? Lawmakers are not the only ones who face limits in how many babies they can protect today. We all do.

Yet while we acknowledge practical limitations, we can never limit the principle nor lose sight of the goal. No abortion is permissible, and every child must be protected.

Nor is it permissible for each state to decide on its own whether or not to protect the lives of the unborn. That makes no more sense than letting each state decide on whether to protect the lives of the born!

Life can be confusing, and the temptation to compromise with evil can be great. But the teaching about abortion is as clear and direct as it can be, and is best summed up with one word: never.

This column can be found online at www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2007/07-07-02absolutelynoexceptions.htm

Fr. Frank's columns can be heard via podcast. See www.priestsforlife.org/podcast for more details.

Fr. Frank's columns can be listened to in MP3 format at www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2007/index.htm

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This morning, Fr. Frank Pavone was on the radio (listen in the Dallas/Fort Worth area on 910 AM KATH to 24/7 Catholic radio) and was asked about the Pope's recent statement agreeing with the Mexican Bishops that Mexican politicians risk excommunication in their support of abortion and Fr. Frank said:

"We don't need in office people who can't see the difference between serving the public and killing the public."

Yes, certainly so. When people who claim to represent the public actually allow the death of that same public, it is reasonable to assume that they do not understand the role of a public servant and have in fact manipulated that role for their own gain.

Many politicians who claim to be Catholic and yet support abortion and receive communion publicly are upset that the Church would speak out against them, claiming that the Church is using the Eucharistic as a weapon to become involved in a political campaign.

But, the Church is rightly defending itself when she speaks against these things and in effect is saying, "Wait a minute, why is it that you are using the Eucharist to promote your own political agenda? That's not what it is for."

This will be important to understand as we head into the 2008 elections. The principles involved do not change from one election to another or from one candidate to another.

View a detailed look at the churches teaching on these issues here.

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It's safe to say that people may one day brag about marching with Fr. Pavone in the various Marches for Life held around the country the way you hear people bragging about how they marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the heyday of the Civil Rights movement.

So, here goes:

Labels: Fr. Pavone, Youth For Life