Every Person Has Human Dignity

In April, On Human Dignity [or Infinite Dignity] was issued by the Vatican on the 75th anniversary of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights that reaffirmed the inherent dignity of every man and woman in the world. It stated that all human beings “must be recognized and treated with respect and love due to their inalienable dignity.” The Vatican document states that “even human reason can arrive at this conviction,” and that this “applies to an unborn child, an unconscious person, or an older person in distress.” Dignity is intrinsic to the person and cannot be lost. “All human beings possess this same intrinsic dignity, regardless of whether or not they can express it in a suitable manner.” The document goes on to explain that the concept of human dignity can be misused to justify many a subjective new “right,” often at odds with the original conception of dignity. At the same time, human progress is shown by the increasing desire to eradicate racism, slavery, and the marginalization of women, the sick, children, & the disabled. Christianity bolsters such strivings even in an increasingly secularized world. Cited in the document is the teaching of the Second Vatican Council: “all offenses against life itself, such as murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, and willful suicide” are contrary to human dignity, including “subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children and degrading working conditions” as well as the practice of torture. The second half of the document addresses poverty, war, migration, human trafficking, sexual abuse, violence against women, abortion, surrogacy, euthanasia and assisted suicide, marginalizing persons with disabilities, gender theory, sex change, and digital violence.

“In the case of abortion, there is widespread use of ambiguous terminology, such as ‘interruption of pregnancy,’ which tends to hide abortion’s true nature …. Procured abortion is the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial phase of his or her existence, extending from conception to birth.” The document further states: “Unborn children are, thus, the most defenseless and innocent among us. Nowadays, efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this. … Defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development.”  [The full document is available for free online.] 

Attacks on Christian Church

Between January 2018 and November 2023, at least 915 acts of hostility occurred including vandalism, arson, gun incidents, bomb threats, and more. In 2023 alone, 436 incidents, more than twice those in 2022, were identified. Hostility against U.S. churches is accelerating. In Annapolis, e.g., Fowler United Methodist Church experienced shredded Bibles, slashed upholstery and a torn-down cross. Arielle Del Turco, director of the Center for Religious Liberty, said: “We see the main stream media constantly maligning religion and Christianity in particular. It is blamed in academia as a source of oppression … when you have all these social forces built up, it is going to spill over into real-world effects.” Tony Perkins in The Washington Stand wrote: “The growing anti-faith rhetoric of the Left … has made it open season on houses of worship.” The goal seems to be to interrupt church services and bully Christians into silence. “While we need to be taking practical steps to ensure our churches are safe, we also need to be bold, defend the faith, and live out our Christian faith for the glory of God (Matth. 5:14-16).” [Family Research Council, Washington Impact Report, April 2024] 

 Ed.’s note: The National Shrine of St. John Neumann (Phil.) was the 401^st Catholic Church in the U.S. vandalized since 2020. [Our Sunday Visitor, 3/10/24]

Pray for Joan Bell Along with 10 others, Joan was convicted under the federal FACE Act for entering and praying in an abortion clinic. She has been held in prison for months & expects sentencing on May 15^th. The judge could give her 11 years in prison, which would be outrageous. Please keep Joan in your prayers.

“The Baxters” on Amazon Prime

The ups and downs of relationships and marriages form the basis of this new video series that aired on March 28th. The couples in the program aren’t perfect – they’re regular people with regular issues and struggles such as infidelity. Actress and producer Roma Downey said that at the heart of the show is a reminder that “we belong to each other.” The series is based on Karen Kingsbury’s #1 NYT Best selling Series. [excerpted from Our Sunday Visitor, 4/21/24]

Abortion because “I don’t have a choice”

Significant others, trusted friends and parents often place heavy pressure on women to throw away God’s greatest gift: 

• “You can’t even pay your bills. You can’t take care of yourself, let alone a baby.” 
• “You’re too young. It will ruin your life if you keep the baby.” 
• “You promised ME we wouldn’t have children.”
• “You have nowhere to live.” 
• “You need to finish college first.” 
• “You can’t bring a child into that kind of situation.”

 Surveys indicate that, among women who’ve had abortions, 58% said they did so to “make someone else happy,” nearly 70% said they felt “pressure from others to abort,” and 66% said “they knew in their hearts they were making a mistake.” [Sidewalk Advocates for Life, https://sidewalkadvocates.org/] Pregnancy help centers now number over 3,000 in the U.S. and strive to assist women in unplanned pregnancies, to give them a choice they feel they don’t have.  

Adrianna Rowatti of Life Advocates of NJ Inc. states that dire financial straits and the fact that the fathers walk away are major abortion drivers. She believes that beyond the wonderful work of pregnancy support services, women need material and financial aid such as rent or security deposit, cell phone, furniture, grocery gift cards, car repairs, and more. 

Her group trains sidewalk counselors to rescue women from choosing abortion. They then aid pregnant moms financially and seek added support from groups such as Let Them Live (www.letthemlive.org). In  addition, Life Advocates issues  a 16-page guide (in English and  Spanish) that provides detailed  information on sources of free  baby essentials, transitional  housing, emergency shelters,  maternal & child health programs, and more for their NJ  area. Rowatti says the greatest need at present is to bring on more volunteers. If interested, contact her at: lifeadvocatesnj@protonmail.com

Help for Infertility

The St. Gianna’ Center (FL) provides help for women’s health and fertility care. Couples who need assistance should check the helpful resources that the Center provides that include FertilityCare.org, DrHilgers.com, CreightonModel.com, International Institute of Restorative Reproductive Medicine, and NaProTECHNOLOGY.com [www.stgiannacenter.com]

Standing for Life at the United Nations

The Center for Family & Human Rights (C-Fam) reports that the UN has a campaign to crack down on what they call “anti-rights” groups that includes pro family & pro-life groups around the world.   C-Fam has fought policies at the UN on several fronts: it blocked a global right to abortion and an international right to same-sex marriage, and created a global network of like-minded government and activist institutions. It is now establishing The Center for Religious and Political Speech to continue its fight against what it calls “the international thought police.” [www.c-fam.org]

Smithsonian Pays Students $50,000

Shortly after the 2023 March for Life in the nation’s capital a group of Catholics from Our Lady of the Rosary school (Greenville, SC) were kicked out of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum for wearing hats that said “Rosary PRO-LIFE.” After a year in mediation, the museum agreed to pay students $50,000, give them a private tour hosted by museum director Christopher Browne, make personal apologies, and disseminate a report on the incident as well as policies clarifying the permissibility of religious and political speech on apparel. The settlement is one of the largest ever against the federal government over the First Amendment, according to the American Center for Law and Justice.  “We are grateful for this group who were willing to take a stand to defend their rights,” said ACLJ exec. director Jordan Sekulow. “From the beginning, they wanted to know who gave the order to require them to cover up their pro-life apparel or leave the building, & to expose the truth to ensure that this never happens again.”  ACLJ also represented another group of 2023 March for Life participants who experienced a similar incident at the National Archives museum where they were instructed by security officers to take off or conceal the pro-life messages on their apparel if they wanted to remain in the museum. NARA settled and agreed to pay $10,000 to the plaintiffs and take steps to prevent future visitors from experiencing the same treatment. [Calvin Freiburger, www.lifesitenews.com, 4/2/24]

“Euthanasia” is Medical Homicide 

Gordon Friesen (Pres., Euthanasia Prevention Coalition) wrote about the spread of euthanasia in British Commonwealth nations, with Ireland now considering it. In all probability the Irish will soon authorize euthanasia for people “diagnosed with a disease, illness or medical condition … causing suffering to the person that cannot be relieved in a manner that the person finds tolerable.” His warning to Ireland: “If euthanasia is legalized as a cure for suffering, then suffering people will be ‘cured’ with euthanasia! Suffering people will be killed.” His blog post contains many insights into the spread of the culture of death. [4/8/24, https://alexschadenberg.blogspot.com/]

This monthly newsletter is used by dozens of churches as a bulletin insert and as a handout. Since 2013 it has had over 30,000 readers and is now posted on three diocesan websites. To receive each month’s free issue in your inbox, email Frank Tinari, Ph.D. at tinarifr@shu.edu

New Year Editorial

Every day we hear about tragedies all around us: gun violence, abortion, the trafficking and abuse of children, poverty, homelessness, and more. At the heart of all these sins is people’s treatment of other humans as things, as not having any worth, as a means to one’s desires. The tragedy of suicide, too, is based on a lack of care and devaluation of oneself.

If you are not a believer but a humanist, you may nevertheless want to see the end of such disrespect for human life simply because we are all part of the same human race. For Christians, life has value because we know we are made in the image of God, with inherent dignity and uncountable worth. Thus, we weep, we pray, and we do whatever we can.

Have you not yet become active in or supported the pro-life movement? This new year is a time to start. Much of the pro-life effort has focused on abortion because more than 65 million pre-born children have been aborted in the USA alone. For 2024, it is estimated that the lives of about 900,000 developing babies will be terminated. Thankfully, there are many ways to help. Ask at your church, find out about your state’s right to life group, or inquire into your diocesan programs. Your efforts will be for a good cause and the Lord will amply reward you.

Abortionist Brags She Kills Babies Up to 34-Weeks-Old

Morgan Nuzzo is the co-owner of a Maryland abortion business. But the abortion center she owns doesn’t just kill babies early in pregnancy. In an new interview, Nuzzo brags that her abortion biz kills babies up to 34 weeks. That’s nearly full-term. Not only are these abortions killing babies who elsewhere are born healthy every day in hospitals across the country, they are past viability. The record for the earliest viability where a baby has survived is 21 weeks. And 22, 23, and 24 week-old babies are not only surviving but surviving more frequently and at higher rates than ever before as medical technology continues to improve.

“We aren’t booking out now for a[[ointments — we have availability next week. Whereas before, the wait time was two to three weeks on average, sometimes as much as five. We were getting a little worried about where the patients are,” Nuzzo added. Worried? Hopefully women later in pregnancy are getting the legitimate medical care they and their babies need. [excerpts from Steve Ertelt, LifeNews.com, 12/27/23]

17 States To Hold March for Life Events

In addition to the National March for Life on January 19th in Washington DC, many states will be hosting their own statewide rallies and marches. One of the newest to sign on is New Jersey, scheduled to hold its first Rally for Life on September 26, 2024. Other hugely attended state marches include California and Pennsylvania.

In Washington DC, the national Rally for Life begins at 12 noon, with the March up Constitution Avenue at about 1:15 pm. The Rally, which is usually attended by over 200,000 people, will host a number of nationally known speakers. Jeanne Mancini, head of March for Life, said: “It’s the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world. But this is not just a protest. TOGETHER, WE GATHER TO CELEBRATE LIFE. We celebrate each and every life, from the moment of conception. We envision a world where every life is celebrated, valued, and protected.” For additional information, visit https://marchforlife.org/

The Fight for Life is Raging Nationwide

The American public is being bombard by false info, much of it from within the medical community.

• Miscarriage care is not abortion. But radical abortion laws are being proposed and passed because medical groups claim they can’t care for women experiencing a miscarriage, if abortion is made illegal.
• Abortion Pill Reversal is established, safe, and effective. But Colorado is outlawing its use, based on the lie that it’s dangerous to women and not researched.
• Induced abortion is not safe. It does not improve lives. And it never saves them. But The American College of OB/GYNs (ACOG) and The Society of Family Planning recently said just the opposite in a chilling Washington Post letter to the editor.

Opposing these erroneous statements is the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. More info may be found at www.aaplog.org.

Are Phones Making Students Dumber?

Regarding students’ mental health, research has shown that various measures of student well-being began a sharp decline around 2012 throughout the West, just as smart phones and social media emerged as the attentional centerpiece of teenage life. But what about school learning? The Program for International Student Assessment, conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in almost 80 countries every three years, tests 15-year-olds in math, reading and science. Test scores have been falling for years. Across the OECD, science scores peaked in 2009, and reading scores peaked in 2012. Since then, developed countries have as a whole performed “increasingly poorly” on average. Even in famously
high-performing countries, such as Finland, Sweden, and South Korea, PISA grades in one or several subjects have been declining for a while.

Research found that students who spend less than one hour of “leisure” time on digital devices a day at school scored about 50 points higher in math than students whose eyes are glued to their screens more than five hours a day. This gap held even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors. Nearly half of students across the OECD said that they felt “nervous” or “anxious” when they didn’t have their digital devices near them. (On average, these students also said they were less satisfied with life.) This phone anxiety was negatively correlated with math scores.

Studies have shown that students on their phone take fewer notes and retain less information from class, “task-switching” between social media & homework is correlated with lower GPAs, and students who text a lot in class do worse on tests. Students whose cellphones are taken away in experimental settings perform better.

In sum, students who spend more time staring at their phone do worse in school and feel worse about their life. For the past decade, the internet-connected world has been running a global experiment on the minds of young people. Results from a decade of observational research have now repeatedly shown a negative relationship between device use and life satisfaction, happiness, school attention, information retention, in-class note-taking, task-switching, and student achievement. These cognitive and emotional costs are highest for those with the most “device dependence.” Banning phones in school would be a bold and novel experiment. The present fallacy is believing that doing nothing is harmless. Time for a new intervention.
[excerpts from Derek Thompson, The Atlantic, 12/19/23]

Porn: A Viral Addiction

For a powerful ½ hour documentary about the dopamine effects on the brains and on the social lives of teens and young adults who get snared into the world of porn watching, see the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwdb9NsaA1Q. Though there is vulgar language in some segments, the overall message is one of information and insight.

For help in getting out from under the spell of pornography, to get your life back, get started with
https://integrityrestored.com/ as well as https://support.covenanteyes.com/ and https://exodus90.com/

At the Heart of the Pro-Choice Worldview

An unavoidable fact is that each adult was at one time an embryo in his or her mother’s womb. Politicians who support abortion in the Western world, and the millions of voters who place them in office [including Christians and Catholics], are seeking to deny a particular form of knowledge, namely, their own participation in evil. With all our busyness, evil may not be in our field of vision, but it is always hiding in the back of our minds. [excerpt from Ellen Wilson Fielding, Descending from Paganism, Human Life Review, Fall 2023.]

Should Human Embryos Be Destroyed?

Eugene Tarne, a senior analyst with the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute recently published an article entitled “Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research 25 Years On.” In it he reviews the controversy that grabbed headlines beginning back in 1998: Should human embryos be destroyed so that their stem cells can be harvested and used to work medical miracles?

Laws were passed that said yes. But no cures were ever generated, and none is on the horizon. Tarne lists political leaders as well as prominent scientists who delivered similar prophecies, and who have turned out to be the unreliable Prophets of Baal. Meanwhile, research in regenerative medicine was continuing using adult stem cells. The discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells, another ethical alternative to embryonic stem cells, led to funding most research and treatments that now do not
involve the destruction of human embryos. [Life Legal Defense Foundtn, 12/5/23, https://lifelegaldefensefoundation.org]

Mark Houck, the Pennsylvania father and pro-life activist who was acquitted of violating the FACE Act in January 2023, didn’t stop there. In October, he announced that he is suing the Department of Justice for its aggressive and traumatic persecution of him and his family. “I think if the DOJ gets hit hard enough and there’s a big enough black eye against them, then they’re going to cease and desist from coming after pro-life people and people of faith.”

GoodTube Kids

GoodTube Kids is a new platform hosting wholesome entertainment and educational content anchored in the truths of the Christian faith. It features shows for small children, tweens, and teens, as well as videos on arts & crafts, music, cooking, outdoor adventures, etc. GoodTube Kids is available online and is downloadable from the Apple and Google Play app stores.

The Secret to Happiness

According to the 2022 General Social Survey, viewed as the nation’s top social barometer, 35% of married men and 40% of married women aged 18-55 reported being “very happy” while 14% and 22% of unmarried, childless men and women did. Despite all modern cultural shifts and the sacrifices marriages and children entail, it appears that these two traditional markers of adulthood still represent the most reliable route to a fulfilling life. [excerpted from Salvo magazine #67, Winter 2023]

This monthly newsletter is used by dozens of churches as a bulletin insert. Since 2013 it has had over 30,000 readers and is now posted on three diocesan websites. To receive each month’s free issue in your inbox, email Frank Tinari, Ph.D. at tinarifr@shu.edu

One Woman at a Time

“What struck me was their obvious vitality & love.” So wrote Charles Lewis, a Catholic convert regarding the Sisters of Life operating in Toronto. They created a community of “helpers” who donate funds, collect food items, drive the women to medical appointments, pray, and offer friendship to those who are often poor and alone. The Sisters are trying to change the world one woman and one baby at a time.

The order was founded in 1991 under the guidance of their spiritual father in New York, Cardinal John O’Connor. Their mission is to help women who want to have their babies but who are facing financial and emotional hurdles. They also counsel women who have come to regret their abortions. “It’s easy to forget, amid all the talk of what’s wrong with the Church, there is an eternal goodness that will outlast all the so-called controversies.” [Charles Lewis, Natl. Catholic Register, 10/22/23]

Likewise, recognizing the dignity and sanctity of all human life, U.S. Bishops have been promoting Walking with Moms in Need, a grass-roots initiative through which Catholic communities walk alongside local pregnant and parenting women in need. Many parishes and dioceses have joined the effort. One such example is in the Diocese of Paterson, NJ, with its 3-step strategy for parishes. Level 1 involves getting parishioners educated about the program and its goals. Level 2 includes gathering & providing essentials for moms such as diapers, clothing and food. Level 3 involves volunteering to accompany moms to appointments & more. Information about the nationwide effort is found at http://www.walkingwithmoms.com.

Young Americans are Dying?

Auto accidents, homicide, suicide & drug overdoses, in that order, are the leading causes of deaths of Americans aged 1 to 19. Boys have mortality rates roughly twice those of girls. Distractions from cell phones have made driving more deadly in recent years. Black teens accounted for nearly two-thirds of homicide victims ages 10 to 19, mostly via guns.

School closures, canceled sports and limits on in-person socializing worsened an already growing mental-health epidemic among young people. Social media helps fuel it by replacing successful relationships with a craving for online social attention that leaves young people unfulfilled, and exposes them to sites that glamorize unhealthy behaviors. Fentanyl, more potent and riskier than heroin, has spread broadly to every corner of the illegal drug market, including numerous fake fentanyl-laced pills. U.S. authorities are trying to slow the spread of xylazine, an animal tranquilizer that can cause severe wounds and is increasingly mixed into the fentanyl supply. Cartels are replacing heroin with less-expensive, easier to make fentanyl. [extracted from Wall Street Journal, 5/18/23]

Federal 15-Week Abortion Ban?

The idea is being floated as a way to create political consensus over a divisive issue. While grateful for all restrictions on the killing of innocent children, a 15- week ban poses critical problems:

1. Pro-life states have enacted abortion restrictions much more stringent and effective. A federal ban will put pressure on those states to water down their existing life-saving measures.
2. Over 95% of abortions are performed before 15 weeks. Thus, the overwhelming majority of abortions in this country would still be completely legal.
3. By 15 weeks, a baby’s arms & legs are formed and moving, organs are in place; the heart has been beating for over 2 months. Human life should be protected from conception, but even in states where we can only achieve incremental abortion restrictions, 15 weeks is too far.

Now is NOT the time for face-saving compromise. [extracts from Life Legal Defense Foundation, In Brief, Oct/Nov 2023]

Which Religion Promotes Abortion?

• Most Islamic nations severely restrict abortion, citing
  the Koran: “Do not kill your children for fear of poverty.
  For it is we who shall provide sustenance for you as well
  as for them.”
• The Buddhist Vinaya monastic code specifically
  forbids monks & nuns to perform abortions; traditional
  Buddhist ethics condemn it as a form of homicide.
• The reverence for life and hatred of violence in the
  Hindu concept of ahimsa strongly discourages abortion.
  Early Hindu Vedas hold that abortion is worse than
  killing one’s parents.
• The Talmud condemns bloodshed against the child in
  the womb.
• The earliest Christian catechism, the Didache, in a
  teaching reaffirmed across two millennia, commands
  Christians not to procure an abortion, placing it among
  murder, infanticide, child rape. [National Review, 7/31/23]
• What religion do proponents of abortion follow today?

Artificial Contraception & Society

Since the use of contraceptives became widespread, promiscuity has increased dramatically, as have sexually transmitted diseases, abortions, single motherhood and fewer marriages. If sexual intimacy is disconnected from having babies, many no longer see why it should remain in marriage. Homosexual acts became seen by many as having the same value as heterosexual acts. We have not “redefined” marriage as undefined it. Widespread confusion and misunderstanding have resulted from disconnecting sex and procreation. We have separated what God has joined: this is never good. [Msgr. Charles Pope, Our Sunday Visitor, 11/19/23]

Addressing Declining Births

Modernity’s “birth dearth” seems to be worldwide. South Korea reduced birth rates with national propaganda. The Chinese did it through tyranny. The U.S. has done the same by contraception and praising individual independence. Centuries ago, David Hume traced the decline in the populousness of nations to a lack of hope and faith in the future. Some say it is caused by materialism, that humans are just another species, one that has overreached and must be curtailed. Others say that it is our belief that we can overcome nature, be free from unchosen bonds and slavish bodies, that encourages people to skip parenthood; it is today’s temptation that we shall be like gods. [letters to editor, First Things, Aug/Sept 2023]

Some nations Like Australia and Hungary have instituted pronatal policies such as paying bonuses to families that have more children. Hungary provides such fiscal relief and has policies to promote stronger families. Hungarian President Katalin Novak said: “We protect parental freedom. The right to raise children does not belong to the state, nor to NGOs, nor to the knowledge industry and the media, but to parents. Anyone who has a child is ready to fight at any time to ensure that their child can live in peace and freedom. Families pass on their values from generation to generation in the face of every difficulty, every challenge.” [C-Fam, Letter from the UN Front, Oct. 2023]

But advocating for pronatalist policies alone will not stem the tide of our declining birth rates. We have to welcome families in our culture. We have to encourage a workplace culture that values work-life balance and prioritizes family time. We should encourage employers to adopt family-friendly policies that can create an environment where employees feel supported in their roles as parents. Moreover, we should work to shift cultural attitudes toward larger families, challenging stereotypes that may discourage people from having more children.” [editorial, Our Sunday Visitor, 9/27/23]

Super Bowl Champ Speaks Out

Plenty of smart and talented people are successful but remain unhappy. In the end, Harrison Butker said, no matter how much money you attain, none of it will matter if you are alone and devoid of purpose. By insisting that our human gifts are God-given, his speech at a secular school and his alma mater, Georgia Tech, was open to the transcendent truths of faith.

Brandishing his wedding ring, Butker smiled, saying: “This is the most important ring I have right here.” He said kicking in Super Bowl LVII, the most watched football game of all time, gave him happiness, but only temporary happiness. “None of these accomplishments mean anything compared to the happiness I have found in my marriage and in starting a family. Sadly, we are encouraged to live our lives for ourselves, to have loyalty to nothing but ourselves and make sacrifices only when it suits our own interests.” He concluded: “Focus on meaningful relationships and know that with or without the spotlight, your life has value and you are meant for more.” [Fr. Pat Briscoe, Our Sunday Visitor, 5/21/23]

Short Films

[Salvo magazine, Fall 2023]
• Groomed (at DailyCaller.com) tells the story of a California mother who fought to rescue her adolescent daughter after her daughter’s mind was virtually abducted by a combo of sex-ed school instructors and transgender activists online. Five years later, her daughter is recovering, but with no thanks to professional medicine or counseling. Worth watching solely for seeing what trans activists are perpetrating on children.
• XXX is a free YouTube documentary by sex-addiction therapist Roane Hunter on internet porn’s effect on the brain. The “Coolidge Effect” is when the brain’s reward system seeks ever-increasing novelty to get an ever-diminishing dopamine rush. The film (language warning) drives home the urgency of the risks porn poses to us all.

ProLife Ballot Defeats

Ohio voters’ passage of an amendment to the state Constitution guaranteeing the right to one’s own reproductive decisions including abortion, election of a proabort to Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, and other losses, serve as a reality check about where we are as a nation when it comes to protecting the lives of the unborn.

Reasons given include deceptive ballot language,media bias, and twice the campaign spending by proabortionists over pro-lifers. But the fact is that legalized abortion enjoys wide support around the country, a result of having 50 years of Roe that produced an abortion mentality in our laws, schools, workplaces, news and entertainment industries. So we must work increasingly to convert hearts and minds to a culture of life, respecting the inherent dignity of every human being. [extract from editorial, National Catholic Register, 11/19/23]

Voting This Month

Though many moral issues are before us, not every one is equal. A 2-page flyer “We Care, We Vote” states: “We vote conscientiously because we are people of faith. Out consciences are formed through studying Scripture and the teachings of the Church, examination of the facts, and prayerful reflection.” But some folks are so engaged with daily TV news and opinion shows that politics has become their primary basis for judging the world. Many voters adopt views that are purely secular, based on political party allegiance. Christians, though, have a higher moral basis to make judgements. The USCCB highlights key issues (note the very first one):

• Issues that directly affect human lives- such as abortion and euthanasia- are fundamental and demand serious consideration.
• Our Constitution heralds religious liberty in the First Amendment, yet increasingly people of faith are fighting to retain this basic right.
• There is a move to redefine marriage. The marriage of a man and woman is the foundation of the family and an essential core element of a flourishing society.
• The growing disparity between rich and poor means most of the world’s resources are in the hands of a small percentage of its people. The federal budget is a moral document and must prioritize the poorest and the most vulnerable among us.
• The millions of undocumented persons living in the USA deserve our compassion. There is an immigration problem, and we need a humane solution to it.
• War, terror, and violence have caused thousands of lost lives. We must work for just solutions to conflict throughout the Middle East, and beyond.

[https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithfulcitizenship/parishes-and schools/upload/catholics-carecatholics-vote-bulletin-insert.pdf]

Pew Research Center Survey on Marriage

40% said they are very or somewhat pessimistic about the institution of marriage and the family. Just 25% are very or somewhat optimistic. Just 23% called being married as either extremely or very important to living a fulfilling life while 26% of Catholics said likewise. Just 26% said the same about having children while 31% of Catholics said the same.
[Our Sunday Visitor, 10/8/23]

Human Trafficking in Our Town

“Thanks for covering the film Sound of Freedom. The reality is sex trafficking of children and adults happens in every U.S. community, rural and urban. Children need to be rescued, but adult men and women need to be
rescued, as well, and given the opportunity to begin the healing process from the complex trauma they have experienced. Another great resource is U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking. These efforts show the world that Catholic nuns are forerunners in this challenging work.” [letter to Nat. Catholic Register from Sister Shirley Fineran, OSF, Sioux City, Iowa, 10/22/23, who founded Lila Mae’s House for women who have been sextrafficked since childhood.]

New York ranks 4th behind California, Texas and Florida for human trafficking which is now the second most profitable criminal activity after illegal drugs. Human beings are sold for labor and sold for sex. Traffickers do not want pregnant workers. So they force the women to abort their babies. Sadly, many are trafficked by romantic partners and family members, including parents. [Circle of Life Newsletter, Good Counsel Homes, Fall 2023]

Britney Spears Pressured to Abort Baby

In her upcoming memoir, The Woman in Me, pop star Britney Spears reveals she had an abortion, and not because she wanted one. “If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it. Yet Justin was so sure that he didn’t want to be a father. He said we weren’t ready to have a baby in our lives, that we were way too young.” Spears started dating Timberlake when she was 17 and he was 18 in 1999. The two singers broke up in 2002. “To this day, it’s one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life,” writes Spears.

“I loved Justin so much. I always expected us to have a family together one day. This would just be much earlier than I’d anticipated,” writes Spears. Sadly, it’s common for women who have an unexpected pregnancy to be pressured by others to have an abortion. A 2023 survey by Charlotte Lozier Institute, surveying women ages 41- 45, found that a whopping 60% who had abortions felt they faced “high levels of pressure to abort.” But if this is an issue of women’s rights and choices, why do these moms facing unexpected pregnancies have to shoulder so much pressure? Shouldn’t it be their choice? We can start with men: If you’re having sex with a woman, you need to be ready to step up to be a dad. (Yes, birth control fails.) [Katrina Trinko, The Daily Signal, 10/17/23]

Couples Plan Their Family Naturally

FAbM Base gives practical & scientific information and support for those learning and practicing fertility awareness in all stages of life. Family planning is done without putting chemicals into a woman’s body, without devices or surgery. The group’s website provides loads of useful info and resources.

“By treating hormonal and fertility issues, we embrace the worth and dignity of the whole person. Scientific information of fertility awareness and the community necessary for successful practice are valuable for every woman, no matter her faith or stage of fertility. Science shows ovulation is a sign of health, and our resources promote holistic care based on this evidence. We do not promote use of hormonal contraception or artificial reproductive technology because  shows that these are not good for women. We welcome all to learn about their bodies and find the support they need through our extensive resource databases, the stories we share honestly and without censorship, and factual information regarding alternative natural methods.” [https://fabmbase.org]

Margaret Sanger’s Wish

In the USA, black women have the highest abortion rate of any racial group, and the highest abortion-related mortality rate. The 20th-century eugenics movement specifically targeted Blacks and other racial minorities in order to reduce their birthrates, by promoting contraception, abortion and coercive measures such as forced sterilization. Yet, legalized abortion hasn’t narrowed the persistent wealth gaps between racial groups in the USA. In recent testimony before Congress, Dr. Monique Wubbernhorst noted that abortionists have killed an estimated 17 million American babies of African descent, at the cost of not only their lives, “but all of their descendants and, families and their hopes, dreams and contributions to our society.” [Letter from the UN Front, C-Fam, Sept. 2023]

Speaking Up Against Hate

Catholics led the way with other groups to hammer the LA Dodgers when they honored an anti-Catholic group of gay men dressed as nuns. The FBI is now in the spotlight regarding its spying on Catholics. Mothers are being more vigilant than ever about what is going on in public schools. And surveys indicate that Catholics want their clergy to be more vocal. [William A. Donohue, Catalyst, October 2023.]

Germans March for Life

Pro-life marches were held simultaneously in Sept. in two German cities for the first time, drawing over 6,000 participants. Besides Berlin, the annual demonstration against abortion made its debut in Cologne. Both marches were met with counter-protests. [Our Sunday Visitor, 10/1/23]

In My Mother’s Womb

A new book expresses the mysterious unfolding of a life in a mother’s womb from the unique point of view of the child. The story imagines what the child is seeing, hearing, thinking, and feeling. In diary form week by week, the little soul enthralls the reader with wonder at the vibrant growth and development of the human person that occurs before birth. With accompanying Scripture verses and stunning artwork for each week, this book provides a fresh encounter with life and the Author of Life. Pre-order at www.osvcatholicbookstore.com

Helping Singles Meet

CatholicMatch is the largest exclusively Catholic singles community to help singles meet more people who are better matches faster than anywhere else, including the mega sites. Its Match Portrait® coupled with Temperament profiling and advanced search features combine both the art and science of why two people click at the deepest level, helping individuals find their perfect match. CatholicMatch claims thousands of confirmed marriages: “our results speak for themselves. If you’re looking for a relationship with someone who shares your faith, this is the place.” [ htpps://www.CatholicMatch.com ]

Fairness in Girl’s & Women’s Sports

In a Parent Resource Guide booklet that responds to
transgender extremist policies, the Family Policy Alliance
and other groups present the negative consequences when
society regards bodily sex as irrelevant. [for copies of the
booklet, contact info@njfpc.org]
In a section on sports facts, citing published medical
research, we discover the following:

• There is a 10% performance gap between male and
  female athletes in most sports. It hasn’t narrowed as
  women train harder
• Men have higher hemoglobin levels–their body can
  oxygenate muscles more quickly and efficiently
• On average, males have 66% more upper-body muscle
  and 50% more lower-body muscle than females
• Women’s speed world records are about 90% of men’s
  speed world records. Each year, hundreds of men easily
  beat the world’s best time in women’s marathon
• On average, men have broader shoulders, larger feet and hands, giving them an advantage in sports like volleyball, swimming and basketball

The booklet concludes with sample opt-out letters, public records requests for school boards, and studies showing the majority of children with gender dysphoria accept their biological sex by adulthood. “Many school boards are pressured by outside activist groups to pass policies that treat bodily sex as irrelevant. By respectfully speaking out, you can help to ensure that school boards hear what the research makes clear: our sex does not change according to our feelings, and school policy that ignores that fact ends up hurting our kids.”

This monthly newsletter is used by dozens of churches as a bulletin insert. Since 2013 it has had over 30,000 readers and is now posted on three diocesan websites. To receive each month’s free issue in your inbox, email Frank Tinari, Ph.D. at tinarifr@shu.edu

Another Election Coming

“I encourage all eligible Catholics to vote and to be guided in your voting by an informed conscience,” writes Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney (Paterson Diocese, NJ). He cites the U.S. Bishops document on forming one’s conscience on topics such as Human Life, Promoting Peace, Marriage and Family Life, Religious Freedom, the Poor and Economic Justice, Health Care, Migration, Catholic Education, and Combating Unjust Discrimination. [Visit the USCCB website for the full document.] “There is a compelling argument that, if the value of Life itself is not respected and protected, then there is no ‘point’ in speaking about some of the other important issues.” Being against the killing of the unborn means caring for both babies and their mothers. Bishop Kevin states: “We are the Church, called by God, to untiringly advocate for the reverence of the gift of life at all stages.” [The Beacon, 10/28/21]

USCCB Issues 2023 Theme for Respect Life Sunday: “Radical Solidarity” to be courageously pro-woman, promoting a choice that truly protects, accompanies, and supports women and their children.

Parents Sue to Opt Out of LGBTQ+

An interfaith group of Maryland parents has asked a federal appeals court to allow them to opt their children out of classroom instruction pertaining to books containing LGBTQ+ themes (such as gay romance) to which they object on religious grounds. Becket, a Washington-based religious liberty law firm, is representing the group of parents, including Muslims, Jews, Catholic and other Christians, as they sue the school board in federal court over the Montgomery County Public Schools policy. [Our Sunday Visitor, 9/17/23] 

Parents have “the first responsibility for the education of their children” according to The Catechism of the Catholic Church. “Mothers and fathers retain the right to both teach their children the morals imparted by the Church and to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions.” (¶2229) 

Fed. Govt. Continues to Push Abortion

• Dept. of Health & Human Services (DHH) is taking away the conscience rights of health care workers.
• DHH has a taxpayer-funded national abortion hotline.
• Dept. of Defense is using taxpayer dollars to cover the cost of abortions for female medical personnel.
• Dept. of Veterans Affairs is turning VA hospitals into abortuaries, even where pro-life laws prohibit this.
• FDA continues to allow the sale of abortion pills despite weak medical research support. 

[Population Research Institute Review, Sept.-Oct. 2023] Editor’s question: Why is the federal administration promoting these policies?

Addiction: Moral Failing at First, Medical Problem Thereafter

Addiction can take many forms. One of the most widely experienced addiction today is pornography. At first, it’s curiosity and bad moral decision-making. Then, in short order, the dopamine high needs to have stronger, more outrageous, stimulus. And down the dark path one goes. Medical science says it is difficult to stop. Porn creates unrealistic expectations. Porn degrades the opposite sex. Porn eats away at one’s family. Porn addiction uses up life’s valuable time. Porn, like other addictions, shackles us and reduces our freedom as humans.

But addiction can be professionally helped. Therapy intervention is available. See IntegrityRestored.com for comprehensive assistance. “Catholics in Recovery” is a great online group, focused on men’s recovery Also, covenanteyes.com (use “integrity30″ for 30 free days) helps monitor your online use. “Fight the new drug” is a secular group that also provides sound advice. These can help those addicted to pornography get back their life, get back their family, and achieve freedom again. [For more details, listen to the podcast of Trending with Timmerie using the Relevant Radio app, 9/19/23]

Global Report on Trafficking in Persons

for 2022 estimated at least 5 million were children. Overall, human trafficking rakes in a monstrous $150 billion annually, with child trafficking accounting for $35 billion, now surpassing the arms trade & on pace to sur pass the drug trade as the world’s fastest growing illegal enterprise (International Organization of Migration, 2022 report). Sadly, the U.S. ranks #1 in both production and consumption of child pornography and sits among the top three as a destination country for sex trafficked children. For example, in 2010 Atlanta, Georgia recorded 7,000 online requests for sex with underage victims (children) in just one month (Shapiro Group, 2010). 

In the 1990s and 2000s, the rise of modern day slavery brought reports of India’s red-light districts onto the world stage, because of ministry work overseas and the 

award-winning movie Slum Dog Millionaire, which ex posed gruesome trafficking rings in India. The blockbuster hit Taken also opened people’s eyes to trafficking, depict

ing young women being abducted from one country & sold to another. The film Amazing Grace partnered with the anti-slavery movement to expose the issue. The powerful line, “God’s children are not for sale” is at the heart of the movie taking the nation by storm, Sound of Freedom. 

Our border is an abundant source feeding the expanding business of selling children. In 2022, the U.S. Custom and Border Protection Agency reported that over 150,000 unaccompanied minors crossed the border. Approximately 85,000 children are unaccounted for, not including those children coming with families that are indebted to cartels nor do they account for children being used by adults, mostly young males, who are NOT their relatives. None of the children will be able to pay the debt owed as the fee for bringing them across the border. They become indebted to their captors for life. Nothing is deterring these criminal/ terror organizations from growing their illegal businesses. 

Americans have crossed the Rubicon and we cannot go back. It is time to rescue our children! [Trayce Bradford, Children Are Not For Sale, Eagle Forum Report 9/23]

In the Name of “Diversity”

Public schools continue to be ground zero to eliminate knowledge of God-derived rights and obligations from our children: 

• 1962: Prayer forbidden (Engel v. Vitale)  
• 1963: Bible reading banned (School District of Abington Township v. Schempp) 
• 1980: Ten Commandments banned from public spaces (Stone v. Graham) 
• 2000s: some schools distribute condoms, some teach graphic sexual content in primary schools, some sponsor drag queen presentations, some allow young children to “decide” their gender and not tell parents

ACTIVITIES: for Respect Life Month many events and activities are held in support of life. The Life Chain project is planned for the afternoon of October 1st, Respect Life Sunday. Each year, Life Chains form in hundreds of cities nationwide for a public, prayerful, peaceful stand for Life. Also, 40DaysforLife prayer vigils worldwide began on Sept. 27thand end on November 6th. For a local vigil, visit https://www.40daysforlife.com/ Also, check church & right to life groups in your area for other activities such as guest speakers and conferences, processions and masses for life.

Pregnant Mom w/Cancer: “No Abortion” 

Just over a year ago, 30-year-old mother Tasha Kann was diagnosed with a rare and malignant brain tumor called Anaplastic Astrosytoma Grade lll. She was approximately 20 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby girl. Doctors said that her best chance of survival & more time was to abort the child & immediately begin chemotherapy and radiation. However, Tasha didn’t want to end her baby’s life, even if it meant her own life would come to an end sooner. 

According to Tasha’s GoFundMe, “After much research & many prayers, Tasha decided her best out come from this disease would be to continue her pregnancy and fight it as naturally as possible, refusing chemo and radiation.” Gracey Joyce Kann was born last October, healthy and lovely. Tasha’s cancer had been growing from her central nervous system. The prognosis lessened from years to 12 months, yet Tasha is now at 14 months. When making the decision about her care, Kann said her faith was the biggest factor. 

“Every single day, I look at my beautiful baby and think about how easy it was for them to tell me to abort – like she was nothing,” Kann told Fox News Digital. She is now getting expensive immunotherapy that will cost over $100,000 per year. Her community and family have always been & always will be there to support her. She is not giving up. [Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com, 9/12/23]

 Students Afraid of Princeton Professor

Earlier this month, Princeton Univ. professor Robert P. George was slated to give a talk at Washington College in Chestertown, MD, including “a discussion of the importance of free and open discourse during college of the great questions of human life.” College President Mike Sosulski emailed students: “It is incumbent upon us as a community to create & maintain an environment where everyone feels safe to share their ideas, even those that may be controversial or offensive.” Sosulski himself attended George’s talk. 

But “Protesters at Washington College were successful in silencing the speaker,” reported The Star Democrat, a local Maryland paper. Students were outraged about his long history of bravely defending & articulating conservative principles about traditional sexual morality & abortion. “As faculty tried to attempt to help continue the lecture, it proved futile. Fast-tempo music began blaring, whistles constantly blew, and there was even a little dancing in between the tables.” 

The Washington College protesters aren’t some crazed outliers. A new survey of college students reveal horrifying views about free speech. 31% of students say they believe that it’s always or sometimes acceptable to shout down a college speaker to prevent him from speaking, according to the survey by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and College Pulse. More than half (57%) agree that a speaker who thinks abortion should be completely illegal should definitely or probably be blocked from giving a campus speech. Shockingly, 11% of students say they think it’s always or sometimes acceptable to use “violence to stop a campus speech.” [Katrina Trinko, DailySignal.com, 9/16/23]

Alabama: Court Upholds Law Protecting minors

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction against an Alabama law that protects minors from gender-transition hormone treatments. The unanimous decision found no “constitutional right to treat [one’s] children with transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards.” The court said it is “undisputed that the medications can cause loss of fertility and sexual function. Some families will not fully appreciate those risks and some minors experiencing gender dysphoria ultimately will desist and identify with their biological sex.”

“This case revolves around an issue that is surely of the utmost importance to all of the parties involved: the safety and wellbeing of the children of Alabama,” it said. “But it is complicated by the fact that there is a strong disagreement between the parties over what is best for those children. Absent a constitutional mandate to the contrary, these types of issues are quintessentially the sort that our system of government reserves to legislative, not judicial, action.” The 11th Circuit’s decision in favor of Alabama could hold major implications for the other states in its jurisdiction, Florida and Georgia, where judges have issued a preliminary injunction against similar laws. [Joshua Arnold, The Washington Stand, 8/23/23]

Sept. 9: National Day of Remembrance

Thousands will mark the day as both celebration and mourning as they remember the 65 million unborn babies who were aborted under Roe v. Wade. Eric J. Scheidler, exec. director of the Pro-Life Action League, one of the groups sponsoring the event, said “On this 11th annual National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children, we visit the burial places of aborted children and other memorials put up in their honor — and we solemnly pray for God to heal the deep wounds of abortion in our society. With over 185 services scheduled in the U.S., including 36 at the burial places of aborted children, there’s likely to be a Day of Remembrance prayer service near you,” he added. “It’s not a protest or rally. It’s not held at an abortion facility or government office. It’s a prayerful opportunity to remember, and to heal.”

The gatherings will include testimonies from women who regret their abortions, reflections by clergy of various faiths, music, prayer, mourning for aborted babies and celebration of the end of Roe. Priests for Life, Citizens for a Pro-Life Society & Scheidler’s group want to remind Americans of the horrors of abortion. The grave-side services expose how every abortion results in the death of an unborn child, and that child’s body must be gotten rid of by some means, whether incinerated or thrown in the trash, cut up for scientific experiments or, in some cases, buried. Pro-life leaders also hope the day will bring mercy and healing to the tens of millions of mothers and fathers of aborted
babies.

For more information and a list of locations, visit NationalDayofRemembrance.org. [Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com, 8/28/23]

Massachusetts: Foster Parents Denied

Mike & Kitty Burke allege that the commonwealth denied their adopting children due to their Catholic religious beliefs concerning marriage, sexuality, and gender. During interviews, they affirmed their willingness to love and support any child, regardless of orientation or gender struggles. Their application was rejected with their religious views labeled “not supportive.” The couple believes that the states’ rejection is discriminatory and filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Dept. of Children & Families for violation of their religious liberty. [Our Sunday Visitor, 8/27/23]

Court Limits Access to Abortion Pills

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided in part with a federal judge’s decision in Texas to curtail access to mifepristone. The court held that the Food and Drug Administration failed to adequately take into account safety concerns when it loosened access to mifepristone in 2016. The FDA extended the window when mifepristone could be used to terminate pregnancies from seven weeks’ gestation to 10 weeks and reduced the number of in-person visits patients were required to make from three to one. Then, in 2021, it removed a requirement that mifepristone be dispensed only in clinics, medical offices and hospitals, thereby allowing it to be administered through telehealth and sent by mail.

Attorney Erin Hawley of the Alliance Defending Freedom said: “we are very pleased with the Fifth Circuit’s decision. It restores the original 2000 safeguards to a dangerous chemical drug regimen.” Katie Daniel, the state policy director of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a leading anti-abortion group, hailed the ruling: “The FDA ignored science and its own rules when it rubber-stamped Democrats’ reckless mail-order abortion scheme. We won’t rest until the FDA and the profit-driven abortion industry are held accountable for the suffering they’ve inflicted on women and girls, as well as the deaths of countless unborn children.” [NBC News, 8/16/23]

Iowa: Judge Blocks Abortion Ban

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a ban on most abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy, passed by the Iowa Legislature. It prohibits almost all abortions once cardiac activity can be detected, usually around six weeks, but includes exceptions for rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother. However, an Iowa judge issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the new law, thus reverting the state to its previous legal abortion limit oat 20 weeks of pregnancy. “I will fight this all the way to the Iowa Supreme  Court where we expect a decision that will finally provide justice for the unborn,” Reynolds said. [Our Sunday Visitor, 7/30/23]

“Family planning is contraception AND abortion.”

So said Ann Furedi of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service based on findings that over 50% of women having abortions had been using at least one form of contraception, and 25% had used methods considered “most effective.” She said: “women cannot control their fertility though contraception alone.” U.S data show similar findings: about half of abortion patients said that they used a contraceptive method in the month they become pregnant.”

Assoc. professor Melissa Moschella (Catholic U.) siad there is no evidence that widespread access to contraception reduces abortion rates. Where contraception becomes the norm, people have an expectation that they can engage in sexual activity without worrying about consequences.” And since no method is 100% effective, more unplanned pregnancies result. In his encyclical The Gospel of Life, Pope St. John Paul IIworte that contraception and abortion are “fruits of the same tree.”

Oral contraceptives have potentially serious adverse health effects. Moral theologian Pia de Solenni said “most women don’t feel good when they’re taking hormonal birth control.” More women are questioning the physical effects the pill has on their bodies. “Article after article acknowledges that women report a variety of adverse effects including depression.” [Lauretta Brown, National Catholic Register, 8/27/23]

Michigan: Famer’s Religious Liberty Win

A federal court decision in favor of a Catholic orchardist in Michigan, who announced that his farm would not host same-sex weddings, and was banned from a farmers market as a result, is being hailed as a victory for free speech and religious liberty. In the decision, the judge said Country Mill Farms and the owner Stephen Tennes “were forced to choose between following their religious beliefs and a government benefit for which they were otherwise qualified.”

The farm includes a cider mill and donates produce to the Greater Lansing Food Bank. It also hosts events such as wedding shower and birthday parties from August through Thanksgiving, according to its webpage. The judge’s decision notes that Tennes “Stopped running haunted houses, something his father started, because the practice was not in line with his faith. He has declined to host bachelor and bachelorette parties for the same reason.” [Kurt Jensen, Our Sunday Visitor, 8/28/23]

Warren Buffett’s Dark Side

The “Wizard of Omaha” is America’s most revered investor and famous penny pincher whose wealth is $100 billion. The dark side? The biggest funder of abortion in human history poses as America’s most celebrated philanthropist. Since 2002, Buffett has poured $41 billion into four foundations, each of which bankrolls groups expanding abortion-on-demand policies nationwide or even sustain the UN’s population control campaign in impoverished countries. “Warren Buffett has never spoken publicly about his views on abortion,” the New York Times observed in 2010. “But in the 1990s [his foundation] helped finance the research and development of the [mifepristone] pills that induce abortion… [and] helped finance a lawsuit to overturn the ban on so-called partial-birth abortion in Nebraska.

For decades, Buffett’s committed a fortune de to his belief that humans will reproduce ourselves into oblivion, endangering global supplies of food, housing, and even human survival. Since 2003, Ipas has received over $422 million from Buffett family foundations. Ipas invented and markets manual vacuum aspiration technology, literally sucking embryos and fetuses from the womb in more than 100 countries. Another under-the-radar group is Pathfinder International, which used its funding to overturn the U.S. Mexico City Policy, a ban on federal funding of groups that perform abortions overseas.

In the past decade, Pathfinder used close to $1 billion from USAID to abort Africans, Asians, and Latin Americans and push looser abortion policies in poor countries. Pathfinder was seeded in the 1950s by Clarence Gamble, heir to the Procter & Gamble soup fortune, himself a committed eugenicist and ally of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger who sat on the group’s board. Many are familiar with Sanger’s “Negro Project of the South” to expand birth control and abortion to southern blacks; she got the idea from Clarence Gamble, the project’s funder. EngenderHealth is a little-known group that provides abortions in poor countries. Even less well-known is its original name: The Sterilization League of New Jersey, one of a crop of sterilization advocacy groups created by eugenicists in the 1930s.

Advocates for Youth is one of the lead transgender groups grooming schoolchildren for gay sex, pedophilia, and HIV – thanks to $29 million from Buffett. We’ve recorded its vision for sex education in classrooms, which includes teaching second-graders about sexual consent, fifth-graders about “trusted adults” whom they “can talk to about relationships” (invariably sexual), and tenth-graders about the latest medical breakthroughs that make living with HIV tolerable. [Hayden Ludwig, Restoration of America, 8/28/23]

Next Month: October is Respect Life Month when many events & activities are held in support of life. The Life Chain project is planned for the afternoon of October 1st, Respect Life Sunday. Each year, Life Chains form in hundreds of cities nationwide to make a public, prayerful, peaceful stand for Life. For a location near you, see https://www.lifechain.org Also, 40DaysforLife prayer vigils worldwide will begin Sept. 27th and end on November 6th. For a local vigil, visit https://www.40daysforlife.com/ Also, check church and right to life groups in your area for other activities such as guest speakers and conferences.

This free monthly newsletter is used by dozens of churches as a bulletin insert, and since 2013 has had over 30,000 readers. To receive each month’s issue in your inbox, email Frank Tinari, Ph.D. at tinarifr@shu.edu