<em>Is Anybody There?</em>: Pro-Life Patriarch Passes Away Saturday

I never had the chance to meet Fr Marx. In fact I never even heard about him until after he stepped down as the head of Human Life International. However, because HLI continued to share his teachings over the years after I got involved in supported them, I still feel like I have lost a dear friend as well as a hero.

Fr. Marx truly was a hero. His many decades of Pro-Life work earned him the title of Apostle of Life. That title was given him by Pope John Paul II. Planned parenthood gave him another title, Public Enemy #1.

Fr. Marx was born On 8 May 1920 in in St. Michael, MN. He grew up on a farm. He went to high school at St. John's Benedictine. Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, and entered the Benedictine novitiate in 1941 while he was in college there. He was ordained on 15 June 1947. After teaching in St. John's High School for five years he completed his doctorate in sociology at the Catholic University of America in 1956, and began teaching in St. John's University. In 1972 Father Marx founded the Human Life Centre at the university, published The Death Peddlers, and began to organize pro-life resistance to the International Planned Parenthood Federation. (Note: This was well before the infamous Roe v Wade & Doe v Bolton decisions of 1973.)

On 17 November 1979 he meet with Pope John Paul II. In October Pope John Paul had made his 1st pastoral visit to the USA. In his Chicago speech to the US Bishops the Pope had roundly condemned contraception. After sharing his experiences with the Pope he reported that "For an uncomfortably long time, the Pope looked at me as if in prayer, and then finally said, 'You have lots of experience. You must bring this pro-life, pro-family movement all over the earth; and if you do that, you will be doing the most important work on earth.'"

Sadly, even with Papal aprobation, his work wasn't that appreciated at St. John's. In 1980 authorities at St. John's Abbey and St. John's University forced Father Marx to leave Collegeville & his Human Life Center. So he had to carry on his pro-life work elsewhere. Benedictines at St. John's, including Father Marx's own brother, Father Michael Marx, OSB, signed a statement contradicting Humanae vitae, Pope Paul IV's official teaching concerning contraception, and the faculty at St. John's University overwhelmingly refused to endorse a statement opposing abortion. Father Marx then went to Washington, with little but an automobile.

In 1981 he founded HLI. In 1989 he founded the Population Research Institute. He did so to "expose the myth of overpopulation, to expose human rights abuses committed in population control programs, and to make the case that people are the world’s greatest resource."

In a letter that President Ronald Reagan wrote to Fr. Marx, he said: "You can be proud of all you've done to summon this Nation and others to reflection and positive action on issues affecting the sanctity of human life. God bless you."

In 1999 he retired from HLI due to health reasons & returned to St. John's Abbey in Collegeville. Even on his return he wasn't made to feel welcome & even once tearfully admitted to a friend that he felt like an exile there.

On 24 March 1997 HLI awarded their founder with the Clemens Cardinal von Galen Award. In explaining why he was given the honor HLI said: "Christ raises up men and women in every age to carry on His mission, and it is in this context that we must see the life's work of Fr. Paul Marx. For over 35 years he has given his life to laboring in the vineyard where the Lord asked him to go and preach respect for the precious gift of human life. The world has truly been blessed to have such an effective recruiter and organizer for the culture of life. It is humbling to record that his pro-life zeal led him to travel to even more countries than his contemporary, Pope John Paul II. His autobiography is entitled "Faithful for Life," but "Fruitful for Life" is a more apt description of him. His energy and workaholic ways are reflected in the other titles of books he wrote; "The Flying Monk" and "The Warehouse Priest." Fr. Marx showed us how to proclaim the gospel of life in season and out of season to the four corners of the earth. We are grateful for the trust and inspiration he has given HLI to carry the work forward." (Von Galen Awards: 2007: Spring: Fr. Paul Marx)

In 2007 he celebrated his 60th anniversary of ordaination to the priesthood. St. John's Abbey actually acknowledged his Pro-Life efforts. (Failing to mention their poor treatment of him of course.) He passed away on Saturday morning 20 March 2010 at 8:10 a.m. CDT at the Abbey.

Over the course of his life, he wrote 13 books. As a part of his work, he visited over 90 countries. He truly was an "Apostle of Life" as well as the Patriarch of the international Pro-Life movement. Truly he deserves to hear "Well done good & faithful servant, enter into your rest." I am also sure that he was welcomed into heaven with loud & thunderous applause by all those children killed by abortion that he fought to defend. & I have no doubt that he will be continuously interceding for an end to abortion, euthenasia & artificial birth control as well as for the building of a "culture of life" & the defeat of the "culture of death".

Fr. Paul Marx, Founder of Human Life International, Passes Away
HLI's Fr. Thomas Euteneur: "Because of Fr. Paul Marx, the world has a pro-life movement"

By Steve Jalsevac
COLLEGEVILLE, Minnesota, March 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Fr. Paul Marx, the famed pro-life missionary priest who founded Human Life International in 1981, and the Population Research Institute in 1989, died at 8:10 a.m this morning at the St. John's Benedictine Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. He was 3 months short of 90 years of age.

Fr. Thomas Enteneur, the current head of Human Life International, called LifeSiteNews today with the news of Fr. Marx's death and stated the following about his organization's founder:
"Because of Fr. Paul Marx, the world has a pro-life movement. He travelled 3 million miles to over 90 countries and was like the Johnney Appleseed of the pro-life movement planting pro-life groups everywhere he went. Pope John Paul II called him the apostle of life with good reason. We miss him terribly but we pray that he has entered into the fullness of life for which he worked so hard in this world."
Stephen Mosher of the Population Research Institute, also mourned Fr. Marx' passing in a release today.
"It grieves me to tell you that Father Paul Marx, OSB, my mentor and spiritual Father, went to his reward this morning, March 20, at 8:30 a.m., said Mosher.
"Father Marx touched my life in many ways—he helped to bring me into the Catholic Church, he founded the Population Research Institute and served as its long-time Chairman, and he did me the honor of allowing me to work alongside him in defending Life."
In his statement Mosher also urged, "May we all, in honor of this great Apostle of Life, redouble our efforts on behalf of God's little ones."
Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life also issued a statement about the passing of the great pro-life priest:
"I just learned with sorrow of the death of one of the world's greatest pro-life advocates, Fr. Paul Marx, OSB.
"Fr. Marx was, first and foremost, a priest who was not afraid to be a prophet. He knew that his mission in bearing witness to the Gospel and in fostering love of God and neighbor compelled him to speak up for our smallest neighbors, those in the first moments and weeks of life. He undertook countless initiatives, made seemingly endless trips, gave innumerable talks, wrote a warehouse of articles and books, and inspired countless people in the effort to build a Culture of Life.
"I first came to know Fr. Marx through his founding and leadership of Human Life International and the remarkable conferences he held for pro-life advocates around the world. He was always a clear reminder to his brother priests that we should never be afraid to speak about abortion, contraception, and the beauty of human sexuality as taught by the Church. All of us at Priests for Life are grateful for the strong encouragement he gave to our ministry. We will pray not only for the repose of his soul, but for the continued fruit of his labors in the minds and hearts of so many people and in the policies of so many nations."
Fr. Euteneur stated that the wake service for Fr. Marx will take place on Thursday night, the Feast of the Annunciation, at 7 p.m. at St. John's Benedictine Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. The funeral will follow on Friday at 3:30 p.m. at the same location.