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Easter, Women, Family, Children: April 2023 Newsletter

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

mails children a free book each month from birth until they are 5 years old. These high-quality books are chosen by experts in publishing & education, and are based on the child’s age. There are no eligibility requirements for the book club; any child can join.

Parton’s mission is to foster a love of learning in children, making the experience of reading fun and meaningful. Since the program’s inception in 1995, it has distributed more than 172 million children’s books to young readers worldwide.

Children get books appropriate for their age on subjects including nursery rhymes, letters, safety, diversity, and school preparation. Audio and braille books are also available. The first title that children receive is always The Little Engine That Could, and the last title is always Kindergarten, Here I Come! Your child will get at least 60 different books if you sign them up at birth. That’s a lot of reading!

To see if the program is available in your area, visit the availability page and enter your zip code. If the program is available, go through the steps of registering your child (submitting your mailing address & info about your child). [See: https://imaginationlibrary.com]

Many Young Women Feel Pressured

to sleep with and cohabitate with dates and boyfriends to try to win them over and perhaps one day marry them. These kinds of relational mistakes on the part of a young woman often lead a man to ask the proverbial question: Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? The unique influence or leverage that a young woman has with a potential future husband is squandered away.

A woman who is not sexually available before marriage is perceived and approached differently by men; they have to put in the effort to woo and win her. In contemporary hook-up culture, meanwhile, young women give themselves away for nothing & men don’t have to woo anyone or bother with the complexities of interpersonal relationships or real-life intimacy skills.

Also, many men are drawn into the addictive world of pornography and similarly devalue women by reducing their gifts to a single highly sexualized dimensions. This disrupts healthy patterns of attraction and courtship that are meant to lead to male-female friendship, bonding, and marriage.

The remarkable gifts of a women – her “feminine genius” as Pope St. John Paul II used to refer to it – including the gift of her sexual nature and her interpersonal acumen, need to be esteemed and safeguarded. Over the course of civilization, these gifts have built up the family, protected children, supported men through the bond of marriage, and, more broadly, strengthened the life of society itself. We need great courage and resolve today to protect and advance these precious gifts. [Rev. Tad Pacholczyk, National Catholic Bioethics Center, The Beacon, 3/9/23]

Easter: Every Human Life Worth Saving

An implication of the Easter event is that Jesus’ extraordinary claims about himself were ratified. Jesus assumed a divine prerogative. When his band of Apostles saw him alive again after his death, they came to believe that he is who he said he was. For believers ever since, if the crucified and risen Jesus is divine, there is a moral imperative to make him unambiguously the center of our lives. He fought, not with the weapons of the world, not with an answering violence, but rather with a word of pardon: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” The Resurrection of Jesus from the dead showed that this spiritual resistance was not in vain. Human beings killed God, and God returned in forgiving love. [Bishop Robert Barron, Wall St. Jnl, 4/3/21]

Mobile Pregnancy Van Parks Outside Planned Parenthood

When Idaho banned virtually all abortions, Planned Parenthood set up an abortuary a few miles over the border, in Oregon. That clinic is just a 45-minute drive from Stanton Healthcare in Meridian, Idaho, specializing in serving women with unexpected pregnancies by providing professional medical care, practical and emotional support, women’s wellness care, and a special outreach to refugee and marginalized communities. Stanton has affiliates across the country.

Stanton Healthcare is deeply troubled that the Ontario Planned Parenthood is engaged in “abortion trafficking” as it attempts to move abortions across state lines. Linda Thomas, Director of Stanton’s Community Outreach, states: “Planned Parenthood is aggressively continuing their profit-driven agenda of abortion as the solution for women facing unexpected pregnancies. They are actively sending Idaho women across state lines. Of the women we see at Stanton who are considering abortion, a full 90% report feeling pressured to do so by someone they trust. Abortion is not the option women choose when they have the support they want & deserve.”

Brandi Swindell, CEO and Founder, said: “Stanton Healthcare could not remain silent or indifferent so we brought our 37-foot, state-of-the-art, mobile medical clinic right next door to Planned Parenthood to serve the women of Oregon and Idaho. While Planned Parenthood treats women as a commodity for profit, Stanton Healthcare is dedicated to providing women with unexpected pregnancies hope and tangible support at no charge.” [www.LifeNews.com, 3/10/23]

Why Boycott Hersheys?

The Hershey Company is facing boycotts and backlash in response to a new ad campaign from Hershey Canada, using a male activist who identifies as a transgender woman as a spokesman for International Women’s Day. While the other four people chosen are actually women, the inclusion of a male dressed as a female in a campaign promoting a holiday dedicated to women has drawn widespread criticism.

In 2021, both Mars, Inc. and Nestle USA joined an op-ed in support of transitioning kids & decrying state laws that protect women’s sports. After years of these firms supporting the erasure of women, it appears that Americans are fed up. Recently, #BoycottHersheys hit number one trending on Twitter. Here are three great alternatives to trans-idolizing chocolate companies like Hershey’s:

  • Equal Exchange, a fair-trade worker co-op founded in 1986, specializes in chocolate, coffee, tea, and snacks it sources from 40 small farmer organizations worldwide. It regularly highlights how churches around the world use its products in fostering fellowship, teaching their congregations about the importance of fair trade.
  • Gertrude Hawk Chocolates, a family business, continues to bear her name and celebrate her legacy as a female small business founder. Gertrude’s descendants also operate the Hawk Family Foundation, which funds nonprofit organizations and private schools that seek to positively impact children, seniors, those currently incarcerated, and returning citizens. The fund will not contribute to causes that support abortion.
  • Läderach, a chocolate company, was dropped by Swiss Air Lines in 2020 for its owner’s pro-life and pro-family views. While simultaneously running his luxury chocolate company, Jürg Läderach was known for his advocacy defending unborn children, upholding natural marriage, & fighting the pornography epidemic — all values that directly impact the human dignity of women. Leadership of the company is now under son Johannes. [Joy Stockbauer, The Washington Stand, 3/5/23]

Gender Transition Surgery?

The U.S. Bishops on March 20 issued new guidance that Catholic health care institutions must not perform gender transition interventions, whether surgical or chemical, on a person regardless of their age. Such interventions “do not respect the fundamental order of the human person as an intrinsic unity of body and soul, with a body that is sexually differentiated.”

“The Hippocratic tradition in medicine calls upon all healthcare providers first and foremost to ‘do no harm,’ the statement explains. “Any technological intervention that does not accord with the fundamental order of the human person as a unity of body and soul, including the sexual difference inscribed in the body, ultimately does not help but, rather, harms the human person.” The document was developed in consultation with medical ethicists, physicians, psychologists, & moral theologians.

With more than 600 hospitals and 1,600 long-term care and other health facilities across the United States, Catholic health ministry is the largest group of nonprofit health care providers in the nation, according to the most recent data from the Catholic Health Association.

The statement said “particular care should be taken to protect children and adolescents, who are still maturing and who are not capable of providing informed consent. The body is not an object, a mere tool at the disposal of the soul, one that each person may dispose of according to his or her own will, but it is a constitutive part of the human subject, a gift to be received, respected, and care for as something intrinsic to the person.”

The U.S. bishops say Catholic health care providers must continue to search for solutions to problems of human suffering, but in ways “that truly promote the flourishing of the human person in his or her bodily integrity. As the range of what we can do expands, we must ask what we should or should not do,” the bishops explain. “An indispensable criterion in making such
determinations is the fundamental order of the created
world. Our use of technology must respect that order.”
[John Lavenburg, https://cruxnow.com, 3/21/23]

Film to See: Unexpected

This fun, funny and uplifting film puts at its center relatable characters dealing with the vicissitudes of life. There are no glib answers; instead, we see flawed yet good-hearted people find the courage to get up when they’ve been knocked down, without super heroes, but with trust in God. And it is no accident that the film ends with a beautiful rendition of the hymn “His eyes are on the sparrow.” In an interview with Christian Headlines, co-producer Patricia Heaton said: “What that song signifies is that the lives that you’re watching in this movie–they’re small lives, they’re people you might pass on the street, never notice, never get to know–but everybody has a story. Everybody’s known to God.” [Maria McFadden Maffucci, Human Life Review, 3/23]

Judge Will Hold Hearing Wednesday in Case That Could Block Abortion Pill Nationwide

A federal judge in Texas has requested a hearing in a case challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion drug mifepristone.

As reported by CatholicVote, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) sued the FDA in November 2022 on behalf of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the Catholic Medical Association, and others. The suit contends that:

  • The FDA’s 2000 approval of the chemical abortion cocktail violated the safety standards of due diligence laid out by Congress.
  • The FDA ignored valid evidence and stonewalled ADF’s clients for over 20 years, recklessly terminating “the necessary safeguards for women who undergo this controversial drug regimen.”
  • The FDA violated the U.S. Code § 1461 by allowing these drugs to be sent by mail.

According to Planned Parenthood, mifepristone is the first of two medications used in a chemical abortion. It blocks the hormone progesterone from reaching the woman’s uterus, breaking down the lining of the uterine wall and killing the child.

The Leak

Anonymous and unauthorized sources indicated to Washington Post reporters that U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk met with lawyers in Amarillo, TX, last Friday and scheduled the hearing for Wednesday, March 15. According to TheWashington Post:

Kacsmaryk scheduled the hearing during a call with attorneys Friday, said multiple people familiar with the call, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. Kacsmaryk said he would delay putting the hearing on the public docket until late Tuesday to try to minimize disruptions and possible protests, and asked the lawyers on the call not to share information about it before then, the people said.

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When a still-unidentified culprit leaked the text of the Dobbs opinion in May 2022, pro-abortion activists unleashed threats and protests targeting the homes of all six pro-life Supreme Court justices, pregnancy resource centers, and Catholic churches.

Track Record of Violence

The volume of death threats and actual vandalism prompted the Department of Homeland Security to issue a formal memo warning that protests were “likely to persist and may increase leading up to and following the issuing of the Court’s official ruling.”

One suspect was arrested outside the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and later charged with plotting to assassinate three members of the Supreme Court. Acts of vandalism against Catholic churches intensified following the Dobbs decision. This month, CatholicVote’s violence tracker surpassed 300 attacks since May 2020.

The Washington Post’s anonymous source alleged that “Kacsmaryk told the attorneys that he also wanted to delay publicizing the hearing because courthouse members have received threats in the wake of the lawsuit, according to the people familiar with the call.”

Other anonymous sources told reporters that “the judge and his family have faced security threats since he ascended to the federal bench in 2019, and those threats have intensified ahead of the abortion pill ruling.”

“This is playing with the safety and lives of the judge and everyone involved in the case,” remarked CatholicVote Director of Governmental Affairs Tom McClusky:

Considering the high level of violence and intimidation, tracked by CatholicVote, from pro-abortion zealots ever since the leaked Dobbs decision, Judge Kacsmaryk is wise to take steps to protect all the parties involved in this case.

Bigger than Dobbs?

Leftist activists have characterized the Texas case as “bigger than Dobbs,” claiming it could outlaw the chemical abortion drug mifepristone nationwide.

Erik Baptist, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, told CatholicVote, that he “won’t go so far to make those statements about the ramifications of this case, but we are asking the court to set aside the FDA’s approvals of these dangerous drugs for chemical abortion purposes.”

 

The case does have far-ranging implications, because ADF is requesting that the court set aside the FDA’s approval of mifepristone and misoprostol for chemical abortion purposes. “At the same time,” said Baptist, “it’s a reasonable [ask], because the FDA, from beginning to end, has failed to follow the plain requirements of the law.”

>> LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE <<

‘Reckless’ FDA

CatholicVote and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) filed an amicus brief in the ADF vs. FDA case from concerned members of Congress.

“The FDA’s reckless decisions to approve and deregulate chemical abortion drugs put the profits and political agenda of the abortion industry over the law and abundant evidence that abortion drugs present harm to women, girls, and their unborn babies,” the brief stated.

The Charlotte Lozier Institute submitted a brief detailing the lack of medical research and data in the United States surrounding chemical abortion regimens concluding:

The FDA has made an unjustifiable and unreasonable risk-benefit assessment regarding chemical abortion. The end result is over-the-counter abortion provision dissociated from the medical system entirely, except, of course, for the emergency room physicians who will be called upon to care for the myriad complications.

full list of the court’s amicus briefs can be found on ADF’s website.

Biden Administration Attempts Work- Arounds

The lawsuit followed upon the Biden administration’s aggressive response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. The Department of Justice has taken steps to promote chemical abortions even in states like Texas that have robust abortion restrictions.

Attorney General Merrick Garland established a “reproductive rights task force” in July following the Dobbs decision. One of its express purposes is to “monitor and evaluate all state and local legislation and enforcement actions that threaten to… ban mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety.”

Late last year, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) assured the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) that federal law does not prohibit sending abortion drugs by mail. The OLC memo states that “federal law does not prohibit the use of” either drug, which are both FDA approved for no other purpose than to kill and expel an unborn child from a mother.

The use of mail services to send abortion pills directly to women and the sale of mifepristone at the retail level without medical oversight are a sharp departure from past norms. While abortion promoters, including officials within the Biden administration, have endeavored to present the controversial move as safe and routine, the maneuver has been bumpy.

As CatholicVote reported in early February, even the Food and Drug Administration warned of safety concerns over mifepristone as recently as last year:

The FDA also recently voiced concerns over the safety of abortion-by-mail for mothers as demand for chemical abortion pills surged following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

LifeNews Note: Erika Ahern writes for CatholicVote.

Rosary-wearing Jill Biden promotes contraception to Kenya’s young people

Featured Image

(LifeSiteNews) — First Lady of the United States Jill Biden encouraged young Kenyans to continue spreading propaganda about contraception and “safe sex” at their churches and schools, all while wearing a Rosary around her neck.

As part of her five-day trip to Namibia and Kenya last week, Biden participated in multiple events pertaining to the “empowerment of women and youth.” On Saturday the First Lady stopped by the Shujaaz Konnect Festival in Nairobi, Kenya, where she dropped in on a watch party for “MTV Shuga,” an African drama series that aims to promote “sexual and reproductive health and rights.”

According to press pool notes compiled by Washington Post reporter Jada Yuan, the Rosary-sporting Biden commended Kenyan youth attending the festival for their willingness to learn about and discuss “safe dating and safe sex.”

 

“[I] really applaud you for wanting to learn more about [the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief] and HIV/AIDS and financial literacy and safe dating and safe sex,” she said. “You know, these are issues that really all people need to talk about them [sic]. Yet, somehow, they don’t, and the consequences of not talking about it are so dire. So, I love seeing the young people here.”

The Shujaaz Konnect Festival is organized by media company Shujaaz Inc. and the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, with the help of PEPFAR and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). PEPFAR was launched in 2003 by President George W. Bush to help people afflicted with AIDS, which is still a major cause of death in African countries.

At the “MTV Shuga” watch party itself, Biden led a discussion about what the attendees learn from the show and how they share those lessons with others. One of the participants, per the press pool notes, emphasized the importance of “using a condom” to prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes the AIDS disease.

The First Lady then asked if the show promotes other types of “prevention for safe sex” like “birth control pills,” to which another participant answered, “contraception for unintended pregnancy prevention and PrEP for HIV prevention.”

Then Biden followed up with, “Then so do you go into your neighborhoods or your churches or your schools and then do you spread the word further?” And when she received a “chorus of yeses,” she asked and got an affirmative answer about them being “ambassadors for this program.”

Kenya is a majority Christian country, with 85% of the population identifying as Christian and one-third of all Christians identifying as Catholic. LifeSiteNews recently visited Africa to report on the heroic individuals resisting the Western-led imposition of pro-abortion, pro-contraception, and pro-LGBT ideology.

Despite professing to be Catholics, the First Lady and her husband, President Joe Biden, have long been outspoken advocates of “abortion rights” and gender ideology.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration pressured the African country of Benin to remove its name from the pro-life Geneva Consensus Declaration, which declares that abortion is not a human right.

In January 2021, LifeSiteNews reported on a group of Africans who unsuccessfully pleaded with Biden in a video message not to resume funding for organizations that provide abortions. Biden repealed the so-called “Mexico City Policy,” a Trump-era policy, on his ninth day in office.

Obituary of John E. Mulholland

 

John Emmett Mulholland of Randolph, NJ, formerly of Fanwood, NJ passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 16th at the age of 89.  Born in 1933 John was raised with his sister Anne in Long Branch NJ.  He was active in Scouting, earning the Eagle Scout Award.  He graduated from Red Bank Catholic High School.

John earned a BS degree from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.  He served two years in the US Army and then began his career as Assistant Dining Service Director at Illinois Bell Telephone Company and Assistant Manager of Restaurant Operations for Marshall Field, Chicago.   Later he joined Bamberger’s Department Stores where he rose to vice president of food service administration.  After leaving Bamberger’s he became a financial investment counselor.

In 1957 John married his beloved Mary Ellen and together they shared 58 wonderful years and raised four children.  John was a dedicated father with a contagious zest for life. He was active in leadership of the Boy Scouts and Indian Princesses.  He enjoyed family time, taking vacations, and spending time around the pool with family and friends. He was always up for a game of Tripoli, Spoons, Left-Right-Center, and being challenged at chess.  These good times are memories that will be cherished by his children and grandchildren.

Throughout his life, John demonstrated a tremendous faith in God.  He was active in the Catholic Church and attended an annual men’s retreat at San Alfonso Retreat House for over 20 years.

He shared God’s love by his actions.  He welcomed less fortunate youth from New York City’s Fresh Air Fund for multiple summers.  Working through the Healing the Children organization he hosted children from other nations while they received specialized medical care in American hospitals.  One of those children, Mimi, returned to receive multiple surgeries and is still a welcome member of John’s family.

His greatest passion was his commitment to ensure the right to life for the unborn.  John organized, contributed, protested, and prayed in defense of all human life. He co-founded the Life Education Council.

John is survived by his daughters Ellen Brown, Patricia Dunne (William), Edward Mulholland (Gretchen) and 9 grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his daughter Katherine Sooy and his beloved wife Mary Ellen.

The family will be receiving friends at Resurrection Parish, 651 Millbrook Ave, Randolph, NJ Saturday, February 25th, 10:30 am to noon followed by a funeral mass beginning at noon. The funeral mass will be live-streamed at: https://resurrectionparishnj.org/live-stream

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made, in his memory, to Life Education Council, PO Box 734, Far Hills, NJ 07931

Catholic Bishop Blasts Biden: He’s Wrong, We Oppose Tax-Funded Abortions

Another Catholic bishop has called Joe Biden to task after he falsely claimed the Catholic Church doesn’t oppose taxpayer-funded abortions.

Biden lied to a Catholic reporter on Monday and falsely claimed the nation’s Catholic bishops do not oppose forcing Americans to fund abortions even though the Catholic Church has a longstanding pro-life position against tax-funded abortions.

During questioning about the federal budget, Biden responded to a question from EWTN White House correspondent Owen Jensen. The pro-life reporter could barely get his question out before Biden cut him off:

Q Catholic bishops are demanding that federal tax dollars not fund abortions.

BIDEN: No, they are not all doing that. Nor is —

Q Catholic bishops are —

BIDEN: Nor is —

Q — demanding that federal tax —

BIDEN: Nor is the Pope doing that.

Yesterday, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a statement confirming Biden is wrong and that the nation’s Catholic bishops do oppose taxpayer funding of abortions.

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“As we are taught by Jesus, human life is sacred. God calls us to defend and nurture life from the moment a new human being is conceived. The Catholic Church has been clear and consistent in this teaching,” Broglio said. “The Catholic bishops of the United States are united in our commitment to life and will continue to work as one body in Christ to make abortion unthinkable.”

“Taxpayer funding of abortion would force people of good conscience to participate in this grave evil against their will,” he said.

“It would contradict our right to live in accord with the tenets of our faith. Our nation is better than that,” he continued. “I pray that we will protect every child no matter his or her age, and open our hearts to respond to mothers in need with love and support rather than the violence of abortion.”

Broglio is the second Catholic bishop to take Biden to task.

Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler, Texas condemned Biden’s comments and said he was engaging in “fake Catholicism.”

“Mr. Biden can’t be allowed to twist the words of Pope Francis in this way,” Strickland tweeted. “I implore the Vatican press office to emphatically clarify that Pope Francis rightly calls abortion murder. It is time to denounce Biden’s fake Catholicism.”

On Friday, the nation’s Catholic bishops released a statement supporting a bill to permanently ban taxpayer funded abortions.

Earlier today, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities sent a letter to House and Senate sponsors of the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act” (H.R.7 and S.62), in support of the legislation.

“Protecting taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortion in violation of their conscience is a principle that has enjoyed historically broad support among Americans, regardless of their otherwise passionately divided views on the topic. It has also been life-saving,” said Bishop Burbidge in his letter. Rather than funding abortion, he continued, “Congress can better serve the common good by prioritizing policies that comprehensively assist women, children, and families in need in ways that will not only encourage childbirth but make it easier to welcome and raise a new child.”

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which has also been supported by the USCCB in previous sessions of Congress, would make long-standing prohibitions on federal funding of elective abortion permanent and government-wide, rather than having to depend on various appropriations, which can put these funding protections or other programs for those in need at risk.

Changing Hearts, Minds and Lives – February 2023 Newsletter

Issues We Face

Highlights from Fall 2022 issue of Human Life Review (www.humanlifereview.com):

  • Vicki Thorn was the founder of Project Rachel in 1984 in her Milwaukee archdiocese to console and heal women mourning their aborted children, a process that could take years for some. Today, Project Rachel is a nationwide ministry of the Catholic Church. Vicki, who died in 2022, is a hero to countless women (and men) who have repaired abortion-damaged lives
  • Christopher Reeve (film’s Superman) and Michael J. Fox both promoted embryonic stem cell research, which has had little to show for its promises. A Nobel Prize-winning
    discovery revealed that adult stem cells could be used in place of stem cells from human embryos that are killed. “Healing born bodies need not be done at the expense of unborn human lives.”
  • Regarding gender reassignment surgery: “If our pet dog leaped from our second-story window under the delusion it was a bird, we would not benignly endorse its choice of identity … Why don’t we react to our fellow deluded humans with similar seriousness?”
  • Murchison, in “Farewell Roe,” says: “We seem as a nation, as a people, to desire a little of this and a little of that: not wholesale permission to abort and not a wholesale prohibition either.” States can now each make their own policies. “But in a moral debate, you need moral premises.” A vote or referendum won’t get the job done. “A multitude of women, over the past half-century, have grown accustomed, thank you, to the opportunities of deciding this or that ….” But at the same time, “moral codes binding on persons of both sexes have eroded.” Hence, it is okay, even a “right,” to abort a developing human being. “The pro-life cause in the 21st century consists in continuing, against hardship and rebuke to proclaim the moral worthiness of life yet unborn. We are not there, when it comes to abortion, nor anyplace close. Not yet.”

That is what the pro-life movement is about. We are not simply anti-abortion as we are so often painted to be. We are pro-life, pro the mystery of life, pro the wonder of life, pro the joy of life. And we are impelled to share this message with everyone. We need to bring the Gospel of Life
to the heart of every man and women and to make it penetrate every part of society.
John Cardinal O’Connor (1920-2000)


Caregiving is Pro-Life

The encyclical Gospel of Life recognizes the full range
of threats against human life… war, poverty, life….
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was
thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you
welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and
you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”
Matthew 25:34-36

How do you feed the hungry? You shop for your mother and stock her cupboard with nutritious food, take her out to lunch, or cook for her. You visit her in the nursing home, sit with her and her friends in the dining room, assisting those who need help by cutting their meat or spoon-feeding the weak.

How do you help the thirsty? You take your father out for a cup of coffee at his favorite coffee shop or split a beer with him while you watch Sunday football together. You give him ice chips to relieve the awful dryness, and swab his mouth when he cannot swallow.

You welcome a stranger by visiting with your beloved aunt who has forgotten who she is and who you are, reintroducing yourself every time. You clothe the naked when you do your uncle’s laundry. You care for the sick every time you accompany your mom to visit the doctor, bathe her feverish head, hold her in your arms to comfort her, change her diaper, and in a hundred other
gentle ways. You visit the imprisoned when he is a shut-in, unable to go where he wants to go. You keep him company and play Rummy or Checkers to pass the long hours.

You may not be able to add days to the life of a loved one, but you can add life to their days. [The Healthcare Advocacy and Leadership Organization (halovoice.org)]

Take a Pill, Kill a Baby

After consulting with a doctor who is not pro-life, a woman can be prescribed chemical abortion, that is, abortion by two pills, which now accounts for more than 50% of all abortions in the USA. New York is now an official “sanctuary state” for abortion, offering abortion pills free to anyone. New Jersey Governor Murphy is also pushing this, as are several other states. Walgreens, CVS & Rite Aide will provide them over the counter.

Such pills put a woman at serious risk as they force her body to go into labor and expel the baby. The abortion is done in her home, in her bathroom, and sadly she will witness all that happens there. These pills can only be taken within the first 10 weeks after conception but no ultrasound is required before they are given. Because women no longer have to take the first dose of the abortion pills in the presence of a physician, it is impossible to know no whether they actually take the drugs or not – or whether abortions are forced on them without their consent.

Imagine the fallout for women as they deliver their dead baby alone without any follow up. What about women who are past the 10-week period? Who will be there if they see the remains and how will they process that? What if there are complications? The Life Legal Defense Foundation is currently involved in two malpractice lawsuits involving young women who were seriously injured by abortion drugs. When taken in the second trimester, abortion pills can cause uterine rupture, excessive bleeding, and other life-threatening injuries.

Two studies have found that chemical abortions have four times the complication rate as surgical abortions. One study used comprehensive data from the California Medicaid program from 2009 to 2010. Another analyzed 42,000 Finnish women who obtained abortions between
2000 and 2006. Loosening the regulations on chemical abortions will only increase those risks. [Michael New, LifeNews.com, 1/13/23]

The 2023 label removes the requirements for pill dispensers to advise patients that, should they require emergency care after taking the drug, they ought to let the emergency department healthcare providers know that they are undergoing a medication abortion.

With the government’s elimination of common-sense restrictions on dispensing abortion drugs, data on abortion rates and complications are unreliable at best. According to the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute, only 28 states require abortionists to report post-abortion
complications. This is exactly what Planned Parenthood and other abortionists want: zero factual reporting, zero accountability. It is clear what the federal administration leadership really wants. Thankfully, a lawsuit has been filed against the FDA. One of the plaintiffs is the American Assoc. of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists


Motherhood must be treated as a great end and a great task
in itself. For with it is connected the mother’s work in giving
birth, in feeding, and in rearing. No one can take her place.
Nothing can take the place of the heart of a mother always
present. True respect for work brings with it a proper esteem
for motherhood. It cannot be otherwise. The moral health of
the whole of society depends on it.
Pope St. John Paul II


Actor Who Plays Jesus in The Chosen

“Today, we are under an assault on our sense of virtue, enduring an affront to the innate holiness that we are all called to, an attack on the family structure, and the sacredness of the gift of life.
As followers of Jesus, we are charged to be the standard bearers who defend & preserve
the dignity of every human, but especially the most vulnerable which begins with the initial
stages of life, and continues over life’s stages. You are here today for the noblest and worthiest of causes: to allow the unborn to enter into the world.” [March for Life 2023: speech of Jonathan
Roumie, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYY2-wf-cl0]

Monetary Value of Marriage

Today, young Americans are delaying marriage while they wait for career success. Nearly 60% of them live together without the commitment of marriage. Yet cohabitating couples have only 25% of the net worth that married couples have in the same age group. (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 2019, for the ages 25-34.) It seems that the emotional commitment in the marriage vow is a driver of success. Marriage actually means “for richer for richer”; it is the unmarried couples who get the “for poorer” part. Plus, many other riches, in addition to money, come with marriage.

Those in successful marriages know that their bond with another person is far more important than any career goal. All of society suffers from instability when marriage rates drop. Maybe the hard reality of cold cash can reverse this troubling culture that undervalues the
beauty of marriage. [Anne Schlafly Cori, EagleForum.org, 11/13/22]

For High School Students

  • Students who will be entering their senior year of high school in the fall of 2023 are invited to apply for the 2023 summer program sessions. This will mark the 25th year of this wildly popular program, “The Best Week Ever,” which boasts close to 4,000 alumni since 1999. Each year, hundreds of high school students spend a week on campus, described as one of the best weeks of their lives, ranking it on average 4.8 out of 5. Applicants can choose any one of five weeks offered. This is the most popular, well-attended, highly-ranked pre-college summer program of its kind. Attendance is competitive, and with a waiting list each year, students should not delay applying at www.christendom.edu
  • Teens and college students displayed creative signs at January’s March for Life. “Human rights begin in the womb” was one; another quoted Dr. Seuss’s “Horton Hears a Who;” “Unborn Lives Matter” another. See all: https://www.lifenews.com/2023/01/20/28-of-the-best-m
    arch-for-life-signs/

Pornography Addiction

Plenty of bad stuff comes from our computer, smart phone or tablet. Any addiction to gambling, videogames or porn drives our brains to want more and with more intensity, causing us to ignore more important aspects of our lives such as work, family, school. Parents of students should be alert and make use of programs such as
Covenant Eyes (forwards screen shots to a designated accountability partner) or Accountable2You.


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

Two Abortion Activists Arrested for Attacking Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers, They Face 12 Years in Prison

The Justice Department has finally arrested and indicted abortion activists in connection with over 250 cases of violence against churches and pregnancy centers.

Two Florida residents were indicted by a federal grand jury for spray-painting threats on pro-life pregnancy centers that provide women with abortion alternatives. The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida, alleges that Caleb Freestone, 27, (pictured) and Amber Smith-Stewart, 23, attacked multiple pro-life pregnancy centers in Florida.

Freestone and Smith-Stewart targeted pregnancy resource facilities and vandalized those facilities with spray-painted threats, including “If abortions aren’t safe than niether [sic] are you,” “YOUR TIME IS UP!!,” “WE’RE COMING for U,” and “We are everywhere,” on a reproductive health services facility in Winter Haven, Florida. The indictment further alleges that facilities in Hollywood, Florida, and Hialeah, Florida, were also targeted.

The incidents came after a creepy pro-abortion march by Antifa and other radical leftists.

The indictment also alleges that Freestone and Smith-Stewart violated the FACE Act by using threats of force to intimidate and interfere with the employees of a reproductive health services facility in Winter Haven because those employees were providing or seeking to provide reproductive health services. The indictment further alleges that Freestone and Smith-Stewart violated the FACE Act by intentionally damaging and destroying the facility’s property because the facility provides reproductive health services.

If convicted of the offenses, Freestone and Smith-Stewart each face up to a maximum of 12 years in prison, three years of supervised release and fines of up to $350,000.

The attack is the latest in hundreds of crimes directed at pro-life advocates and churches in the past year. LifeNews, which kept track of the incidents, estimated an average of four per week in 2022.

SUPPORT LIFENEWS! If you want to help fight abortion, please donate to LifeNews.com!

Earlier this month, someone vandalized a pro-life billboard in Oregon, spray-painting the words “Kill them kids” across a baby’s face.

Another billboard was vandalized with a similar phrase last week, the words “Aborting children is cool” and “Kill babies” spray-painted in white across it, according to Prolife Across America.

After a leak of the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling in May and then the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, Americans saw a massive crime wave by abortion activists. At least ten arson attacks were linked to pro-abortion extremism, including the firebombing of CompassCare in Buffalo, New York.

In November, FBI Director Christopher Wray admitted that most of the abortion-related attacks in the past year have targeted pro-life organizations. “Since the Dobbs decision, probably in the neighborhood of 70 percent of our abortion-related violence cases or threats cases are cases of violence or threats against … pro-life organizations,” he told a U.S. Senate committee.

Yet, there have been very few arrests. Last week, the FBI offered reward money for information leading to arrests in many of the attacks.

In total, LifeNews counted about 250 attacks in 2022, including the shooting of an elderly pro-life woman in Michigan and an abortion activist who allegedly tried to burn a police officer with a makeshift flamethrower during a protest in Los Angeles.

Many pro-life organizations are increasing security and Republican lawmakers are demanding action from the Biden administration to crack down on the growing pro-abortion domestic terrorism. But, while the Biden administration has been aggressively working to expand the killing of unborn babies in abortions, it has done little to stop the hostilities directed at pro-life advocates and churches.

Earlier this month, the U.S. House passed a resolution condemning the violence, but only three Democrats voted in favor of it.

LifeNews has been keeping track of abortion-related crimes targeting pro-lifers. In the past 12 months, they include:

  1. Washington, D.C. – Police Remove 2 Abortion Activists for Trying to Disrupt March for Life (Ford Fischer/News2Share)
  2. Oregon – “Kill Them Kids”: Pro-Life Billboard Vandalized in Portland
  3. Georgia – FBI Offers Reward for Info on Pro-Abortion Vandalism of MLK’s Ebenezer Baptist Church
  4. Illinois – Pro-Abortion Activist Charged with Battery for Allegedly Assaulting Pro-Lifer Outside New Abortion Facility in Rockford (more) (video)
  5. Colorado – Bella Health and Wellness Pro-Life Ministry Vandalized in Englewood (Catholic News Agency)
  6. Michigan – Another Pregnancy Center Vandalized in Eastpointe, Pro-Life Leader’s Home Also Vandalized with Threat
  7. Virginia – Pro-Life Advocate Attacked, Injured at George Mason University (TFP Student Action)
  8. Pennsylvania – Pro-Life Advocate Attacked while Holding Sign Saying “Smile! You Survived Abortion!” at Gettysburg College
  9. California – Pro-Life Student Display Vandalized at University of California San Diego (Students for Life)
  10. Nebraska – Church, Pro-Life Students Receive Violent Threats from Pro-Abortion Activists (Omaha World Herald); Governor Condemns as Domestic Terrorism
  11. Washington, D.C. – Radical Abortion Activists Disrupt Pregnancy Center Banquet Just Months after It was Vandalized
  12. Indiana – Another Pro-Life Billboard Vandalized with Red Paint in Greenfield, Indiana (Prolife Across America)
  13. South Carolina – Clemson University Pro-Life Student Group Gets Violent Threats for Hosting Students for Life Chief (The College Fix)
  14. Pennsylvania – Carnegie Mellon University Republican Club Competition Display Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Campus Reform)
  15. Alaska – St. Andrew Catholic Church in Eagle River Vandalized Twice Since Supreme Court Abortion Leak (Alaska Watchman)
  16. New York – Ulster County Sheriff’s Office Investigates Vandalism of Pro-Life Billboard in Esopus, Third Time This Year (Daily Freeman)
  17. North Carolina – Campbell University Pro-Life Student Leader Receives Violent Threats, Display Vandalized (Campus Reform)
  18. Michigan – Prayer rally to defeat Michigan abortion amendment is victim of ‘pro-choice cyber attack’ (Catholic News Agency)
  19. Kentucky – Numerous Pro-Life Signs Supporting Amendment 2 Vandalized, Stolen at Homes and Churches (WDRB)
  20. North Carolina – Attacker Shoots Up Home of Pro-Life Candidate, Bullet Barely Misses His Children
  21. Washington state – St. Pius X Church Vandalized with Satanic Symbols, Window Smashed (Lynnwood Times)
  22. Idaho – Police Investigating Death Threat, Vandalism of Pro-Life Republican Rep’s Billboard (Idaho State Journal)
  23. USA – National Pro-Life Chalk Day Results in More Campus Vandalism (Campus Reform)
  24. Washington, D.C. – Three Abortion Activists Arrested for Disrupting U.S. Supreme Court
  25. California – Elderly Pro-Lifer Attacked Outside Planned Parenthood (Life Legal Defense Foundation)
  26. Florida – Four Attackers Brutally Assault Marco Rubio Supporter (police report)
  27. Alaska – Pregnancy Center, Church Targeted by Pro-Abortion Vandals in One Day
  28. Pennsylvania – Police Search for Woman who Vandalized 5 Police Vehicles at Pro-Abortion Protest (Shore News Network) (video)
  29. Michigan – Elderly Pro-Life Woman Shot by Abortion Supporter while Campaigning against Pro-Abortion Constitutional Amendment
  30. Michigan – Abortion Activists Caught on Video Vandalizing Lansing Catholic Church with Pro-Abortion Graffiti
  31. Connecticut – University of Connecticut Students for Life Materials Vandalized and Stolen (Students for Life)
  32. Washington, D.C. – Police Arrest Abortion Activist for Allegedly Harassing Pro-Lifers at Women’s March (Students for Life)
  33. Virginia – Students Vandalize Pro-Life Memorial at the College of William and Mary (Campus Reform)
  34. USA – Liberty Counsel Website Hacked, Private Info Published after Dobbs Ruling (Christian Post) (more at CyberScoop)
  35. Missouri – Pro-Life Students told to Kill Themselves, Display Vandalized and Materials Stolen at University of Missouri (Students for Life)
  36. New Jersey – SFLA: Pro-Abortion Student Steals & Rips Head Off Fetal Model at Rider University (Students for Life)
  37. West Virginia – Police Arrest 2 Abortion Activists at State Capitol during Debate on Pro-Life Legislation (12 WBOY)
  38. Michigan – Mother and Unborn Baby Care Center Vandalized Twice Since June
  39. North Dakota – Man Allegedly Kills Teenager With His Car Just Because Teen Was a Republican
  40. Virginia – SFLA ‘Abortion Is Not Right’ Fall Tour Begins on College Campuses, Urine Allegedly Thrown at Pro-Life Students at College of William and Mary (Students for Life)
  41. Maine – Abortion Activist Accused of Vandalism outside Conservative Leader’s Home in Mount Desert (Bangor Daily News)
  42. California – Two Arrested at Pro-Abortion Rally in Hollywood (CBS News)
  43. Virginia – George Mason University Students for Life Harassed, Materials Stolen from Table (Campus Reform)
  44. Vermont – Jane’s Revenge brags about vandalizing PRC in Burlington (Live Action)
  45. Iowa – Angry Leftist Smashes University of Iowa Pro-Life Club’s Table With Bike Helmet, Targets Other Pro-Life Groups
  46. California – LACMA Pro-Abortion Protest Stops Traffic; Police Arrest 2 Women (Hey SOCAL)
  47. New York – Alpha Pregnancy Care Center in Schenectady Vandalized with “Fake Clinic” and “Jane’s Revenge” (Catholic News Agency)
  48. USA – Pro-Life Businesses Face Backlash, Harassment Since Dobbs Ruling (World Magazine)
  49. South Carolina – Swastikas Painted on Spartanburg Church, Pastor Attributes to Pro-Life Stance (WBTW News 13)
  50. Massachusetts – Pro-Abortion Extremists Vandalize Another Pro-Life Pregnancy Center, Bethlehem House Inc. Pregnancy Care Center in Easthampton, That Helps Women
  51. Arkansas – Conservative Pro-Life Group Ammo-Can Coffee in Soldotna Is Vandalized, Locks Glued Shut (Peninsula Clarion)
  52. Idaho – Compassion & Hope Pregnancy Center in Pocatello Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti, “Beware” (Idaho State Journal)
  53. Pennsylvania – Another Pro-Life Billboard Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti in Pittsburgh (Prolife Across America)
  54. Colorado – Catholic Church Shot Up as Wave of Pro-Abortion Violence Continues Nationwide
  55. New York – Police Arrest 5 Pro-Abortion Demonstrators who Harangued Pro-Life Catholics at Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral (Daily Mail)
  56. Maine – Abortion Activist Arrested Outside Home of Federalist Society Leader, Allegedly Threatened 11-Year-Old Girl
  57. Kansas – Calvary Temple Assembly of God Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti, “My Body, My Choice” (The Lawrence Times)
  58. Kansas – Emporia Police Report Stolen, Damaged “Vote Yes” Signs Ahead of Pro-Life Vote (KVOE)
  59. Kansas – Pro-Lifer with Students for Life Assaulted while Campaigning for Pro-Life Amendment in Kansas (more at Kansas City Star)
  60. Kansas – Lawrence’s Victory Bible Church Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti after Supporting Pro-Life Amendment (Lawrence Journal-World)
  61. Minnesota – Police: Abria Pregnancy Resources in St. Paul Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Threat (KSTP Eyewitness News)
  62. California – Abortion Activists Vandalize Riverside Historic Courthouse, Five Arrested (The Press-Enterprise)
  63. California – Los Angeles Police Arrest 3 after Urban Light Display Vandalized during Pro-Abortion Protest (KTLA 5)
  64. Wisconsin – Pro-Life Sign Vandalized in Kewaunee County, Sheriff Looking for Info (WFRV)
  65. Massachusetts – Your Options Medical Pregnancy Center in Revere Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Threat (Catholic News Agency)
  66. Louisiana – Pro-Life Man Assaulted, Camera Smashed outside Abortion Facility in Baton Rouge (WAFB News 9)
  67. Georgia – Vandals Attack St. Boniface Catholic Church’s Pro-Life Sign (Effingham Herald)
  68. Illinois – Abortion Activists Terrorize Pro-Life Attorney, Throw Smoke Bombs and Firecrackers at His House (The Gateway Pundit) (more at The Daily Northwestern)
  69. Wisconsin – Police Investigate Pro-Abortion Vandalism at Abundant Life Christian School, Bernard Catholic Church in Madison (WKOW 27)
  70. California – Sacramento Pregnancy Center Had to Hire Security Guard When Abortion Activist Showed Up With Machete
  71. Louisiana – Woman’s New Life Clinic in Baton Rouge Vandalized, “Abortion is a Right” (National Right to Life News) (more from 4WWL News)
  72. Utah – Arches New Hope Pregnancy Center in Moab Vandalized, Black Paint Splattered Across Building (Moab Sun News)
  73. Pennsylvania – Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia Had Windows Smashed, Office Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Philly Anti-Capitalist blog) (more from the Pro-Life Union)
  74. Kansas – Derby Neighborhood Fence, Mural Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (KAKE)
  75. Kansas – Overland Park Catholic Church Vandalized with “My Body My Choice” after Speaking Out for Life (Kansas City Star)
  76. Ohio – Right to Life of Northeast Ohio in Akron Vandalized a Second Time, “If Abortions Aren’t Safe Neither RU” (RTL of Northeast Ohio)
  77. Washington state – Care Net of Puget Sound in Kenmore Vandalized with Spraypaint, Windows Smashed (My Northwest)
  78. Massachusetts – Two Worcester Pregnancy Centers Problem Pregnancy, Clearway Clinic Vandalized, Windows Smashed (MassLive) (more from Clearway Clinic website)
  79. Washington state – Two Churches Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti in Sumner (My Northwest)
  80. Washington state – Police Investigate Attempted Arson at Two Hearts Pregnancy Center in Everett (Live Action News)
  81. Iowa – Vandals Deface Pro-Life Billboard at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Vinton (Vinton Today)
  82. Kansas – Salina Police Cite Woman for Damaging Pro-Life “Vote Yes” Signs at 8 Locations (Salina Journal)
  83. Wisconsin – Four Catholic Churches in Chippewa Falls, Tilden Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Spectrum News 1) (more from CNA)
  84. Texas – Man Arrested for Allegedly Threatening to Shoot Supreme Court Justices with AK47 (Fox News)
  85. Minnesota – Birthright Pregnancy Center Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Catholic News Agency) (more from The Globe)
  86. Oregon – Radicals Smash Building, Attack Journalist at Pro-Abortion Riot in Portland (Andy Ngo)
  87. Texas – Abortion Activists Block Traffic in Austin During Pro-Abortion Protest (Insider)
  88. Michigan – Abortion Activists Block 4th of July Parade in Lansing (Newsweek)
  89. Florida – Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic in Hialeah Vandalized: “If Abortions Aren’t Safe, Neither Are You” (Martha Avila/Heartbeat of Miami) (more from Local 10 News)
  90. Wisconsin – St. Bernard Catholic Church in Madison Vandalized with “Anti-‘Pro-Life’” Graffiti (National Review)
  91. Ohio – Right to Life of Northeast Ohio Office Vandalized Hours after Roe Overturned (Right to Life of Northeast Ohio)
  92. Washington, D.C. – Police Arrest Abortion Activists for Blocking Roadway near U.S. Supreme Court (Bloomberg)
  93. New Hampshire – Pathways Pregnancy Care Center in Littleton Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Message, “Fund Abortion, Abort God” (WMUR News 9)
  94. Kansas – Cowley County GOP Office in Winfield Vandalized, Pro-Life Materials Lit on Fire (Fox News)
  95. Utah – Pregnancy Resource Center of Salt Lake City Vandalized Hours after Supreme Court Overturns Roe (Catholic News Agency)
  96. California – Abortion Activists Vandalize Mobile Clinic of Pro-Life Pregnancy Center Options Health in Concord (Catholic News Agency)
  97. Pennsylvania – St. Patrick Catholic Church in Philadelphia Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Catholic News Agency)
  98. Tennessee – Pro-Life Hope Clinic for Women in Nashville Vandalized, Molotov Cocktail Found (Tennessee Lookout)
  99. California – A Woman’s Friend Pregnancy Center in Yuba City Vandalized, Window Smashed (CBS 13 Sacramento)
  100. Washington state – St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Renton Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti, Windows Smashed (KIRO 7)
  101. Indiana – Monroe County Courthouse Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Fox 59 News)
  102. Colorado – Heart to Heart Pregnancy Center in Cortez Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Catholic News Agency)
  103. Indiana – Memorial for Aborted Babies Vandalized at St. Therese Little Flower Catholic Church (Catholic News Agency)
  104. Florida – LifeChoice Pregnancy Center in Winter Haven Defaced with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Catholic News Agency)
  105. Oregon – First Image Pregnancy Center Vandalized Again in Portland, Photojournalist Assaulted for Reporting the Crime (Andy Ngo)
  106. Washington state – Video: Man Smashes Bellevue Church Doors, Throws Rock at Employee (Fox 13 Seattle)
  107. Texas – 3 Statues Vandalized at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Harlingen (Valley Central 4)
  108. New York – Ascension Roman Catholic Church in Upper West Side Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Threat (Newsweek)
  109. Florida – Methodist Church in Tallahassee Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Newsweek)
  110. USA – Hackers Attack Pro-Life States and Organizations, Steal Data (The Byte)
  111. Louisiana – Tombstones for Unborn Babies Vandalized at Holy Name of Mary Church in Algiers (Live Action News)
  112. Iowa – Informed Choices Pro-Life Center Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Live Action News)
  113. Oregon– All Saints Catholic Church in Northeast Portland Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Catholic Sentinel)
  114. North Carolina – NC GOP Responds to Abortion Graffiti at Raleigh Headquarters (News Observer)
  115. Rhode Island – Police Arrest Two at Pro-Abortion Protest in Providence (The Providence Journal)
  116. Virginia – St. John Catholic Church Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti after Supreme Court Ruling (NBC Washington 4) Vandals Allegedly Tried to Set Garden on Fire (MRC-TV)
  117. South Carolina – Police Arrest 6 Abortion Activists at Pro-Abortion Protest in Greenville (The Daily Wire)
  118. Virginia – Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center Vandalized after Supreme Court Abortion Ruling (CNN) (more from 10 News WSLS)
  119. Vermont – Windows Smashed, Pro-Abortion Graffiti Found on Vermont Statehouse after Roe Overturned (VT Digger)
  120. California – Paso Robles Tree of Life Pregnancy Center Vandalized after Roe Overturned (KSBY News 6) (more from The Tribune)
  121. Colorado – Abortion Activists Burn, Vandalize Pro-Life Pregnancy Center after Supreme Court Overturns Roe
  122. California – Abortion Activist Charged with Attempting to Murder Police During Pro-Abortion Protest (more)
  123. Washington, D.C. – MAGA hat swatted off pro-life protester’s head in front of SCOTUS (Richie McGinnis/Daily Caller)
  124. Washington state – Pro-Abortion Radicals Destroy Street Preacher’s Bible during Seattle Protest (Jonathan Choe/Discovery Institute)
  125. Washington state – Security Guard Hit with Metal Pipe during Pro-Abortion Protest in Seattle (Jonathan Choe/Discovery Institute)
  126. Washington state – Antifa attack and pepper spray pro-life woman in Seattle (The Post Millennial)
  127. Iowa – Pro-Abortion Protesters Hit, Try to Block Vehicle at Protest in Cedar Rapids (Andy Ngo)
  128. California – Pro-Abortion Protesters in Sacramento Surround Car, Block Driver from Leaving (Fox 40)
  129. Oregon – Pro-Abortion Protesters Smash Mall Windows, Start Fire Near Federal Courthouse in Portland (Andy Ngo)
  130. Oregon – Eugene Police Arrest 10 during Pro-Abortion ‘Night of Rage’ (The Hill)
  131. California – Los Angeles Pro-Abortion Protesters Shut Down Street, Hit Drivers with Sticks (El American/Andy Ngo)
  132. New York – Fox News Studios Vandalized in New York City at Pro-Abortion Protest (more)
  133. Arizona – Police Disburse Pro-Abortion Protesters for Kicking Doors, Trying to Break Senate Building Windows, Interrupting Session (Arizona Family)
  134. New York – Entrance to Expectant Mother Care Frontline in Brooklyn Vandalized (Religion Unplugged)
  135. Minnesota – Northfield Women’s Center Vandalized, Window Broken (Northfield News)
  136. California – Abortion Activist Rips Bible, Disrupts Church Service at Nesting Place Home for Mothers and Children in Long Beach (Catholic Vote) (video)
  137. Maine – First Step Pregnancy Resource Center in Bangor Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Christianity Today)
  138. Virginia – Bullet Hole Found in Virginia Attorney General’s Office after He Condemns Pro-Abortion Violence (Daily Wire)
  139. Washington, D.C. – Wall near U.S. Supreme Court Vandalized: “Abort the Court, Keep Abortions Safe & Legal” (Live Action News)
  140. Michigan – Family Life Services Pregnancy Center Vandalized Twice in One Week in Ypsilanti (Pregnancy Help News) (more at Live Action News)
  141. Indiana – Video: Abortion Activist Grabs, Restrains Pro-Life Student Activist at Indianapolis Protest (Students for Life/SBA Pro-Life America)
  142. Washington state – Options 360 Pregnancy Center Vandalized in Vancouver (SBA Pro-Life America) (more at The Post Millennial)
  143. New York – Two Pro-Life Billboards Vandalized in Esopus (Daily Freeman)
  144. Iowa – Republican Office in Cedar Rapids Vandalized (The Gazette)
  145. Kansas – Pro-Life Yard Signs Ripped Apart, Stolen at Multiple Homes Ahead of Pro-Life Amendment Vote (Value Them Both) (more at KSNT)
  146. Michigan – Two More Sites Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti, Including Pro-Life Group and Congressman’s Office (Right to Life of Michigan)
  147. Michigan – Pro-Abortion Domestic Terrorists Destroy Pro-Life Pregnancy Center in Redford, Smashing Doors and Windows
  148. Ohio – Pro-Life Billboard in Columbus Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Right to Life of Northeast Ohio)
  149. Michigan – Windows Smashed, Threat Spray-Painted on Dearborn Heights Pregnancy Center
  150. Wisconsin – Leftists Target Pro-Life Congressional Candidate With Vandalism: “F— Charity Barry”
  151. Minnesota – Minnesota Pro-Life Organization MCCL Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti, Windows Smashed; Second Vandalism in Weeks
  152. Pennsylvania – Abortion Activists Attack Pro-Life Pregnancy Center in Philadelphia, Smash Windows
  153. Washington state – Pro-life Republican Lawmaker’s Office Hit with Arson Attempt, Vandalism
  154. Michigan – Naked Protester Disrupts Catholic Mass to Promote Killing Babies in Abortions
  155. Iowa – Abortion Activists Brag About Vandalizing Another Pregnancy Center
  156. Alaska – Pregnancy Center Vandalized with Nails, Pro-Abortion Graffiti (EWTN Ireland)
  157. Oregon – Abortion Activists Firebomb Another Pro-Life Pregnancy Center, Fourth Bombing in Weeks
  158. New York – Topless Abortion Rights Protesters Storm Court At New York Liberty WNBA Game (Huffington Post)
  159. New York – Statues of Lúcia dos Santos and Jacinta Marto smashed and decapitated at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church (ABC 7 New York)
  160. New York – Tabernacle stolen, Holy Eucharist thrown on floor, statues of angels on the altar decapitated and destroyed at St. Augustine Catholic Church, Brooklyn (Catholic News Agency)
  161. Michigan – Police Arrest Abortion Activist for Allegedly Disrupting Michigan House Session (Bridge Michigan)
  162. California – Abortion Activist Arrested Trying to Approach Joe Biden to Urge Him to Promote Abortion
  163. Maryland – Police Arrest Man with Weapon outside Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh’s Home, Allegedly Threatened to Murder Him (Washington Post)
  164. North Carolina – Asheville Pregnancy Center Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Lauren Muzyka/Sidewalk Advocates for Life) (more at FOX Carolina)
  165. New York – Abortion Activists Firebomb Pro-Life Pregnancy Center, Third Bombing in Weeks
  166. New York – Pro-Abortion Protesters Mob Catholic Pro-Life Procession (National Review)
  167. Texas – Radical Abortion Activists Invade Church Service to Promote Killing Babies
  168. Florida – Pro-Abortion Violence Continues as Abortion Activists Vandalize Catholic Pro-Life Office
  169. Washington, D.C. – Abortion Activists Trash Pregnancy Center: Dump Paint on Door, Egg Windows, Write “Revenge” on Wall
  170. Pennsylvania – Pro-Life Billboard Vandalized in Pittsburgh (ProLife Across America)
  171. Oregon – Mother and Child center vandalized; Address was publicized by group that favors abortion rights (Catholic Sentinel)
  172. Oregon – Eugene Pregnancy Center Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Andy Ngo)
  173. New Jersey – Catholic Pro-Life Student Attacked at Public School, 7 Pro-Abortion Students Suspended (CNA) (video)
  174. Washington state – Radical Abortion Activists Vandalize Pro-Life Center, Smash 5 Windows and Leave Threats
  175. Michigan – Grand Rapids Meeting Adjourned after Unruly Protesters Shout Down Anti-Abortion Activist (MLive)
  176. Mississippi – Rural Black Church Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti
  177. Oregon – Pro-Life Billboard Vandalized in Portland: “Abort the Supreme Court” (Andy Ngo)
  178. Washington state – Four Churches Vandalized by Pro-Abortion Radicals in Olympia (more from the Washington Free Beacon)
  179. Alabama – Vicar, Parishioners Respond to Vandalism at Pro-Life Women’s Clinic in Auburn (Opelika-Auburn News)
  180. Kansas – Supports of Pro-Life “Value The Both” Amendment Report Yard Signs Stolen (KAKE)
  181. Arizona – Planned Parenthood Chair Brags How Her Husband Assaulted Man in “Blacks for Trump” Shirt
  182. USA – Abortion Activists Threaten to Burn Down Supreme Court, Kill Justices When Roe is Overturned (more at CBS News)
  183. Arizona – Watch: Pro-Abortion Demonstrators Attack, Spit on ‘Students for Kari’ Volunteers (College Fix)
  184. Missouri – Pro-life Student Group at University of Missouri Calls for Dialogue after its Memorial Was Vandalized (Campus Reform)
  185. Indiana – Pro-Life Student Advocates Shoved, Grabbed from Behind at Pro-Abortion Rally (Students for Life)
  186. Idaho – Two Arrested at Pro-Abortion Rally, Protester Allegedly Kicked Police Officer (KTVB 7)
  187. Maryland – Birthright of Frederick Vandalized: “F— Fake Clinics”
  188. Maryland – Alpha Pregnancy Center in Reisterstown Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Andy Ngo) (more at WBAL-TV 11)
  189. USA – Video: Pro-Life Student Activists Kicked, Shoved by Pro-Abortion Protesters (Students for Life)
  190. Michigan – Michigan Catholic Church Vandalized with Satanic Symbols after Roe Leak (more at The Tennessee Star)
  191. New York City – Abortion Activists Threaten to Bomb, Burn Down St. Patrick’s Catholic Church
  192. Maine – Republican Senator Receives Threats after Voting No on Radical Pro-Abortion Bill (Boston Globe)
  193. Texas – Another Pro-Life Pregnancy Center Vandalized in Denton (NRL News)
  194. Virginia – Pro-Life Organization Office Vandalized; Man Exposes Himself, Urinates on Front Door (Concerned Women for America)
  195. California – Pro-Life Billboard Vandalized in Sebastopol (SBA Pro-Life America)
  196. Colorado – Parish church in Fort Collins tagged with pro-abortion graffiti; police investigating (Catholic News Agency)
  197. Oregon – Oregon Right to Life Firebombed With Molotov Cocktail
  198. Texas – Catholic Church Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti
  199. Virginia – Pregnancy Center Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti in Northern Virginia (National Review) (more from Human Coalition)
  200. USA – Pro-Abortion Feminist Calls for Violence against Pro-Life Americans, Celebrates Arson
  201. Wisconsin – Abortion Activists Light Fire in Pro-Life Group’s Office, Throw Molotov Cocktails
  202. Texas – Pro-Life Pregnancy Center Vandalized in Denton, Texas (more from Students for Life)
  203. Oregon, Maryland – Radical Abortion Activists Vandalize Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers That Help Pregnant Women
  204. Washington, D.C. – Two Pro-Life Leaders Say Abortion Activists Punched Them at D.C. Protest (Stand True)
  205. Texas – Pro-Abortion Group Brags about Vandalizing Trotter House Pregnancy Center in Austin (Stop the Sweeps ATX) (more at Pregnancy Help News)
  206. Texas – Pro-Life University of North Texas Student Says Antifa Vandalized Door, Issued Threats (Fox News)
  207. Washington state – Antifa Assault News Crew during Pro-Abortion Rally in Seattle (Andy Ngo)
  208. Colorado – Catholic Church in Boulder Defiled Following Roe v. Wade Draft Opinion Leak (Denver Gazette)
  209. Oregon – Pro-Abortion Protesters Damage Property In Portland Following SCOTUS Leak On Abortion (KXL 101 FM News) (more at KOIN 6)
  210. California – Two Police Officers Injured at Pro-Abortion Protest in Los Angeles (more at CBS News)
  211. Malta – Pro-life Leader’s Office Vandalized in Malta as She Fights Radical Pro-Abortion Bill
  212. Spain – Sant Vicenç de Sarriá Church in Barcelona Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti (Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe)
  213. Northern Ireland – Man Bites Pro-Life Advocate at Rally in Belfast, Arrested by Police (Precious Life)
  214. Mexico – Pro-Abortion Feminist Groups Vandalize Monuments in Mérida, Yucatán (The Yucatan Times)
  215. Colombia – Abortion Activists Try to Set Fire to Cathedral in Botoga during International Safe Abortion Day Protest (The City Paper Botoga)
  216. Switzerland – Zurich Church Vandalized with Satanic Symbols, “Burn” in Red Paint to Protest March for Life (FSSPX News)
  217. Switzerland – Police Arrest 8 Abortion Activists at Swiss March for Life (Evangelical Focus)
  218. Northern Ireland – Abortion Advocates Assault Pro-Life City Councilman
  219. Canada – Windsor, Ontario Church Vandalized with ‘Hate-Motivated’ Message: “Abort Christ” (CTV News)
  220. Canada – Video: Man Assaults Pro-Life Woman, Threatens to Put “Bullet in Your Head” in Hamilton, Ontario (Campaign Life Coalition)
  221. Canada – Cambridge Right to Life Building in Ontario Vandalized after Roe Overturned (Cambridge Today)
  222. South Carolina – Abortion Activists Attempt to Intimidate Pro-Life Student at Home, Vandalize Sign (Live Action News)
  223. Czechia – Abortion Activists Block March for Life in Prague (Expats CZ)
  224. New York – Pro-Life Advocate Shoved, Smacked by Pro-Abortion Couple on New York City Sidewalk (Created Equal)
  225. Michigan – ‘I Love Abortion,’ Dead Baby Drawn on Vandalized Pro-Life Display at Eastern Michigan University (Campus Reform)
  226. Massachusetts – Abortion Activists Rip Sign Out of Pro-Lifers’ Hands, Scream Expletives (Students for Life)
  227. Washington, D.C. – Abortion Activists Push and Shove Pro-Life Students at Supreme Court During Ketanji Brown Jackson Hearing
  228. Ontario – Judge Issues Injunction Against Abortion Activists for Alleged Sabotage of 40 Days for Life (40 Days for Life) (more at Pregnancy Help News)
  229. Connecticut – Leftist Students Threaten Conservative Legal Group: I’ll “Literally Fight You, B—-,” Block Exit at Yale Law School Event (Washington Free Beacon)
  230. California – Cal Poly Investigates Alleged Vandalism against Pro-Life Display (The College Fix)
  231. California – WATCH: Pro-Abortion Handmaiden Attacks Pro-Life Advocate, Tries to Destroy Her Sign
  232. California – Pro-Life Display Vandalized at Clovis Community College (Young America’s Foundation)
  233. Florida – Police Arrest Planned Parenthood Leader for Disrupting Vote on Pro-Life Bill
  234. Arkansas – Abortion Clinic Owner Faces Assault Charges After Allegedly Trying to Hit Pro-Life People With Her Car
  235. California – Pro-Abortion Students Vandalize Pro-Life Flag Display at Cal Poly (Mustang News)
  236. Ohio — Video: Abortion Facility Worker Shoves Pro-Lifer, Says ‘Kill Yourself’ (PAAU on Twitter)
  237. Poland – WATCH: Abortion Activist Attacks Man Because He’s Driving a Truck With Pro-Life Signs
  238. Mississippi – Abortion Activists Vandalize Pro-Life Billboard, Celebrate Its Destruction Online
  239. New York – NYC pro-abortion activists curse at churchgoers, beam ‘God loves abortion’ onto St. Patrick’s Cathedral (Catholic News Agency)
  240. Texas – Pro-Abortion Rioters Attack Pro-Life Conference, Throw Bombs at Pro-Life Students
  241. Nebraska – Police: Man Charged with Threatening Pro-Life Woman Outside Planned Parenthood Abortion Facility (Lincoln Journal-Star)
  242. Nebraska – Pro-Life Legislator Gets Death Threats and Rape Threats After Introducing Bill to Ban Abortions
  243. Illinois – Antifa Radicals Harass Pro-Lifers at March for Life in Chicago, Shouting at Pro-Life People and Calling Them Fascists

Media freak-out over NHL star shows ‘inclusion’ doesn’t extend to conservatives

The hysterical queens going after Ivan Provorov did accomplish at least one good thing: His jerseys promptly sold out at the NHL shop.

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(LifeSiteNews) — As a lifelong, passionate ignorer of professional sports, I do not know much about the National Hockey League beyond what has been inflicted on me against my will. But as it turns out, I do know more than many sports commentators. The latest NHL controversy has nothing to do with fights, or a bad ref call, or anything else related to, you know, the sport. It is about Ivan Provorov, a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers declining to wear a rainbow jersey during a warmup “Pride Night” game against the Anaheim Ducks on January 17.  

Asked about it by reporters, he cited his Russian Orthodox faith. “I respect everybody’s choices,” Provorov told reporters after the game. “My choice is to stay true to my religion, that’s all I’m gonna say. That’s all I’m gonna comment on that. If you have any hockey questions, I would answer those.” Hockey, of course, is far less interesting than the sexual politics that are now somehow part of it, and so a reporter pressed him. “Did you not hear what I just said? Can you respect that?” he responded politely. 

As it turns out, there are plenty of journalists who cannot, in fact, respect that. The most notable example was Sid Seixeiro, a Canadian TV broadcaster with Breakfast Television on CityTV who was utterly apoplectic (although unfortunately not speechless) that Provorov refused to physically wear a shirt that signaled support for Seixeiro’s preferred worldview: 

Seixeiro called on the NHL to “fine the Flyers a million dollars for this … I’m not kidding. Figure this out and stop offending people on nights when it’s not about that, it’s supposed to be about inclusivity.” In order to model this sort of inclusivity, he went on to say, “Nothing scares me more than any human being who says ‘I’m not doing this because of my religious beliefs’ because when you look at people’s lives who normally say that publicly you’d throw up at what you saw. I’ve seen that a million times in a lot of different ways, so don’t give me that … don’t feed me the religious beliefs line.” 

Let’s lay this out clearly here for a moment: In the name of inclusivity, this fellow wants a hockey player who has politely declined to wear a shirt with the ideological symbol of a movement he respectfully disagrees with to be punished to the greatest professional extreme possible and says that this man likely lives a life that would make you “throw up.” His version of “inclusivity” is someone actually wearing clothes on their physical person that signals support for what he believes. I presume, of course, that he wouldn’t be a fan of wearing a jersey with, say, a cross on it for “diversity night”—because this garbage only runs one way.  

Seixeiro was the most egregious example of intentional stupidity in response to this non-story (“hockey player declines gift of political shirt”), but certainly not the only one. Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star tweeted, “John Tortorella once said he would bench any player who didn’t stand for the US anthem. So what have we learned here.” Well, what we’ve learned is that the anthem of the country is not the same thing as the Pride flag, no matter how hard activists attempt to pretend that it is. This isn’t difficult stuff, although Canada’s media drones are sure trying to make it seem like it is. Sports reporter Marc Dumont chimed into say that Jesus would also be calling out Provorov, proving that he should really, really stick to sports writing rather than exegesis. 

Pierre LeBrun of TSN was also angry about Provorov’s wardrobe, claiming, “But Provorov obviously does not respect ‘everyone.’ If he did respect everyone, he would have taken part in warm-up and worn the Pride Night jersey. Don’t hide behind religion.” Because to respect people, one apparently has to not only agree with them ideologically and support every aspect of their lifestyle, but wear clothing that signals this fact. Also at TSN (these guys are sports commentators?), Gord Miller opined that Provorov should not have been allowed to play due to his refusal “to participate in the Pride Night activities.”  

These people are pathetic. The fact that they pull a salary to spout this nonsense is an indictment on the entire media. Sid Seixeiro’s crybullying is a joke — the idea that a group so powerful it is considered standard in professional sports to wear a shirt supporting their agenda is also so persecuted that people should be persecuted for not showing overt support is beyond ridiculous. Tortorella, fortunately, has stuck by Provorov. “He’s being true to himself and to his religion,” he told the press. And the hysterical queens going after the player did accomplish at least one good thing: His jerseys promptly sold out at the NHL shop. It turns out that when people support something, they choose to wear the shirts — voluntarily.  

US bishop: Biden, Pelosi serve ‘godless agendas’ of same-sex ‘marriage,’ abortion

Family & ProLife News Briefs – January 2023 Newsletter

New Year & New Start To Promote the Dignity of Human Life

Rally for Life – in D.C. or Home State?

Many supporters of human life again will be attending the national March for Life in Washington, DC, on Friday, January 20th. Especially positive are the ever-increasing numbers of high school and college students who enliven the whole day with their singing, praying and enthusiasm for the goal of respecting life from conception to natural death. Others arrive the day before and attend programs, galas and evening church services.

One notable program, Life Fest, is being sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the Sisters of Life who invite everyone to attend a morning rally featuring dynamic speakers, music, Holy Mass, and more. Held at the D.C. Entertainment and Sports Arena, the program runs 7:30-10:30 am on Jan. 20th, right before the March for Life.. LifeFest2023.com asks: Why Life Fest? The answer: Because Every Human Person Is Made in God’s Image; Because Our World Is Crying out for Healing; Because Love Is the Answer.

Some state respect life groups are planning rallies for later in the year. For example, New Jersey is planning a Rally for Life on Saturday, June 24, 2023, 11 am – 1 pm, outside the State House Annex in Trenton to celebrate the anniversary of the Dobbs Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

What Do Love & Marriage Mean Today?

For most people today, “marriage is about love.” The precise meaning of the word “love” is never spelled out too clearly, but most people seem to simply agree with President Barack Obama, who said that “love is love.” But this rejects thousands of years of wisdom about male-female relationships. Until very recently marriage was identified not as a sexual-romantic union dissolvable at will but as an subordination of feeling and “personal happiness” to the goal of a stable family for the raising of children. Today, both in no-fault divorce and in universal cohabitation, our society has clearly embraced the “love” union model, except ironically we now call it … marriage, out of cultural nostalgia or for the sake of respectability.

Our culture rejects that “marriage is between a man and a woman” when the dominant understanding rejects
as essential the possible bearing and raising of children (and thus sexual difference). But research indicates that both male and female parents serve best the welfare of children.

Today’s views reflect an inadequate understanding even of love itself. Ultimately, if one reflects deeply about the experience of love, one discovers what Servant of God Luigi Giussani called “the law of life”: Life is fulfilled only in making a complete, unconditional gift of self. This is what people really, though confusedly, seek in affective relationship. A love that can end is not a completely true love, because a gift that can be revoked is not a true gift.

This is the deeper reason why the bearing of children (at least as a possibility) is intrinsically part of the
definition of marriage, making it a “natural” institution rather than a mere legal fiction. The birth of a child can-
not be undone & literally “incarnates” the parents’ love.

Catholics need to keep advocating for public policies that support childbearing and reward parents who live with their children. But the more fundamental task is to give witness (in a society that has largely forgotten it) to the “great mystery” of the natural coming together of man and woman in a fruitful, indissoluble union. [excerpt from Carlo Lancellotti, Commentaries, 12/9/22]

Marriage & Divorce Declined in 2020

How did the pandemic affect existing marriages and relationships. While both marriage and divorce rates fell by double digits in 2020, a few more years of data are needed to determine the longer-term impact. 74% of married couples surveyed in late 2020 felt the pandemic strengthened their marriage, and 82% said it made them feel more committed.

Among singles, 74% are now looking to find a partner who wants to marry. This is the second year in a row where far more singles are eager for a committed long-term relationship compared with the prepandemic survey of 2019. Young people are much more inclined to focus on attributes that increase the odds of long-term relationship success. For years “physical attractiveness” has ranked among one of the topmost desirable attributes in a potential partner. This year, it has been knocked out of the top five most-desired traits. Instead, 92% of singles now rank “emotional maturity” & “comfortably communicating their needs & wants” among the most important traits. And the top attribute most singles are looking for is someone they can trust and confide in. This bodes well for longer, healthier relationships.

An important factor keeping marriages together is a strong desire to want the relationship to succeed. Just like most things in life, even in a relationship, if you really want it to work, you will pick the right priorities and make the right trade-offs to increase the odds of success. Also important are kindness and generosity—to yourself and your partner. [excerpted from Shar Dubey, Wall St. Journal, 12/15/22]

Adoption Fills a Mother’s Waiting Arms

As I hold my youngest baby in my arms, I am grateful for the choices his birth mother made that led him to
become a part of our family. I’m thankful for the radical hospitality she showed by carrying him for nine months and doing all she could to keep him healthy and safe. I’m thankful for the hours she spent poring over the profiles of waiting families and discerning which one she wanted her son to join. I’m especially thankful she chose us!

I’m thankful for the brave love shown by all my sons’ birth mothers and for all those women who choose life for their children. Being asked to be the mother of another woman’s child is the greatest gift I have ever received. If we can promote adoption as a good and empowering choice for mothers to make when they’re unable or unwilling to welcome a child, adoptions will certainly rise.

I pray that when faced with an unplanned, unwanted or crisis pregnancy, women will choose life for their babies
and see adoption as an empowering choice. I pray, too, that a waiting mother’s empty arms will soon be holding
a baby of her own.
[Excerpts from Leigh Snead, “Brave Love,” 12/18/22, © 2022 EWTN News, Inc. Reprinted with permission from the National Catholic Register – www.ncregister.com]

Hiding Truth Through Euphemism

For more than 50 years, pro-abortion activists have used euphemisms to hide the various horrible aspects of abortion. The Associated Press Stylebook sets the usage and grammatical format for hundreds of news agencies, laying out style and terms in an alphabetized book several hundred pages long. “Do not use the term ‘late-term abortion,’” the stylebook said in a December post on Twitter. “The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [ACOG] defines late term as 41 weeks through 41 weeks and 6 days of gestation, and abortion does not happen in this period.”

“This is absurd,” said LifeNews, a pro-life group. “When SCOTUS came up with three trimesters in 1973, late-term was understood to be post viability or the 3rd trimester. Redefining it to be the 6 days before term is not medicine; it’s propaganda designed to gloss over late-term abortions.” Another on Twitter said: “Is ‘Late-term abortion’ too aggressive a way to describe stabbing a viable unborn baby in the heart with a needle containing potassium chloride & delivering its lifeless corpse? The ghouls populating our elite class traffic in euphemism because they have nothing else.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote: “Partial-birth abortion is the term Congress has used to describe a procedure that crosses the line from abortion to infanticide. The doctor delivers a substantial portion of the living child outside his mother’s body — the entire head in a head-first delivery or the trunk past the navel in a feet-first delivery — then kills the child by crushing his skull or removing his brain by suction.”
[excerpt from Joseph Curl, DailyWire.com, 12/8/22]

I was staring at my phone, weeping.

[This is what Kate Bachelder Odell wrote in the Wall St. Journal (12/14/22) in reviewing a book on motherhood by Jessica Grose.]

“My second son, then 7 days old, had flunked his hearing screening at the hospital, and since then I’d been harassed via emails, texts and phone calls that he needed more testing and might be deaf. It would ultimately prove a false alarm, but I couldn’t know that as I stared down at my baby. My husband corralled everyone in this mass meltdown into bed. It would be unwise, he told me, to continue reading about cochlear implants on the internet.”

The demands, uncertainties and complex emotions that accompany the arrival of children can be intense and
overwhelming. Ms. Grose concedes that raising children is easier now than in the past. She also says today’s parenting is “uniquely difficult in the amount of information we get about what we’re supposed to be doing.” A clinical psychologist reports many of her clients cite social media as a source of their “anxiety, jealousy, shame, guilt.”

In a revealing remark, one psychology professor tells Ms. Grose that “being forced to stop or reduce working” during the pandemic “took an emotional toll on moms.” But women often divert time or attention away from paid labor when they have kids. For most, the relationship will be far more valuable later in life than the few years of marginal retirement contributions they’d gain from working while paying for expensive child care. Overwhelming moments arrive, then pass. What you can handle will expand; what overwhelms you now will soon be routine. Life will be suffused with far more focus, substance and meaning and less self- absorption. Children will prevent you from pursuing personal ambitions at all costs—and thank God for that guard rail.


Aside from just having a ministerial preference for the unborn,
we also serve the poor, the imprisoned, the marginalized, the
oppressed, the sick and the aged. Whatever we need to do to
uphold the image and likeness of God in humanity is what we
do. Deacon Kevin Cummings, Archdiocese of Kansas City,
KS, on the pro-life apostolate, Deacons of Hope, that he
started with Deacon Doug Hemke, Kansas City-St. Joseph
Diocese, Missouri.


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