I'm
wrapping up my time in Puebla, Mexico and will soon be returning to the
United States. During my time in Mexico I had the joy of visiting a
number of pro-life leaders in Puebla and Mexico City. Please continue
praying for our work and the brave men and women fighting for life here.
You can learn more about this struggle in our latest documentary film (www.hli.org/CentralAmerica).
This week, in addition to the stories from the mission field which you'll find below, I wanted to draw your attention to an article written on Human Life International's Truth and Charity Forum by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian. The peddlers of death have been successful in altering how people think about human life, its sacredness and beauty. They have successfully affected the conversation. The only way to build a Culture of Life is to once again speak the proper language -- originating in God and His definition of human life. As Dr. Kalpakgian points out: "When life is no longer a miracle, goodness loses its purity, truth is deprived of its divine authority, and beauty loses its glory. A profane culture that destroys life also desecrates the magic of childhood, the mystery of romance, the holiness of marriage, and the sanctity of the home."
And please see the update below from Dr. Bullecer in the Philippines. A final decision on the anti-life RH Law is expected from the Supreme Court soon, and the Filipino people need our prayers!
May God bless you.
This week, in addition to the stories from the mission field which you'll find below, I wanted to draw your attention to an article written on Human Life International's Truth and Charity Forum by Dr. Mitchell Kalpakgian. The peddlers of death have been successful in altering how people think about human life, its sacredness and beauty. They have successfully affected the conversation. The only way to build a Culture of Life is to once again speak the proper language -- originating in God and His definition of human life. As Dr. Kalpakgian points out: "When life is no longer a miracle, goodness loses its purity, truth is deprived of its divine authority, and beauty loses its glory. A profane culture that destroys life also desecrates the magic of childhood, the mystery of romance, the holiness of marriage, and the sanctity of the home."
And please see the update below from Dr. Bullecer in the Philippines. A final decision on the anti-life RH Law is expected from the Supreme Court soon, and the Filipino people need our prayers!
May God bless you.
Sincerely yours in Christ, 
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
by Mitchell Kalpakgian, Ph.D.
In the aftermath of the sexual revolution of 1960s - which espoused sex education, the contraceptive mentality, no-fault divorce, and legalized abortion on demand - an anti-life and anti-child philosophy has prevailed over much of Western civilization, where European nations are barely replacing their populations or suffering a decline in birth rate. In a culture of death that slaughters 1.5 million pre-born babies in the womb each year, permits infanticide in the procedure known as partial-birth abortion, and tolerates physician-assisted suicide in the name of mercy and a quality of life ethic, life is cheap and loses its sacredness. Whenever life loses its sacredness and society considers "man's life's as cheap as beasts," to quote from King Lear, then the mystery of life as a gift and blessing diminishes.
When children in the womb are designated "fetal material" or "product of conception," then human life becomes reduced to mere matter or animal life with no divine origin or eternal destiny. The attack on the children in the womb entirely destroys the sense of human life as a divine mystery or precious gift. If human life is not precious or sacred, then everything else that encompasses a human life also loses its spiritual dimension and suffers a loss of mystery. Thus, everything is measured in purely utilitarian terms of usefulness, productivity, efficiency, cost effectiveness, and quality of life. Nothing is absolutely inviolable, neither the innocence of children, the holiness of marriage, the inalienable rights of human beings, or the sanctity of divine law. Destroying the mystery of human life as a priceless gift undermines the whole nature of a culture and transforms all of its institutions and its entire way of life. With the loss of the sense of the sacred comes the cult of the profane...
In the aftermath of the sexual revolution of 1960s - which espoused sex education, the contraceptive mentality, no-fault divorce, and legalized abortion on demand - an anti-life and anti-child philosophy has prevailed over much of Western civilization, where European nations are barely replacing their populations or suffering a decline in birth rate. In a culture of death that slaughters 1.5 million pre-born babies in the womb each year, permits infanticide in the procedure known as partial-birth abortion, and tolerates physician-assisted suicide in the name of mercy and a quality of life ethic, life is cheap and loses its sacredness. Whenever life loses its sacredness and society considers "man's life's as cheap as beasts," to quote from King Lear, then the mystery of life as a gift and blessing diminishes.
When children in the womb are designated "fetal material" or "product of conception," then human life becomes reduced to mere matter or animal life with no divine origin or eternal destiny. The attack on the children in the womb entirely destroys the sense of human life as a divine mystery or precious gift. If human life is not precious or sacred, then everything else that encompasses a human life also loses its spiritual dimension and suffers a loss of mystery. Thus, everything is measured in purely utilitarian terms of usefulness, productivity, efficiency, cost effectiveness, and quality of life. Nothing is absolutely inviolable, neither the innocence of children, the holiness of marriage, the inalienable rights of human beings, or the sanctity of divine law. Destroying the mystery of human life as a priceless gift undermines the whole nature of a culture and transforms all of its institutions and its entire way of life. With the loss of the sense of the sacred comes the cult of the profane...
HLI in Europe
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On Saturday, March 29, Human Life International's Rome office, in collaboration with Militia Christi, organized a pro-life demonstration at Tiber Island in Rome, Italy in remembrance of lives lost through abortion. This memorial event in Italy started more than twenty years ago after the public became aware that the bodies of some aborted babies had been thrown into the Tiber River by hospitals that did abortions. Read More...
HLI in Asia and Oceania
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by Rene Bullecer, M.D.
Starting April 1 until April 9, 2014, all of the 149 parishes in the Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu will be praying an Oratio Imperata for the protection of the family and all human life to avert the possible implementation of RH Law in the Philippines. On April 8, the Supreme Court will have the final deliberation on whether or not to implement the RH Law which has been on hold for over a year. Read More...
Starting April 1 until April 9, 2014, all of the 149 parishes in the Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu will be praying an Oratio Imperata for the protection of the family and all human life to avert the possible implementation of RH Law in the Philippines. On April 8, the Supreme Court will have the final deliberation on whether or not to implement the RH Law which has been on hold for over a year. Read More...
Ocean to Ocean Pilgrimage
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Last week, the From Ocean to Ocean Pilgrimage in Defense of Life with the pilgrim icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa stopped at the studios of ChurchMilitant.TV in Michigan. Human Life International's Fr. Peter West had an interview scheduled with Michael Voris, the founder of this Catholic Apostolate that provides news and investigative reports about the Church. The interview aired this week and can be viewed here.
Fr. Peter West spoke from the same podium where the Pope preached at one of the pilgrimage stops in Lake Orchard, MI. He talked about how the icon is a reminder of the reality of the Incarnation which took place at the Annunciation when the Blessed Virgin said 'yes' to the message of God delivered through the Archangel Gabriel. Read More...
