I
am still traveling in the Philippines, meeting with pro-life leaders
and clergy. The passion and zeal the Filipino people have for life and
family is so inspiring!
In
this week's newsletter I wanted to bring to your attention some
important events taking place in the international fight for life. This
is just a snapshot of the attacks on life and family that our brothers
and sisters in Christ overseas are struggling against.
Please keep HLI's pro-life missionaries and all those working to defend life worldwide in your prayers. God bless you!
Sincerely yours in Christ, 
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
Father Shenan J. Boquet
President, Human Life International
International Pro-Life Update
by Stephen PhelanThese are issues being tracked by HLI and our affiliates around the world, as well as our colleagues in the international pro-life movement.
EU to decide how to respond to spectacularly successful "One of Us" campaign
May 28
is the European Union's self-imposed deadline to come up with a program
to move forward on the first EU "citizens' initiative" to succeed in
getting over 1 million signatures. The One of Us campaign surpassed this
goal easily, securing 1.8 million signatures, and following a public
hearing in early April, its promoters are confident that this widely
popular effort will receive serious consideration by the EU.
You
may recall from the wide coverage of the effort last year that the
pro-life initiative was focused on preventing EU funding for
embryo-destructive research. This is important for obvious reasons, but
it could also establish a precedent at the EU of respect for unborn
human life at its earliest stages. Keep this effort in your prayers, and
keep your eyes peeled for a decision from the EU on how they will
proceed in considering the One of Us initiative.
Joining the pro-life effort at the Organization of American States (OAS)
As the next OAS General Assembly in Paraguay on June 3-5,
more pro-life organizations from North and South America are taking
note of the growing influence of this supra-national body. Like the
European Union, the OAS hosts several multilevel meetings annually in
which member states from the Americas can get together to discuss issues
of importance. Although the EU has much more power at present, the OAS
seeks to gain greater control over the range of decisions that member
nations are allowed to make on key issues.
So
while much of the discussion is indeed diplomatic and respectful, life
and family issues are increasingly being treated in a way in which
disagreement is not tolerated. This will not surprise many in a nation
where public support of traditional marriage is now cause for public
humiliation and banishment from the public square. But where the OAS
decisions have most purchase is in Latin America, where nations with
fewer resources can be put under intense pressure to change laws that
defend life and family.
Last year
HLI's Guatemalan affiliate read the first-ever pro-life resolution in a
particular forum, inspiring the promoters of abortion and the
redefinition of marriage to protest during the reading of the
resolution. The battle is growing more intense, which is why we invite
those who work or have partners in Latin America to join in the
conversation, where these case for life and family can still be heard.
Email us at hli@hli.org if you know of an organization that may want to join us!
Tortured logic directed at the Vatican
Last
week we heard about a truly troubling attack on the Vatican that is
being coordinated by pro-abortion organizations through the UN committee
process. In February, the attack came through the committee for the
protection of children, who after refusing to acknowledge the great
progress the Church has made in addressing the tragic priest abuse
scandal, insisted that the Church, because of this scandal, change her
teaching. This month, the attack comes via the UN committee against
torture, with the ridiculous claim that to deny abortion is tantamount
to torture. Framed in another recall of the Church's abuse crisis, the
Vatican was told to change the Church's unchangeable teaching on the
intrinsic evil of abortion.
The
Vatican's able reply, later affirmed by Pope Francis in an address to
the UN, is that abortion is itself torture - the deliberate and violent
destruction of unborn children, often leaving women with extreme
physical and mental pain in its wake. This, the Vatican rightly argued,
is what the committee should be more concerned about, adding that the
committee should stay within its mandate and not seek innovative ways to
marginalize a treaty member who had strongly condemned torture
repeatedly over the years.
Of
course this is absurd, but as we have seen too many times, the
absurdity of such a plan is no guarantee that it will fail. Truth be
told, no one thinks this effort will get the Church to change her
teaching, but the concern is that even at the relatively low level of UN
committees, the Church is being marginalized due to her success in
rallying support for life and family at higher levels of the UN. With
the UN undergoing a wide-ranging assessment of the Millennium
Development Goals heading into 2015, there are many who would like to
define abortion as a "human right" with whatever regime replaces the
MDGs going forward. Many nations and NGOs have collaborated with the
Vatican to see that there is no false "right" to abortion codified in UN
documents, so the broadsides on the Vatican are seen as an effort to
silence pro-life voices.
Please keep all of these efforts in prayer, as HLI and other organizations strive to protect the Church, as we defend life and family.
Commentary
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by Adam Cassandra
Even for many Catholics who attend Mass on a weekly basis, the Church's teachings on birth control are often misunderstood - or completely unknown. It can be even more complicated for the faithful when high ranking clergy make confusing statements about these beautiful teachings. Read More...
