Vatican Official Reflects On 'Crisis' Of Fatherhood

Tribulation Times

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/january.asp?version=63&startmmdd=0101

January 29, 2009    

(Eph 6:1-4) Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is just. Honour thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with a promise: That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest be long lived upon earth. And you, fathers, provoke not your children to anger: but bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord.

POPE BENEDICT XVI: "The family is an indispensable base for society and for peoples, as well as an irreplaceable good for children, worthy of coming into life as a fruit of love, of the parents' total and generous surrender."

"Today more than ever is needed the testimony and public commitment of all the baptized to reaffirm the dignity and the unique and irreplaceable value of the family founded on the marriage of a man and a woman and open to life, as well as the [value] of human life in all its stages."

FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Diane : Homily on Right to Life Sunday (January 18, 2009) by Fr. Joe Shea

HEADLINE: Vatican Official Reflects On 'Crisis' Of Fatherhood

The president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum (one heart) on Jan. 23 expressed concern that weakened masculinity around the world prevents people from grasping Jesus' teaching on the heavenly Father.

"Today, the self-understanding of manhood, and especially fatherhood, is in crisis," said Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, pointing to the feminist movement, psycho-social theories and erroneous citations of the Bible as contributing to this.

The 74-year-old prelate cited reports and surveys documenting "weakened male identity."

One of his references, a Catholic Charities report, estimates 24 million children in the United States live in a home without a father.  According to Cardinal Cordes, that figure was 10 million in the 1960s.

The report found that compared to boys who live with their father, boys from fatherless homes are twice as likely to end up in prison.  They are also more likely to drop out or be expelled from school, and account for 63 percent of youth suicides and 90 percent of youths who run away from home, it said.

U.S.  laws also "undermine the role of the father," the cardinal maintained, citing legislation allowing "gay so-called parents" to adopt children and the 2008 Human Fertilization and Embryology Act, which enables single women to conceive children through artificial methods.

In Europe, he said, recent trends also "work to diminish masculinity." He described a research paper published by the Council of Europe in 1998 that indicated male leaders and fathers have "become more like women and mothers" in behavior, including becoming "sweeter."

Cardinal Cordes cautioned that "flexibility of the sexes" in children's education should not suggest that male identity is merely a product of a culture or consequence of social circumstances.

Cardinal Cordes offered Jesus Christ's relationship with God the Father as a model for father-son relationships.  Jesus spoke with God as a child, in a simple way, intimate and familiar, he said.  In his view, "abba," which the cardinal translated as "papa" or "dear daddy" in today's language, reveals the most affectionate center of Jesus' relationship with God.

However, he also stressed the role of the father as the person who orients and directs the child and contributes to its growth in goodness even when it causes the child discomfort or unpleasantness.  Men who are not necessarily biological fathers perform that spiritual fathering role in developing children in ethics and values, he explained.

NEWSLINK: Gays preferred to grandparents in Edinburgh

REVIEW: Saving marriages, one viewing at a time

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: step 14- "On that clamorous mistress, the stomach"

19. The mind of a faster prays soberly, but the mind of an intemperate person is filled with impure idols.   

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Prayer request?  Send an email to: PrayerRequest3@aol.com

This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.

UNICEF Report Recommends More “Reproductive Health Services” and “Family Planning”

 By Susan Yoshihara

NEW YORK, NY, January 30, 2009 (C-FAM) - The UN children's agency, UNICEF, launched its annual report this week claiming that, "Having a child remains one of the biggest health risks for women worldwide," and dedicated the 168-page flagship publication to the issue of maternal mortality, virtually ignoring the agency's mandate of child survival. The report recommends increased global financing of UN initiatives aimed at "family planning" and "reproductive health services" as the primary way to reduce maternal deaths, but also provides extensive evidence that there is no reliable data to substantiate its claims. 

Entitled, "The State of the World's Children 2009: Maternal and Newborn Health," the study addresses the problem of 536,000 maternal and 4.7 million newborn annual deaths worldwide, focusing on Africa, Asia and Latin America.  Yet, the report undercuts at length the validity of its own statistics, stating that a "high degree of uncertainty for maternal mortality ratios indicates that all data points should be interpreted cautiously," and saying "The [UN's] 2005 maternal mortality estimates are far from perfect," merely reflecting "a strong commitment on the part of the international community to continually strive for greater accuracy and precision." And while it argues that "more than 99 per cent" of maternal deaths "occurred in developing countries," it goes on to call "commonplace" the absence of data to make such a claim. 

In fact, the report admits that only 35 percent of the data used to create the 536,000 number in 2005 was based upon "complete/good" data. A full 35 percent of the 171 countries surveyed to create the number had "no data." Another 20 percent of the total maternal mortality figure was from "estimates" and "uncertain/poor data."

Another contradiction in the report is its discussion of abortion. According to the report, abortion complications are the smallest contributor to maternal death in every one of the three developing regions studied. By contrast, hemorrhaging is the cause of nearly 30 percent of maternal deaths in all three regions, followed by hypertension and sepsis. Undefined "other causes" account for nearly a third of deaths in Africa and one fifth of the deaths in Asia and Latin America.

Contradicting this evidence, the report calls for a "continuum of care" that promotes "reproductive health services," a term used by some UN officials to include abortion. It then puts at the top of its eleven recommended interventions for reducing maternal deaths "promoting access to family planning services, based on individual country policies," with skilled birth attendants and emergency obstetric care mentioned as lower priorities. 

The report also claims that in 2005, heads of state created "a specific target on reproductive health: Millennium Goal 5, Target B," which seeks to "Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health" and includes "contraceptive prevalence rate," and "unmet need for family planning," as indicators of attaining the target. The UN Population Fund, contradictorily, claims that such a target was created in 2008.  In fact, the heads of state rejected the target in 2005, and have never voted on or adopted such a target.

This is the second consecutive UNICEF annual report devoted to women's rights rather than child survival. Experts attribute the organization's transformation from a service-delivery organization to a rights-activist agency to its adopting a "rights-based approach" some two decades ago. The adoption of the approach was a bureaucratic decision that includes the active promotion of both the Women's Convention (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

(This article reprinted with permission from http://www.c-fam.org)

Exclusive Interview: Pro-Life People Must Not Lose Heart with Obama Election Says Vatican Archbishop

Says the movement must never stop trying to overturn Roe v Wade

By Hilary White - Rome Correspondent

VATICAN CITY, January 30, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In an exclusive interview with LifeSiteNews.com earlier this week, Archbishop Raymond Burke sent a message of support from Rome to those in the U.S. who defend human life and the traditional family, telling them not to give up the fight, even though things may seem dire with the election of Barack Obama. The Archbishop particularly urged pro-life people to continue the political and legal battle against the 1973 US Supreme Court decision, Roe vs. Wade, that legalised abortion.

"We are in a very dark period for the pro-life movement, which means that now we have really to re-double all of our efforts," he said.

The new president, Archbishop Burke said, must hear from the American people "who I believe are, in the end, pro-life, above all else." But the time has come, with the election of the man who is being called by pro-life advocates the "most pro-abortion president" in US history, to announce clearly and firmly the message of the sanctity of life and family more than at any other time.

"There can never be any let-up on the effort to overturn Roe versus Wade," he said, "because there is, at its deepest core, our most unjust judicial decision. It has to be overturned."

He agreed that people of good will could work with the Obama administration to provide improved services to women in crisis pregnancies and pointed out that the Catholic Church has "above all, been in the forefront of that." But, he said, "that can never exempt us from the duty" to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

Despite the difficulties ahead, he urged the pro-life people to be the "tough who get going when the going gets tough."

"It's going to depend upon the pro-life movement to make that voice heard, and to get people to express to the president their dismay with what he's doing, so that he understands that the people of the United States are not for the murder of infants in the womb."

LifeSiteNews.com spoke to Archbishop Burke, who is regarded as a hero by many in the pro-life and family movement, at his offices in Rome, where he was recently appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as head of the Catholic Church's highest tribunal, the Apostolic Signatura. The office of Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura is normally regarded as a "red hat" position that brings with it appointment as a Cardinal. It is widely expected among Vatican watchers that Pope Benedict will name Archbishop Burke a Cardinal at the next consistory.

He told LifeSiteNews.com that he is becoming "very concerned" at the number of people who have written to him to say that the election of Obama is a sign that the pro-life movement has definitively failed to overturn Roe vs. Wade. He particularly denounced the idea, put forward by some in the pro-life movement in the US, that the time has come to abandon the fight against Roe and turn exclusively to "education" and to cooperate with the new administration in "reducing abortions" by improving welfare and health services for women.

Archbishop Burke responded, saying, "To me this is a form of self-deception because the law itself is one of the principle teachers in any culture, and you have a law, a decision of the Supreme Court of your country, which says, in effect, that an infant in the womb can be destroyed right up to the time of birth and even in the act of birth."

Until Roe vs. Wade is overturned, he said, "that law remains a teacher in the culture" and "represents a direction given to the life of the society, of the nation.

"So I'm very concerned that some of the dedicated pro-life people don't fall prey to this false reasoning, and then not continue their work for the repeal of this Supreme Court decision."

Archbishop Burke is known in the US as one of the most outspoken members of the US hierarchy on the Church's teachings on the sanctity of life. He was the first among a very small number of US Bishops who enforced can. 915 of the Code of Canon Law, saying that pro-abortion Catholic politicians are not to be given Holy Communion.  His position was confirmed by a letter of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in June of 2004.Upon the announcement of his transfer to Rome, Judie Brown, the president of the American Life League, said, "Archbishop Burke's contributions to the Church go beyond anybody's imagination. He is among the most courageous bishops that I have known in my entire life."

The archbishop said, "I have been for years very much in the heart of the pro-life movement as I believe that I should be as a bishop."

"It was painful for me to leave the United States because of my strong conviction about the importance of strong leadership, a prophetic leadership on the part of the bishops in the whole work of promoting the respect for human life."

He particularly urged pro-life and family people to be on guard against becoming discouraged. "Discouragement is itself a prime temptation that Satan uses to get people to stop working for the good," he said. "But the minute you give into discouragement he can get you to do whatever he wants. But if we are people of life, if we are people who honour the dignity of every human life, then we also are necessarily people of hope.

"I understand, from a human point of view, why people are discouraged and why they want to give up or try some radically different approach, but as people of hope we don't have any choice in this matter. We have to continue the battle."

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

North American Leaders Bid Farewell to Pro-Life Hero Archbishop Burke
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jun/08062709.html

Terri's News Alert: This Saturday on America's Lifeline our Guest will be Dr. William L. Toffler!

This Saturday on America's Lifeline our Guest will be Dr. William L. Toffler!

Don't forget to tune into America's Lifeline on Talk Radio 860 WGUL this Saturday, January 31st at 3pm, ET. America's Lifeline is also streamed worldwide via the internet at Talk Radio 860 WGUL. For those outside the Tampa area, simply log onto terrisfight.org and click on the 860 TALK RADIO LOGO button.

This Saturday, January 31, on America's Lifeline we will have special guest William L. Toffler, M.D.

Dr. Toffler is a Professor at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) located in Portland, Oregon. As the National Director of Physicians for Compassionate Care Educational Foundation (PCCEF), Dr. Toffler is an experienced speaker who helps lead the fight against Physician Assisted Suicide in Oregon. The PCCEF affirms an ethic based on the principle that all human life is inherently valuable and that the physician's roles are to heal illness, alleviate suffering, and provide comfort for the sick and dying.

Dr. Toffler received his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia in 1976. He completed his residency in family medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina in 1979. In 1985, he assumed a full time faculty position at OHSU as director of Family Practice Patient Care Services.

America's Lifeline is hosted by Sheila Liaugminas, former Time magazine reporter and a previous host on the popular radio show The Right Questions and Issues and Answers on Relevant Radio. The program will be co-hosted by Bobby Schindler and Suzanne Vitadamo, directors of Terri's Foundation and brother and sister of Terri Schiavo.

Can you help?

Click on the icon to make a donation to Terri's Foundation. Thank you!

From http://www.americanpapist.com/2009/01/breaking-pro-life-devout-catholic-named.html This is Great News!

Breaking: Pro-life, devout Catholic named new RNC chair!

I'm hearing that it happened just minutes ago: Former Maryland Lt. Gov. (and former state party chairman) Michael Steele has been elected as the new chair of the Republican National Committee.

So who is he?!

CollegeNews tells us:

"Steele is a staunch social conservative: devoutly Catholic, pro-life, anti-embryonic stem cell research, etc."

Sounds like my kind of guy!

And no Kmiec-style justifications needed to support him.
update: WaPo blog:

The Republican National Committee elected Michael Steele as its first African American chairman today in Washington, a decision that came after an excruciating series of ballots that displayed a level of drama rarely seen in national politics.

On the sixth and final ballot Steele bested South Carolina Republican party Chairman Katon Dawson 91 to 77.

"It's time for something completely different and we are going to bring it to them," Steele said after his victory. "This is our opportunity. I cannot do this by myself."

Lawsuit Filed for Baby Born Alive at Abortion Clinic then Killed and Hidden from Police

Lawsuit Filed for Baby Born Alive at Abortion Clinic then Killed and Hidden from Police

Wrongful Death, Medical Negligence and Personal Injury Alleged

MIAMI, Jan. 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- On Tuesday, January 27, 2009, suit was filed in Miami on behalf of Shanice Denise Osbourne, an infant girl who was murdered in July, 2006. Thomas More Society retained the prominent Miami personal injury attorney, Tom Pennekamp, to prepare and prosecute the case, which alleges that Shanice was born alive and then murdered by defendant, abortion clinic owner, Belkis Gonzalez. Thirteen defendants (including Gonzalez, abortionist Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacques Renelique and their conglomerate of four South Florida abortion clinics) have been sued for unlicensed and unauthorized medical practice, botched abortions, evasive tactics, false medical records and the killing, hiding and disposing of the baby.

Shanice's mother, Sycloria Williams, learned she was pregnant early in July of 2006 when she went to the hospital complaining of abdominal pain and bleeding. She decided to terminate the pregnancy, and visited the Miramar Woman Center in Miramar, Fla., where she was referred to abortionist Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique. Dr. Renelique inserted laminaria sticks to dilate the cervix and prescribed additional medication to be taken that night in preparation for the procedure the next morning at a Hialeah clinic.

Williams arrived at the Hialeah clinic on the morning of July 20, 2006, feeling ill and in severe pain from the medication the night before. Dr. Renelique was not present at the clinic nor did anyone else at the clinic have any form of medical license. Nevertheless, the clinic's receptionist gave Williams Cytotec, which induces labor and also dilates the cervix. Williams began to feel even worse with nausea and cramping, so the staff gave her a gown and had her sit in the clinic's recovery room area. There she waited for hours in severe and increasing abdominal pain without medical staff available. Instinctively, Williams began to position herself as the chemically-induced labor progressed. Rather than call 911 or get medical help, the staff instructed her to "keep your legs together and sit down."

Unable to remain seated, Williams braced herself with the arms of the recliner chair she was sitting on. As she lifted herself, her water broke and she delivered a live baby girl onto the seat of the recliner. The baby writhed and gasped for air, still connected to Williams by the umbilical cord. Immobilized by shock, Williams watched Gonzalez run into the room, cut the umbilical cord with a pair of orange-handled shears, stuff the baby and afterbirth into a red biohazard bag and throw the bag into a garbage can. Shortly thereafter, the doctor arrived at the clinic and sedated Williams, who remained in total confusion and shock. The doctor's medical records failed to indicate that Williams had delivered a live baby that was killed by the clinic.

Anonymous callers notified police at least three times about the live birth and murder, and when police executed a search warrant on July 22, 2006, they found medical records but couldn't locate the baby's remains. Six days later, another anonymous caller told police the baby's body had been hidden on the roof. Police responded but didn't find the baby's body on the roof. After another anonymous tip police got another search warrant and found the decomposing baby in a cardboard box in a closet at the clinic. DNA linked the baby's remains to Williams.

The Miami-Dade County medical examiner performed an autopsy which showed that the baby's lungs had been filled with air before her killing, proving it was a live birth. But the examiner blamed the death on "extreme prematurity," ignoring eyewitness testimony that the baby had been murdered. Thomas More Society took an interest in the case when a local law school professor was quoted in The Miami Herald to the effect that if the baby wasn't "viable," then it "couldn't be a case of homicide."

"That opinion is dead wrong," says Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society. "A disabled or dying patient may not be 'viable' in the sense of being able to live very long or without help, but if you kill them, it's murder. This was a case of infanticide, and we're not going to let it go ignored or unpunished."

Thomas More Society tried to secure a second autopsy but prosecutors wouldn't release the baby's body, or take any action to begin criminal proceedings. An investigator and expert pathologist were retained by the Society, and the expert concluded - after examination of the autopsy slides and investigation of all the facts - that the acts and omissions of the abortionist and clinic staff were causative factors in Shanice's untimely death. The state attorneys' office has had this matter "under investigation" for more than two years with regard to filing what should be a clear case of criminal murder, or at least manslaughter.

"This case will trumpet to the world that abortion clinics are places of barbarism where mothers as well as their babies are at serious risk," says Brejcha. "Moreover, this case should put some sharp teeth into the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. As we struggle to end the scourge of legal abortion in this country, we must hold the line against infanticide!"

FULL COPY OF COMPLAINT AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Young Pro-Life Activists Arrested at George Mason University Virginia for Free Speech Activity

Image via Wikipedia

FAIRFAX, Virginia, Jan. 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- On January 26, 2009, two college-age members of the Survivors Campus Life Tour were arrested at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, while distributing literature on the public campus. From the time of their arrival on campus the group quietly held signs, distributed literature and peacefully dialogued with students. When a student complained about the pro-life presence on school, an officer asked the Survivors to leave the campus. When members of the Campus Life Tour refused to stop their free speech activity and leave the public school property, the two team members handing out literature to students were handcuffed and arrested. They were charged with causing a disturbance, although the police later described the group as polite, well behaved, courteous, and respectful. Kortney Blythe, director of Campus Life Tours for Survivors states, "My team members were peacefully exercising their free speech rights. To deny them that right is unconstitutional and is nothing more than content-based viewpoint discrimination. I find it unethical for the college and the police to arrest people for simply exercising their rights to free speech. No matter what the subject, the Constitution guarantees the right to free speech and no school administrators should ever be allowed to take that right away simply because they don't like the message." Cristianna Cherf, 21, one of the team members who had been arrested commented, "I feel like these arrests are unfortunate because my mission is to reveal the truth of abortion, not to fight for my First Amendment rights. The right to free speech is a rudimentary right that every American should be able to exercise with confidence. It saddens me that so much of my time was consumed with my most basic rights being violated and infringed upon, when I was there to peacefully and respectfully educate students on the abortion debate." Campus Life Tour is a pro-life campus outreach project of Survivors. The team of young people travel throughout the United States with educational displays designed to introduce the abortion debate to high school and college campuses. For more information about Survivors, visit www.survivors.la.

Fr. Tom Euteneuer: HLI Pilgrimage to Guadalupe: You Are Invited!

	Spirit & Life®
	"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63) Human Life International e-Newsletter Volume 04, Number 06 | Friday, January 30, 2009
	..................................................................................
	HLI Pilgrimage to Guadalupe Dear Spirit and Life readers, I take this opportunity to invite you to a marvelous pro-life pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico from April 26th-30th! I myself have been on pilgrimage to this spiritual center of the Americas more than 15 times and never pass up an opportunity to visit this blessed place which showed so clearly the victory of life over death. Those who join us on this pilgrimage will be immersed in the Guadalupe event in the following ways: Daily Mass and prayer in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Study of the religious and pro-life significance of the world-famous tilma of Juan Diego on which Mary left the imprint of Her image. Visit to the 16th century Metropolitan Cathedral and the tomb of Bishop Juan Zumárraga who was the first to see the tilma and authorize the evangelization of the Aztec Indian people. Prayer with HLI Mexico before an abortion center in Mexico City to stand in solidarity with the pro-life movement and the  babies there. Visit to the tomb of Blessed Miguel Pro, Mexican priest and martyr. For further information or to register for the pilgrimage please send an email to Anne at the following address: guadalupepilgrimage@gmail.com Space is limited so sign up today and join us for the pro-life experience of a lifetime! Sincerely, Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International	SL Links   About the Author SL Archives Donate Tell Us About Yourself   SL Action Items   Click here to register for this pilgrimage.
	Copyright 2009 - Human Life International Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required. Human Life International 4 Family Life Lane -- Front Royal, VA 22630 U.S.A. Phone: (540) 635-7884 Fax: (540) 622-6247 E-mail: hli@hli.org Website: www.hli.org

Florida governor vetoes crisis pregnancy center funding cut

Tallahassee, Jan 30, 2009 / 06:00 am (CNA).- Governor of Florida Charlie Crist has vetoed a half-million dollar cut in funding to crisis pregnancy centers in the state.

The Florida Legislature, meeting during a Special Legislative Session, passed a series of budget cuts to address a $2.3 billion shortfall, the Florida Family Policy Council reports. One funding cut passed by the legislature removed $574,728 from the $2 million allocated to the Florida Pregnancy Support Services Program.

The program is administered by the Florida Pregnancy Care Network which maintains a network of 50 crisis pregnancy centers that provide counseling and information to pregnant women to promote and encourage childbirth.

Continue reading here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14936

Hatch Amendment to Codify Unborn Child Rule to State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Defeated in Senate Washington

Senate Vote Likely to Lead to More Abortions

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- Today the president of the Susan B. Anthony List commented on the Senate's defeat of an amendment sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) that would have permanently codified the Unborn Child Rule in the State Children's Health Insurance Program:

"This action suggests that 59 senators are more committed to the demands of the abortion industry than to caring for the health of pregnant women and their unborn children," said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. "President Obama has said that he wants to reduce the number of abortions, but this misguided vote is likely to lead to more abortions. We are disappointed that President Obama failed to use his influence to persuade the Senate majority to preserve a policy that has affirmed pregnant women and their unborn children."

In 2002, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revised the definition of the term "child" under the SCHIP program to clarify that an unborn child may be considered a low-income child for the purposes of eligibility for the program. Currently, 14 states have approved plans to provide SCHIP coverage to children before birth, including President Obama's home state of Illinois, Arkansas, California, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. The rule can be rescinded at any time by the Obama Administration. A December report sent to the Obama-Transition Team by abortion groups called for abortion coverage in any government health care program.

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced an amendment to permanently codify the Unborn Child Rule in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill yesterday. The measure effectively ensures that states can preserve the option to protect the health and rights of both the mother and the unborn child. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 39 to 59.

Through the Susan B. Anthony List Stop the Abortion Bailout! Campaign ( www.stoptheabortionbailout.com), over 80,000 letters have been sent to the U.S. Senate advocating the preservation of federal abortion funding restrictions. The campaign's goal is to secure the 41 votes necessary to sustain a filibuster against measures promoting federal taxpayer funding of abortion.

The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of Americans, over 152,000 residing in all 50 states, dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics. Its connected Candidate Fund increases the percentage of pro-life women in the political process.

www.sba-list.org

United Nations Agency Involved in Forced Abortions in China Celebrates New Funding from Obama Administration

Image via Wikipedia

United Nations Agency Involved in Forced Abortions in China Celebrates New Funding from Obama Administration

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

ASUNCION, PARAGUAY, January 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which cooperates with China's system of forced abortions as a means of population control, is celebrating the pending renewal of funding by the Obama Administration.

Under the administration of George Bush, the UNFPA was denied funds under the Mexico City Policy, which excluded overseas abortion providers and referrers from receiving US taxpayer dollars.

However, at the same time as he rescinded the Mexico City Policy last week, Obama said that he looked forward to working with Congress to restore the funding to the UNFPA, which he is expected to do in the next federal budget. The UNFPA will reportedly receive approximately $250 million in US taxpayer dollars annually, according to the La Nacion newspaper, based in Paraguay.

"The Executive Director of the UNFPA, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, welcomed the decision to reestablish financing and highlighted the rapidity with which the matter has been handled," said a recent UNFPA bulletin issued in Asunción, Paraguay, reported La Nacion.

"The decision of President Obama could not have arrived at a more critical moment," said Obaid, claiming that the money would be used for medical help during childbirth and for "reproductive health" - a term often used by abortion proponents that encompasses abortion on demand.

Although the UNFPA claims to be neutral on abortion, a US probe carried out by the Bush administration in 2002 found that the organization was sending hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Chinese State Family Planning Commission (SFPC), which implements China's coercive "one child policy."

In China families having more than one child (or two if they live in rural areas) are sometimes given forced abortions, as well as pressured to abort with large fines that drive them into poverty.

Related LifeSiteNews coverage:

UNPFA Loses $235 Million Due to Pro-Life Group's Efforts
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jul/08070206.html

UNFPA Population Awards Honor Abortion Advocates
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/may/08052910.html

UNFPA Pitches Abortion as a Means to Reduce Child Poverty
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jul/05070404.html

House Members Petition Leaders to Keep Pro-Life Hyde Amendment

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House Members Petition Leaders to Keep Pro-Life Hyde Amendment

By Kathleen Gilbert

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – U.S. Representatives Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Heath Shuler (D-NC) have drafted a letter to House leaders urging them to retain traditional pro-life provisions in the House's annual appropriations bill that President Obama has promised to remove.

Despite its history of bipartisan support, Obama has made clear his intention to repeal the Hyde amendment as part of his radical pro-abortion agenda. The Hyde amendment is a provision that has been in effect since 1976 that bans taxpayer funding of abortions.

"Members of both parties have expressed strong support for these measures, which reflect the moral concerns of many Americans who do not wish to see their tax dollars used for any organization that provides abortion services," notes the letter. "We believe that failure to include all of the current policies with regard to the right to life will mark a radical departure from a policy a majority of Americans support."

The letter is addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Appropriations Chair David Obey, and Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter.

The authors of the letter have called upon pro-lifers to urge their representatives to sign the letter by Feb. 13.

In case the pro-life provisions (known as “riders”) are removed from the bill, the letter asks that the deleted provisions be granted consideration on the House floor. "The magnitude of this issue and the history associated with it require no less. If this Congress intends to rescind these riders, at a minimum the American people deserve a full debate with an up-or-down vote," it states.

Part II: An Interview with Deal Hudson - The Pro-Life Movement Under Obama and Beyond

Part II: An Interview with Deal Hudson - The Pro-Life Movement Under Obama and Beyond

By John Jalsevac

January 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Deal Hudson is the director of InsideCatholic.com, director of the Morley Institute for Church & Culture, the former publisher and editor of CRISIS Magazine, a Catholic monthly published in Washington, DC, and the author of seven books. His articles and comments have been published in many newspapers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, and the National Review. He served as director of Catholic outreach for George Bush’s 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns. He also assisted with presidential candidate John McCain’s campaign.

In Part I of our interview with Hudson, he responded to questions about the pro-life and pro-family legacy of former president George W. Bush. In Part II, he addresses questions about the pro-life and pro-family movements during the Obama administration and into the future.

(To see Part I, go to http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09012803.html)

Q: Obama is now the President of the United States. In your view how does this change things for the pro-life and pro-family movements?

A: Well, it changes everything. I think you saw my piece on the pro-life summit last week in Ann Arbor. That meeting confirmed something that seems pretty obvious, and that’s that there’s a huge amount of energy in the pro-life community, and it is an energy that won’t be denied. It just needs to be channeled. It needs to be made effective through leadership. I would say that Obama and his administration should be very careful about how quickly they move to remove restrictions on abortions because they may find that they pay the price in the 2010 election in a very significant way.

Americans for the most part are not pro-abortion. Americans for the most part don’t like abortion, and they would prefer that it be limited and that abortion rates are lower. And if Obama and his administration quickly, radically, as it were, corroborate the worst fears that pro-lifers have, I think that there’ll be a political price to pay.

Q: If most Americans are against abortion, as you say, then why do you think that Obama was elected?

A: I think, unfortunately, that the life issues just got lost in the economy in particular, Iraq, national security. And most of all, most of all, the negativity that was built up toward Bush and, by association, the Republican Party. I think there were people - I know there we people - who were sincerely pro-life, whose desire for a new face in the White House, their animosity towards the Republican Party and John McCain caused them to pull the lever for a pro-abortion candidate. Because they were frustrated. They felt that much animus against the president and the party.

Now some people would say they’re not pro-life. Well, that’s one way of looking at it; but the other way is to admit how high the passions were running during this election cycle, regarding the legacy of George W. Bush, the Republican Party. With the Iraq war, and throwing the economy on top of it, and that being unfairly blamed on Bush. I think both parties share the blame for that. This whole housing mess was created on both of their watches.

Voters are human beings who don’t necessarily pull the lever in principled fashion every time. I don’t see any reason why we can’t recognize that pro-life people were fed-up with a largely negative view of Bush driven by the media.

Q: Now, you mentioned that the pro-life movement has a great deal of energy at the moment. Why do you think that is and how can we go about capturing that?

A: Well, it is because of the fear of rolling back all the restrictions on abortion that have been put in place since 1973, especially since the beginning of the Reagan years. And also, of course, because of marriage and gay rights issues. There’s a possibility of hate crime legislation being passed. That would endanger religious speech. So there’s a lot of energy.

How can it be captured? I think that the summit was very clear about things. Again, none of the speakers conferred with one another, but practically across the board the speakers were saying much the same thing.

First, we have to work with Democrats. We have to support and recognize truly pro-life Democrats. There are Democrats who have very laudable pro-life voting records. These people need to be part of our movement. And encourage other pro-life Democrats to step forward.

Secondly, it needs to be a real coalition of absolutely everybody who is committed to putting pro-life politicians in the White House and back in Congress. It can’t be owned by any one group; it has to be a real spirit of collaboration, partnership, between everybody on the ground. And that’s going to be very hard to pull off, but we really have to try.

Thirdly, we have to take advantage of the recent outspokenness of many individual bishops, to encourage them to continue to do that. To thank them for what they’ve done, to encourage them to continue. Because only they can correct the harm that was done by the twisting of Faithful Citizenship by Obama’s Catholic supporters. They need to continue to tell Catholics that that document was not intended to provide cover for Catholic voters to ignore the politician’s stance on abortion.

Finally, there needs to be some sort of parish level program on the authentic version of Faithful Citizenship. What happened in the 12 months after November 2007, when that document was passed, was the important factor in Obama winning the Catholic vote. The seminars and study groups that were held all across the country at the parish level, and many of them had the same message. Often they were put on by individuals who wanted to make sure that these loopholes in the document were underlined and bolded. Of course this led to Bishops Martino storming into one of those seminars and declaring that it was “madness.” And I think that if there is any rallying cry going forward it’s what Bishop Martino said: “People this is madness.” That’s our rallying cry.

It’s the madness that we have to fight. And it is a fight. Because we all know that throughout the middle management of our Church there are powerful people who don’t see the Church’s social teaching the way the pro-life movement does. And those people are in charge of access to parish communities, to media, and there has to be a way to have this madness exorcised and not be blocked by these folks.

Q: I spoke to two other leaders in the pro-life movement today, and each of them suggested that during the Obama administration one response should be, while not discounting the role of politics, to recognize that politics isn’t going to save us, and instead focusing on a more grassroots approach. What are your thoughts on that?

A: Fr. Pavone spoke to that at the summit, where he said that the country is gradually rejecting the pro-abortion message at the cultural level. I think there’s some truth to that. I think that is right. But, it also shows you that culture and politics are two, as it were, tectonic plates that slide in different directions, creating a chasm. And that’s what we’re looking at right now. We’ve elected a president who isn’t where the country is on this issue and he’s bringing into the administration people who represent a minority view.

Unfortunately, though, with the bully pulpit of the White House, this administration can adversely affect the country in the opposite direction of where President Bush led them over the last 8 years. That’s what leadership does. It influences people. It changes people’s minds. It helps define and deepen beliefs. The danger here is that we lose ground in the culture because of this administration.

Q: While at the same time there is an increase in energy in the pro-life movement, you hear some people just throwing up their hands saying, “Well, we’ve elected the most pro-abortion president ever. Game’s over.” How would you respond to that?

A: Be not afraid! Be not afraid.

Let’s put it this way. I doubt if they really mean it. I know they’re saying it. I don’t think they mean it. I think they’re just frustrated. And I think that a lot of people worked very hard in this last election. A lot of people sacrificed and gave a lot of themselves. And then, when they saw so many Catholics supporting Obama it was very frustrating for them.

The person who has the energy to throw up his hands in disgust is the kind of person who’s not going to stop working.

(To see Part I of our interview with Deal Hudson, go to http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09012803.html)

Virginia bill targeting pro-life pharmacies shelved

Alexandria, VA, Jan 29, 2009 / 08:02 am (CNA).- DMC Pharmacy, a new pro-life pharmacy in Chantilly, Virginia claims to have been the target of a bill recently introduced into the Virginia House of Delegates. The bill, which was tabled indefinitely, placed restrictions on pharmacies which refuse to prescribe contraceptives.

Virginia House Bill 2373 was proposed on Jan. 14 and tabled in the Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions on Tuesday. Bob Laird, Executive Director of DMC's parent company Divine Mercy Care, told CNA that the effect of the bill being tabled is that "the issue cannot be brought up again this year."

Laird added that he knew the bill was aimed at DMC because it is the only pro-life pharmacy in the state.

Continue reading this article here: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14925

Spanish Bishops declare 2009 the “Year of Prayer for Life” beginning February 2

EUROPE/SPAIN -

Madrid (Agenzia Fides) – Upon the proposal made by the Bishops' Subcommittee for the Family and Defense of Life, Chaired by Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Pla of Cartagena, and upon the approval of the Executive Committee of the Spanish Bishops' Conference (CEE), a Year of Prayer for Life has been established, with the theme: "Blessed is the fruit of your womb." The initiative is to be celebrated in all the nation's dioceses, beginning on February 2, feast of the Presentation of the Lord and will be an effort to place in practice the words of Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae: "through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community."

The initiative, which was presented on a national level during the last Plenary Assembly of Bishops in November, has been approved by the CEE's Executive Committee. The Subcommittee, in order to encourage personal and community prayer, has distributed a series of materials to the Delegations of Family Apostolate across Spain, with the theme: "Blessed is the fruit of your womb." Included among the materials is a poster, a rosary, prayers for life, and prayer intentions for Eucharistic Adoration, the Mass, and the Liturgy of the Hours.

Bishop Reig Pla says the initiative "is urgent in light of the new laws being promoted in Spain, both on abortion and euthanasia." There is currently a debate underway in the country over an abortion law allowing free abortion during the first weeks of pregnancy. The Prelate has asked all the faithful, especially families with children and sick members to pray and "offer spiritual sacrifices" for this intention, and asked parish pastors to encourage the recitation of the Rosary and Eucharistic Adoration.

(RG) (Agenzia Fides 28/1/2009)

OBAMA TO FUND U.N. PRO-ABORTION AGENCY

 

On January 24, President Obama said, "I look forward to working with Congress to restore U.S. financial support for the U.N. Population Fund." He pledged to do this "in the coming weeks," maintaining that "It is time that we end the politicization of this [abortion] issue."

 

Bill Donohue explains the Catholic League's response:

 

"The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) claims that it is not pro-abortion. It says that it merely supports 'reproductive rights.' Not quite. Starting in 1979, in the first five years of China's draconian one-child policy, UNFPA gave the program $50 million. To accomplish this goal over the years, which is still ongoing, IUDs have been forced into the wombs of hundreds of millions of women against their will. Indeed, no coercive method is considered taboo, including forced abortion. It was for reasons like these that in 2002 the U.S. State Department blasted China for its affront to human rights. Indeed, Secretary Colin Powell backed the Bush administration's denial of funds to UNFPA.

 

"The one-child policy has abetted female infanticide, so much so that there has been a massive decrease in the female population—there are now an estimated 350 million girls missing from China. Other non-white areas of the world where UNFPA concentrates its efforts include Vietnam, Nigeria and Peru. But it can be multicultural: When the genocidal maniac from Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic, wanted to tame his people, he invited UNFPA to help reduce the population of Kosovo; he wasn't unhappy with the results, nor, of course, the means.

 

"So here we have it. In the name of women's rights, UNFPA undercuts women. In the name of eradicating poverty, it eradicates the poor. Moreover, it works closely with anti-Catholic groups. And now Obama wants us to bankroll UNFPA. During a recession, no less. To top things off, he is doing all of this in the name of ending the politicization of issues that he says marked previous administrations. The ironies are as endless as they are priceless."

Pro-Life News From Around the Country:

New York Pro-Life Leaders Urge Strong Opposition to Reproductive Bill in Legislature
Albany, NY (LifeNews.com) -- A trio of pro-life leaders in New York have written an editorial urging strong opposition to the Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act, an overtly pro-abortion measure pending in the state legislature. They say the bill would significantly expand unlimited abortions in New York. As they did during the last legislative session, pro-life organizations have strongly opposed the Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act because it would enshrine abortion in state law and overturn virtually every pro-life limit. The measure would also force Catholic and other pro-life hospitals to change their policies and do abortions upon request. Kathleen Gallagher, the director of pro-life activities for the New York State Catholic Conference, Dawn Iacono, the director of pro-life activities for the Diocese of Buffalo, and Anne Downey of the New York affiliate of Concerned Women for America have teamed up for a new op-ed piece in the Buffalo News. They take issue with an ACLU representative who claimed fliers the groups are distributing with information about the bill are inaccurate. The materials 'contained accurate information, not scare tactics,' they say.

"What is scary is the so-called Reproductive Health Act. The bill was introduced by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer at the request of the extreme abortion-rights activists who helped elect him," they explain. "The bill, which is similar to the much-criticized federal Freedom of Choice Act, would usher in abortion rights far beyond those approved in Roe v. Wade and subsequent U. S. Supreme Court cases, at the expense of women and others," they add. Full story at LifeNews.com.

Virginia Pro-Life Advocates Target Bill to Stop Embryonic Stem Cell Research Funds
Richmond, VA (LifeNews.com) -- A pro-life group in Virginia is working to stop a bill in the state legislature from spending taxpayer funds to promote embryonic stem cell research. That's the science that involves the destruction of days-old unborn children and the Family Foundation doesn't want public funds used for it. In 2004 the General Assembly created the Biotechnology Commercialization Loan Fund with the pro-life caveat that none of the money could be loaned for the controversial science. Then, in 2005, the legislature created the Joint Commission Stem Cell Research study to examine the use of adult stem cell research and the implications of not relying on embryonic stem cells. Also that year, the Christopher Reeve Stem Cell Research Fund was authorized and pro-life advocates were able to get an amendment approved in the legislation disapproving embryonic stem cell research funding. Now, Sen. Mark Herring, a Democrat, has sponsored Senate Bill 1338, which is on the floor of the Senate awaiting a vote. Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation, tells LifeNews.com that an amendment will be offered to remove the potential for funding embryonic stem cell research. Full story at LifeNews.com

Wisconsin Pro-Life Advocates Submit Thousands of Petitions Against Abortion Plan
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- In an unprecedented move, several pro-life groups teamed up for a press conference on Tuesday where they submitted more than 20,000 petitions opposing a new plan by University of Wisconsin officials to begin doing abortions. The plan has UW doctors doing abortions at the Madison Surgery Center. The groups don't want to see UW Hospitals and Clinics, the UW Medical Foundation and Meriter Hospital opening up a second-trimester abortion facility. They said the fallout of such a decision would have thousands of pro-life Wisconsin residents boycotting the hospitals and others being referred elsewhere by doctors who oppose the hospitals' involvement in the procedure. Dr. William Evans, a heart surgeon and clinic opponent who practices at Meriter Hospital, noted the potential backlash at the press conference. "The collateral damage from this is worse than anyone expects," he said, according to the Madison newspaper. He released a copy of a letter signed by himself and 12 other doctors who oppose the move to create the abortion center and who will actively oppose it if it is created. "Today, this group of doctors declares we can be silent no more," he said. "Our vocation, our mandate, is to protect human life." Full story at LifeNews.com

Pittsburgh's Limits on Pro-Life Free Speech Get Federal Appeals Court Hearing
Pittsburgh, PA (LifeNews.com) -- A federal appeals court held a hearing today on a local ordinance in Pittsburgh that limits abortion protests there and that pro-life attorney says that unfairly hinders free speech rights. The debate revolves around a 2005 law that restricted access to public areas surrounding abortion businesses. The measure prohibits pro-life advocates from coming within 15 feet of the door of any health care facility, which would include abortion centers. Within 100 feet of the entrance, pro-life advocates must stay a distance of eight feet away from anyone heading to the abortion facility. Mary Kathryn Brown, a resident of Pittsburgh who is pro-life, has filed suit against the law with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund. She regularly counsels women against having abortions. Brown, a nurse from Indiana Township, says the law infringes on her constitutional rights, including her right to free speech. Brown has never trespassed or blocked individuals from entering or leaving abortion facilities. In March 2006, ADF filed a lawsuit on her behalf seeking to overturn the measure. During a hearing, ADF senior legal counsel David Cortman asked U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer to allow an injunction solely for Brown while the case proceeds to overturn the law. He said the law is vague and has been applied unfairly. Full story at LifeNews.com

President Barack Obama's Pro-Abortion Record: A Pro-Life Compilation

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The following is a compilation of bill signings, speeches, appointments and other actions that President Barack Obama has engaged in that have promoted abortion before and during his presidency. While Obama has promised to reduce abortions and some of his supporters believe that will happen, this long list proves his only agenda is promoting more abortions.

Post-Election / Pre-Inauguration

November 5, 2008 - Obama selects pro-abortion Rep. Rahm Emanuel as his White House Chief of Staff. Emanuel has a 0% pro-life voting record according to National Right to Life.

November 19, 2008 - Obama picks pro-abortion former Sen. Tom Daschle as his Health and Human Services Secretary. Daschle has a long pro-abortion voting record according to National Right to Life.

November 20, 2008 - Obama chooses former NARAL legal director Dawn Johnsen to serve as a member of his Department of Justice Review Team. Later, he finalizes her appointment as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Legal Counsel in the Obama administration.

November 24, 2008 - Obama appoints Ellen Moran, the former director of the pro-abortion group Emily's List as his White House communications director. Emily's List only supported candidates who favored taxpayer funded abortions and opposed a partial-birth abortion ban.

November 24, 2008 - Obama puts former Emily's List board member Melody Barnes in place as his director of the Domestic Policy Council.

November 30, 2008 - Obama named pro-abortion Sen. Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State. Clinton has an unblemished pro-abortion voting record and has supported making unlimited abortions an international right.

December 10, 2008 - Obama selects pro-abortion former Clinton administration official Jeanne Lambrew to become the deputy director of the White House Office of Health Reform. Planned Parenthood is "excited" about the selection.

December 10, 2008 - Obama transition team publishes memo from dozens of pro-abortion groups listing their laundry list of pro-abortions actions they want him to take.

Pro-Abortion Presidential Record - 2009

January 5, 2009 - Obama picks pro-abortion Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as the chairman of the Democratic Party.

January 6, 2009 - Obama chooses Thomas Perrelli, the lawyer who represented Terri Schiavo’s husband Michael in his efforts to kill his disabled wife, as the third highest attorney in the Justice Department.

January 22, 2009 - Releases statement restating support for Roe v. Wade decision that allowed virtually unlimited abortions and has resulted in at least 50 million abortions since 1973.

January 23, 2009 - Forces taxpayers to fund pro-abortion groups that either promote or perform abortions in other nations. Decison to overturn Mexico City Policy sends part of $457 million to pro-abortion organizations.

January 26, 2009 - Obama nominee for Deputy Secretary of State, James B. Steinberg, tells members of the Senate that taxpayers should be forced to fund abortions. Nominee erroneously says limits on abortion funding are unconstitutional.

An Interview with Deal Hudson, Part I: The Pro-Life Legacy of George W. Bush

By John Jalsevac

January 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Deal Hudson is the director of InsideCatholic.com, director of the Morley Institute for Church & Culture, the former publisher and editor of CRISIS Magazine, a Catholic monthly published in Washington, DC, and the author of seven books. His articles and comments have been published in many newspapers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, and the National Review. He served as director of Catholic outreach for George Bush’s 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns. He also assisted with presidential candidate John McCain’s campaign.

In Part I of our interview with Hudson, he responds to questions about the pro-life and pro-family legacy of former president George W. Bush. In Part II, which will be published tomorrow, he addresses questions about the pro-life and pro-family movements during the Obama administration and into the future.

Q: What is your general impression of the last 8 years, particularly in regards to President Bush’s contributions to the pro-life and pro-family cause?

A: No president has accomplished more for the pro-life cause than George W. Bush. He kept all his promises that he made in the 2000 campaign, specifically to Catholics who supported him and worked for him. He declared himself a pro-life, culture of life president in his first televised message to the nation when he addressed the stem cell debate. His decision on stem-cells wasn’t perfect but he did use the opportunity of that televised speech to tell the nation that he was a pro-life president, which was to his credit.

What a lot of people don’t realize about the two terms of the Bush administration is that his pro-life initiatives were not just legislative, not just policy-driven, they were personnel driven. And when you look at the staff that was put in place in crucial departments like Health and Human Services and the Justice Department, the people that were put in these positions transformed the culture of the government that was left them by the Clintons. And so you had appointees with pro-life convictions who were found throughout the administration, and made a huge difference in our government and in the impact of the presidency on the culture.

Look at the fact that there was a marked drop in abortions in between 2000 and 2006, to a level of 1974 in this country. And that’s a tribute not only to President Bush, but to a great extent to him, because when a leader of a nation says that life is precious and that life should be protected, that gives heart to a lot of people who are in the middle and who aren’t sure which way to go. That kind of leadership helps those people go in the direction of life. And of course that’s the issue with the Obama presidency.

On the issue of marriage, the President spoke out against gay “marriage” on a number of occasions. He didn’t get aggressively behind a marriage amendment, because prudentially he knew it couldn’t be passed. But he did let his views be known, and he did give his personal backing to block gay “marriage” in-state.

From the point of view of the life and family and marriage, I think Bush gets an ‘A.’

Q: What do you think some of his most noteworthy pro-life and pro-family accomplishments were?

A: I think helping support and signing the three bills that came through Congress. The faith-based initiative was important because it made Church-related social services – not just the big national networks, but local regional networks – it made them more powerful because they received funding which before had only gone to institutions like Catholic Charities, or some Washington-based charity. So actually bringing in apostolates from cities and regions around the country and showing them how to write grants and how to receive more support. I think that was very important in pursuing his fundamental respect for the role of religion and culture of life.

Q: What would you say to people who say they’re disappointed in Bush because there were only a handful of visible pro-life measures, that he was all talk and not enough action. What would you say to them?

A: I think they’re wrong. I think they’re dead wrong. And the drop in the level of abortions I think is evidence for it.

I haven’t seen any polling, but I would be very surprised if a high percentage of Americans, if you asked them if President Bush was pro-life, if they wouldn’t know that he is pro-life. I bet you 90% of America knows he’s pro-life.

And I mean, the very fact that he talked is important. Talk is not unimportant. Talk is what leaders do. Much more than that, he declared pro-life policies throughout all parts of his administration. And the White House helped to support the passage of three very important pieces of pro-life legislation. He immediately reestablished the Mexico City Policy, I think on the first day of his presidency. He defended the Hyde Amendment. His administration cut off funding, all kinds of funding, to Planned Parenthood and Marie Stokes, that were ostensibly providing abortions overseas on federal monies.

I think pro-lifers tend to look at the glass half-empty. And I think that’s the case with President Bush.

Q: If Bush were standing here right now, and you had the chance to say a few words to him, what would you say?

A: I would say, “Thank you for keeping your promises to those of us in the religious community who worked for you, who supported you, who trusted that you were going to defend life and marriage, which you did. Thank you for keeping that promise.”

(By the way, you’ll notice that even in the last months of his presidency another major decision was made at HHS, which tells you that it stayed on his mind all the way to the end.)

I would say that, “I think that history will show that you were a good president, that you responded very effectively to 9/11. That you were very mistreated by the mainstream media, who are largely responsible for the drop in popularity in polls. And that I wish, Mr. President, I wish that you and your staff had done more to fight back against the way your image was being mistreated, the way your image was being so negatively portrayed in the media."