What 40 Years of Roe v Wade & Doe v Bolton Has Affected My Life

Today marks 1 of the saddest days in the history of the USA, a day of even greater infamy than the attack on Pearl Harbor that drug the US into WW II. Roe v Wade & Doe v Bolton changed this country. & not for the better.
As a part of their trying to make abortion seem acceptable, NARAL has asked those participating in their annual Blog for Choice to explain why they are pro-choice. (More about it & how to respond here.) So since they are calling on abortion supporters to tell their story, I felt it only right tht I share my journey as a Pro-lifer. I use the word journey intentionally because that is exactly what it has been as you will see.

I have to admit that the ruling was NOT on my radar that day 40 years ago. I was a 17 year old High School Senior. The upcoming retreat weekend I was to make at Gilbertville Don Bosco HS was at the top of the list, along with all the usual things that concern a HS Senior.

It wasn't until my college days that I even began to think about it. I remember one of the 1st times a few of us discussed it. I was a sophomore @ Loras. The Catholic Church's teaching didn't come up. Also, I will admit that I really didn't understand what abortion did to the unborn child.

But over the next few months I began to look at what the Church taught &, even though I didn't fully understand why, I knew what the Church was saying was right.

So, fast forward to my junior year & the 1976 Dubuque County Democratic Convention. I went as a Carter delegate because he was the only candidate claiming to be Pro-life. I learned later how sincere that claim really was. At the time I was going on what I knew, so I have no regrets for what I did.

The proposed platform didn't contain anything about protecting the right to life of the unborn. So, Joe Hart, a fellow Loras student, & I went arround to get the signatures needed to bring it up.

This is where I ran into my 1st experience of "I'm personally opposed but I can't impose my morality on others," cop out. The person was a local Franciscan, Sr. Dorothy Hennessey OSF. Yes, the same Franciscans that have Pat Farrell, the recent head of the dissident LCWR, as a member. The problems do go that far back.
Needless to say I was shocked. At the time, I didn't know much about her, but as the years wore on she became a prime example of the hypocrisy of those liberal Catholycs who make the same claim.  I say that because she would show up in DBQ & elsewhere waving a sign saying "War is immoral" & calling for an end to war. So, it was OK for her to impose her morality when it came to war by saying it is never moral & never should be allowed. But it was wrong for her to speak out about the immorality of abortion, something that has killed more Americans  in one year than every war the US has participated in since 1775. (Details  of war death numbers here) Sadly, I never got the chance to talk to her about her double standard before she died.
By 1980 I knew I couldn't support Carter, so I voted for Reagan. I have never voted for a Democratic president since. As time went on I eventually left the Democratic party because, as a Pro-lifer, I wasn't very welcome. Yes, it was hard since I grew up active in Democratic politics. But I knew I had to move as I could have some effect there. This is also why I am not wedded to the Republican party either. What I believe in guides my politics, not politics guiding my beliefs.
Back in the 80s the nearest abortion clinics in Iowa were those in Iowa City. Because of my work schedule I couldn't go with those going to protest at Emma Goldman in CR a lot. But I occasionally did.
During the 80s I continued to grow in my faith & the conviction that abortion was wrong. During this time, science took a leap forward so we could see what actually happened from fertilization/conception to the birth of the child. Add to that Dr. Bernard Nathanson's ultrasound video showing what actually happened during an abortion showed me why what the Church taught was right. (As an aside, Dr. Nathanson started NARAL but later converted to Pro-life & made the video as a result of that conversion.)
Speaking of ultrasounds, as the importance of them as a tool in saving lives has grown, I have spoken out & supported as I could the efforts to expand the use of them at crisis pregnancy centers. Ditto supporting the places that offer aternatives in general.
In my naivete during those early years, I honestly thought that we would be rid of abortion by the mid to late 80s. All we needed to do was get Pro-lifers elected & that would do it. We see how wrong I was, unfortunately.  I still didn't really understand the type of battle this was. I didn't know there was much more to it that politics.
But about 1989-90, I began to come to an understanding of what was really being the pro-abortion movement.
A bunch of us from DBQ went down to join in a march from Coralville to the Iowa University clinic where they did abortions. As we gathered so did a group of radical abortion supporters. It became clear that they were going to try to stop us, with force if necessary. So they asked the men to come to the front to protect women & children there from harm. What I saw in the eyes of those on the other side was pure evil & rabid hatred. Demonic in nature to be exact.
I didn't grasp the full implications for many years. But the seeds of understanding what was behind what they were doing were planted. In 1993 Pope John Paul 1st started speaking about a "Culture of Life". In his 1995 encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, he developed the idea of what a "Culture of Life" should be like. He also talked about the "culture of death", what it stood for & its relation to sin.
As that teaching sunk in & as I grew in my understanding of the spiritual underpinnings, I eventually grasped what was behind the current "culture of death", it was demonic.
I had a different job in the 90s. But I worked nights & weekends, making it even more difficult to do much other than on the political scene. I did my best to speak up where & when I could.
After the turn of the century some things changed that lead to me being more active in a variety of ways.
1 of those was the start of this blog in December of 2004. It didn't start out to focus as much as it has on abortion. & for a while, I was inactive. But as time went on, I began to focus primarily on the Pro-life issues. The growth of on-line Pro-life news resources as well as the growing use of the Pro-life movement of the internet helped me to turn this into a strong voice defending the life of the unborn.
About the same time, I took a speaker's class at DBQ Co. Right to Life. We had to chose a topic to speak on. At 1st I was looking at the psychological damage done to women by abortion. But something got me thinking, what about the men, how does it effect them. At the time research into this was just beginning. But I was able to find enough to show me this was worth pursuing. Since then there has been much more research giving more proof that it does harm the men, emotionally & psychologically.   We have seen the growth of ministries aimed at helping both men & women get the spiritual & psychological healing they need. Many times I have had been able to call on my knowledge to speak out about this topic. This also became something personal after I met Jason Jones in 2007.all I could, He was promoting the movie Bella that he helped co-produce. He also shared his story about how he lost a child to abortion. I got to know him better when he was working on Sam Brownback's presidential campaign.
Jason has spoken as a part of Silent No More's presentations during the annual March for Life. If you get the chance, listen to his story. It is a powerful reminder that abortion leaves many victims in its wake.
I was also able to get more involved with some of the things sponsored by DBQ Co Right to Life, like attending their Life Dinner. Then came that dark day in 2008 when Planned Parenthood opened a clinic in downtown DBQ. At the time they were open 40 hours & I began to regularly pray & protest in front of it on my day off. As time went on they reduced their hours & changed the days they were open. I have filled in when I can. & last year I helped to run the 40 Days for Life prayer campaign in DBQ.
Over the years I have been sworn at, had my reputation attacked & even suffered vandalism for speaking up. I have forgiven those who have tried to harm me & pray God will do so as well. I realize it is a part of the price God has asked me to pay. So I willingly, if not always happily, pay it.
Well, that is it in a nutshell. Have I always done all I could? No, I haven't. But with God's help I will work to grow in my commitment & willingness to do what I can & must do to build the "Culture of Life", starting with my prayer life.
As I said earlier, I came to realize the demonic underpinnings of the "culture of death". As my understanding of that grew so did my realization that this battle won't be won without prayer & reliance on God to do it.
I also realize that I am but a small part in God's plan to build a "Culture of Life". Small, YES. But that doesn't matter. My responsibility is to do what God wants, great or small. I will never know this side of eternity the effects my efforts have had. All I need to know now is what God expects of me & to do it with the power of the Holy Spirit. I don't know what the cost will be. with the way things are in the USA it may someday mean my freedom, or even my life. That doesn't matter. Until abortion is no longer a part of our culture or I die, whichever comes 1st, I will continue to speak out for the unborn & defend all those who are harmed by abortion. May I bring God's healing, forgiveness & mercy wherever I go & in whatever I say.

The 1st 40 Days (for Life) Are Over

 

 

It is hard to believe that the 1st 40 Days for Life prayer vigil in DBQ finished yesterday. It seems like yeasterday when we started working on this, but it was early August. The last 40 Days seem to have just flown by.

Nationwide there were 608 babies saved from abortion— that we know of! & as the days go by, that number will surely increse.

Here in DBQ we have yet to hear if any babies were saved. But I can tell you that God moved powerfully. People showed up even when it was rainy, cold or dark. Sometimes only 1 of us was there. other times, 5-10 or more showed up to pray & witness. In addition, we got some nationwide coverage on PBS' Need to Know last Friday.

We wrapped up the Prayer Vigil on Sunday at 3 pm with a Rosary & the Divine Mercy Chaplet. There were about 35-40 people there.*

Then at 6:30 pm about 70 of us gathered at Park Farm Winery to celebrate. (The winery is run by the Cushman family. Liz Cushman is on the board for DBQ Co Right to Life.) After I welcomed everyone & Fr. Noah Diehm of Spires of Faith cluster said an opening prayer & blessing we had a time of fellowship & pizza from their Italiano style stone oven.

There was a time for the team & others who participated to share what God had done. They included how God worked to witness through their being there, how they were blessed just by being there & many other things to numerous to mention.

Next up was Fr. Jerry Blake who helps out at several parishes in the rural DBQ area. He talked on the importance of our persevering as well as the importance of voting Pro-life in tommorrow's election.

Next up we had representatives from several Pro-life ministries that help women in crisis pregnancies share a little of what they do. They were Birthright, Clarity Clinic (they have just gotten a new ultrsound machine to replace their old one as well as a portable ultrasound), New Beginnings, & the Gabriel Project. Afterwords Marion Bourek shared what DCRTL is doing as well as upcoming events.

After I thanked everyone & encouraged them once more to continue, Fr. Diehm said a closing prayer.

I want to end by saying that I (& everyone involved) knows that God has moved powerfully & will continue to do so as we go forward. I thank Him for all he has, & will continue to do in the days & weeks ahead.

Finally, they may still be there for now, but God has heard our prayers & one day the DBQ Planned Parenthood abortion mill will close.

 

_______

* I took a picture of everyone gathered for the closing prayer. Later this week I plan on sending a card with a copy of it to the local Planned Parenthood. In it I will say that we will continue to pray for them. Also, even if we aren't there as many hours we are there, the people who are there during the hours they are open will still be there praying. & I will also add that we will hope they will be joining us on our side of the sidewalk soon. (ie, that like Abby Johnson & Iowa's own Sue Thayer.

I Ain't Afraid of No Lightning

 

 

"It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed."

—Herodotus, Histories (8.98) (trans. A.D. Godley, 1924)

 

You can add to this list of those who refuse to be kept from accomplishing their appointed course, the DBQ 40 Days for Life prayer vigil participants.

An e-mail was sent out by the vigil coordinator, Trina Hingtgen, about what happenned this morning during the thunderstom that passed through DBQ. Here is a part of it:

 

"Hi All,

Just wanted to share some good news:

Rain does not bother me but when the lightening started this morning I decided that we would put our prayers in front of the PP on hold and wait until the weather improved to gather in front of the clinic again. I drove over to the clinic to tell everyone to pack up until the lightening stopped but the prayer warriors instead said to me, “I can’t think of a better place to be if God wants to take me!!” Praise God! They had umbrellas, but they were soaked and despite that, they had great big smiles on their faces– that kind of love only comes from having God in your life. Thank you! As if that wasn’t enough, a short time later one of those soaking wet prayer warriors stopped by the office to drop off a donation –some of the proceeds from her garage sale this weekend! Pro-lifers truly are the best!!"

 

I don't know all the ways that God will honor their efforts this morning. I do know that He is working powerfully. I am sure that God will honor their willingness to brave the lightening, as well as that of those of us who have braved the biting wind cold, chilling rain & darkness over the past several weeks so that it will bear much fruit & bring many victories in the spiritial battle that is going on at the DBQ Planned Parenthood.

40 Days for Life, 1/2 Way Through & A Look At the Effects of the Abortion Crisis on America

Today marks the halfway point in the Fall 2012 40 Days for Life Campaign. So far there have been at least 198 babies saved from abortion due to the various campaigns. So far, we have not heard of any lives saved here in DBQ with our local campaign. That doesn't mean we aren't having an effect.

While there is more traffic at some times than others, there are always at least a few cars going past the site each hour. So whether there is 1 of us or 10 of us out there praying, we are a Pro-life witness to them. & to the people working at Planned parenthood or their, as they call them, clients.
Last Thursday evening when I was out there, a young man came by. When he went by the 1st time he walked on to the road & said "honk-honk!" like when many of the cars do as they pass. When he came back he stopped to talk to us, explaining why he did what he did, his wife had the car & he usually honks. He then talked to us about why we were there as well as shared a little about his family.
Sunday nite we had our midpoint rally at St. Joseph the Worker School Gym. The purpose was to share what has gone on so far as well as encouraging us to persevere. The openning prayer was lead by Fr. Noah Diehm associate pastor of the Spires of Faith Catholic Church Cluster.  Next Hebrews 12:1-4 was read. Then Fr. James Parker pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in E DBQ & Nativity BVM in Menominee spoek on perseverance. As a part of his talk he shared part of the story of Father Walter Ciszek, SJ & his experiences as a prisoner in the Soviet Union. This included sharing a bit of what Fr. Chizek shared in 1 of his books about his struggles.
Next up I spoke on the abortion crisis & a reminder of how 40 Days was a part of the solution. I will share more about this later in the post. Then there was a slide presentation of pictures taken of those praying in front of the DBQ Planned Parenthood. After a short word of encouragement to increase our efforts people were asked to share their experineces. The evening ended with a closing prayer by Fr. Deihm & a blessing by Frs. Deihm & Parker.
Now back to what I said in my talk. On Saturday afternoon I went to the Power of Prayer Adoration Chapel in DBQ to pray about the talk, seek God's guidence on what to write & write it. As I was writing it, I was inspired to put the number of deaths of babies by abortions into a way that was easier to grasp than just the huge number of 54-55 million is. So, when I got home I did the preliminary research to get the numbers I needed. That night, for reasons you will soon see, I had trouble sleeping. Sunday afternoon I wrote that part of the talk.
So what did I do that upset me so as I better grasped the reality of the numbers dead via abortion?
I broke down that number to smaller sizes & compared them to various populations.
Before I go any farther, I need to make it clear that the number of abortions is approximate. The Centers for Disease Control does not require each state to report the number done each year. & not every state does. So the numbers aren't complete. & it takes a  The propaganda arm of Planned Parenthood also puts out its estimates.  So those in the pro-life movement have to use this info to make a reasonable guess that is probably, even at the higher end, lower than the actual number done. (Higher end estimate, lower end estimate). My assumption was that we would reach 55 million by the 40th Anniversary of Roe v Wade next year.
Doing that I came up with an average of 1.38 million abortions each of the 40 years. Estimates make it more like 1.2 million in recent years, but since I was covering the whole 40 year period I went with the 1.38 million number. Regardless, the average number of abortions done daily is about 4000.
Next I looked up the various populations of local communities, counties etc. This is what I came up with. & this is why I am sure I had trouble sleeping the night before based on my preliminary estimates.
Based on those numbers we see the following
The number of abortions done in 1/2 a day is approximately the population of East Dubuque, IL.
For 1 day it is about equal to the population of Asbury or Dyersville in Iowa.
2 Days about equals the population of Platteville, WI
My hometown of Oelwein, IA & adding nearby Hazleton - 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 days
Frome here on I will do the area followed by the time for which the number of abortions done approximately equals the population of that area.
Dubuque - just over 2 weeks
Add in the area immediately arround DBQ (including Asbury, Key West & E DBQ) - almost 2-3/4 weeks
Dubuque County - just short of a month
The tri-county area (Dubuque in IA, Jo Davies in IL & Grant in WI) - 6 weeks
Iowa - just over 2 years
Finally I took the total number of abortions done over 40 years. To get to that number I added the populations over every state arround Iowa - Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, N & S Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas & Missouri. But that only brought me to a little under 39 million people. So I had to add in half of the population of Canada, in particular, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia & Alberta, in order to reach the total number of abortions done. On Saturday nite, when I did a rough estimate in my head, I thought I would have to toss in all of Canada. As much as I could be relieved at the fact, when I did the final crunch, I was able to save half of Canada from death.
Now can you see why I had trouble sleeping?
Since abortions were legal we have wiped out the equivelent of the entire populations of 9 States & 5 Provinces. But because the deaths have been over time rather than occurring all at once or over a short period of time, we haven't fully grasped the damage that abortion has done to America.
Imagine if a plague struck & that many people dead in a short period of time, don't you think people would be screaming for something to be done to stop it.
Think about how that many deaths in so short a time would affect our county. Even though that number has been spread out over 40 years, it still has had an effect. We may very well have lost the person who would find a cure for cancer or AIDS. We may have lost the next Beethoven, Bach, Shakespeare, Jonas Salk, Albert Einstein or Madame Curie. Think of the effect this has had on our economy. Over half of those babies would be working by now, paying taxes, paying into Social Security etc. How many jobs aren't there because there wasn't the need for diapers, baby clothes etc., as well
I know that most of you aren't familiar with the local communities I referenced. but you do have similar sized communities where you are. Use them to help you better grasp the reality of what abortion has done to your community.
This afternoon a Pro-life friend of mine who was at the rally brought up the Moving Wall Memorial that is in DBQ. The wall lists the deaths of Americans in Vietnam over a 20 year period from 1955-75. It lists a little over 58,000 names. She pointed out that number is close to the population of DBQ. In short, the number of deaths that took place over 20 years in Vietnam equals the number of babies that die from abortion in a little over 2 weeks.
Let me expand on that. if you take the total number of American military deaths in every war, excursion, police action, etc., since 1775, it only equals the number of deaths of American babies in 1 year due to abortion.
I hope & pray that this serves to encourage all of you to redouble your efforts to fight abortion & build a "Culture of Life" instead. Again we need to start, end & undergird our efforts with prayer. Then we must do what ever else we can, from supporting & electing true Pro-life candidates, to speaking out (talking to friends, writing letters to the editor, your local, state & federal representatives, etc.), to praying in front of the local abortion clinic.
1 death of a baby by abortion is too many. 55 million is demonic evil at its worst.

40 Days for Life in DBQ - 1 Week Down Already

 

 

Yesterday saw the end of the 1st week of the DBQ 40 Days for Life prayer vigil in front of the DBQ Planned Parenthood site. IMHO, it has started off well.

Naturally, there have been a few small problems, there always are, but nothing worth mentioning.

When we held the rally on the 23rd, there were still plenty of times not yet filled for the 1st week. But not only have they been filled, there have been many times when people have just shown up who weren't scheduled to join in with those who had. For a few people, they have been the lone witness, at other times there have been 10 or more people there praying.

 

 

Every Monday, the Spires of Faith cluster of Catholic Churches in Western DBQ & Eastern Deleware Counties have committed to filling the entire day.

Fr. Michael Podhajsky has signed up for every Tuesday (except 9 Oct) at 9 am & invited the members of his 2 parishes, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Key West & Holy Family Catholic Church, New Melleray,  to join him.

Also, whole families have committed to at least one hour a week. Many of these families include very young children, & have large families, so it will be a powerful witness to life when they are there praying.

This is only a part of the story. As I hear more reports, I will share what God is doing through those participating.

The 1st time I was out there was on Wedndesday, 26 September at noon. There were several other people with me. This lady with her arm in a sling came down towards us from the Planned Parenthood parking lot. She was speaking very loudly. I say that because I was down at the far end of the sidewalk toward the back of the above picture & she was down towards this side of the sidewalk. She was trying to defend Planned Parenthood by listing all the good she claims it did. Sarah, 1 of our long time pro-life activists spoke with her. I couldn't hear what she said, because she spoke softly in response & didn't raise her voice at all. As I found out later, she just let the lady do most of the talking. All the while, the rest of us kept praying. I pray that our peaceful response will touch that woman's heart & she will realize the truth. Especially about the harm she was doing to her daughter that she had brought to the Planned Parenthood for reasons we didn't find out.

I have been out several more times since. Because I am on the team for the DBQ campaign, I watch for where there is still a need a couple days out, ie: no one yet signed up. & if it is a time I am free, I will sign up to ensure 1 person is there. With one exception, at least one other person later signed up, or showed up, or both. & yes, I have gone out in addition to those times I signed up for.

Praying can be really hard work at times & take a lot out of you, as you can see by this picture below:

 

According to Jan, she wasn't sleeping when this picture was taken.  I have known Jan for years & know how active she has been in the Pro-life movement, especially when it comes to prayer. So. it is possible that, with the sun, she could have just had her eyes shut.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has decided to mock us by expanding their hours by being open 5 hours on Thursdays throughout October. But from what I have seen or heard, the amount of traffic hasn't increased. So all the expanded hours probably means is just more expense. I suspect this is an attempt to mock from the fact that the expanded hours are posted as being only for October. This follows on their switching 1 of their days being openned for September. It reminds me of when they 1st opened 4 years ago. They kept switching hours, claiming it was to better serve the needs of their clients. Eventually they cut back to 17 hours, never admitting the need wasn't there then any more than it is now.

I wish I could report on whether any lives have been saved. There haven't been any reports, yet. I emphasis yet because we are also not aware of how many, if any, telemed abortions have taken place.

I am sure that before we are through, there will be reports of lives saved & hearts changed about abortion. &, God willing, Planned Parenthood in DBQ will have permanantly closed its doors so that abortions will no longer be offered here.

Again, I ask for your prayers for the success of our local campaign. & challenge you to get involved in your local campaign if you aren't already.

We're Off to A Great Start for DBQ's 40 Days Campaign

 

 

Last night we held the kick-off rally for the DBQ 40 Days for Life campaign. We had about 65-70 people in attendance. It was held at the St Joseph the Worker gymnasium.

I will start by saying that the Pro-life community in DBQ is ready to start the actual campaign in DBQ on Wednesday, if last night was any evidence.

The rally started with Fr. Gabriel Anderson, pastyor of St. Joseph the Worker welcoming those participating & leading us in prayer. Next Marian Bourek, executive director of DBQ Co Right to Life, read Psalm 139:13-18 followed by a silent meditation. This was followed by some songs of praise & worship lead by members of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Key West.

After spending time in prayer, praise & worship there were 4 talks.

The 1st was by Fr. Michael Podhajsky, pastor of St. Joseph, Key West & Holy Family, New Melleray. His talk set the tone for the rest of the talks by showing us how our country was based on the Christain principle of the right for life & ended with a challenge to us to bring back that as the guiding principle of our country.

Bill Frye, DCRTL board member then spoke on the abortion issue on the local level. he challenged us to continual witnessing to the importance of defending life.

Next up I spoke on 40 Days as a solution to the abortion problem in our community. I shared why I felt so as well as shared some of the ways 40 Days has been successful elsewhere.

Finally, Trina Hingtgen, executive assistant of DCRTL, spoke on the nuts and bolts of the local campaign. 

Next up we paused to recognize Fr. John Ptacek who was celebrating his 83rd birthday Sunday & thank him for all his years of faithful service.

The evening ended with some more praise & worship songs. Then Deacon Tom Lang. St. Joseph, Key West, gave the closing prayer. The evening ended with Fr. Ptacek giving us his blessing.

After the rally 18 new people signed up to participate in the prayer vigil.

Again, I ask for your prayers for our efforts. As I have said in previous posts, abortion in the form of telemed abortions has arrived at the DBQ Planned Parenthood. Through 40 Days, we could see a swift end to that scourge in our city. May God hear & answer our prayers.

The Vitriol Seems to Be Coming From the Pro-Aborts, Not Pro-lifers

It never ceases to amaze me how those who support abortion try & claim that they are the loving peaceful side of the debate when they do the very actions that they accuse us of doing that we don't.

A prime example of this is the experience that David Bereit had during a recent 40 Days for Life speaking tour all across Australia. During that trip with his family he spoke to over 1,200 people at 35 events and meetings over 13 days in Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth, and Sydney.

On the final Saturday evening of our trip, he spoke at a banquet in Sydney for New South Wales Right to Life. It was during that event that an incident occurred. Here is how he described it:

 

"Right after I was introduced, two young women jumped up from a table in the back of the room. They began yelling “this is for the women,” and one of them threw a pink sparkly ballet shoe at me (fortunately, it missed).

That was the cue for another ten people to burst into the room, chanting abortion slogans. They ran around the room throwing glitter on banquet attendees while distributing brochures depicting Mary and baby Jesus along with “prayers” demanding that abortion be affordable and accessible, and that pro-lifers would “keep their vitriolic nonsense to themselves.”

Then they ran to the front of the room and locked arms around the podium, intent on shutting down the event. One young lady was yelling into what looked like a toy megaphone, which thankfully failed to work.

While I was a bit surprised by the sudden barrage, I was saddened more than anything else. As I looked at the anger and hatred in the eyes of these young people, I realized that some of them had probably experienced the pain of abortion in their own lives.

It was at that point that I asked the audience to bow their heads and join me in praying the Lord’s Prayer.

Here’s the photo of that moment:

 

 

Then we prayed for all women and men who have been harmed by abortion, that they would find healing … and that they would experience love and compassion from pro-lifers, without judgment or condemnation.

After about ten minutes, security guards were able to remove the abortion advocates from the room, and the event continued on — with the audience more motivated than ever before.

If that wasn’t enough excitement, on Monday morning I spoke to 60 college students from the University of Notre Dame (Australia) and the University of Sydney at a breakfast. Desperately trying to disrupt us once again, abortion advocates organized an even bigger protest outside with 30-35 people. We simply moved our event half a block away to avoid confrontation, and they never figured out that they were protesting an empty room.

Sydney’s largest newspaper covered the twin protests, and we learned that one of the most prominent feminists in Australia was among those protesting on Monday morning! "

 

It never ceases to amaze me how abortion supporters project their own actions onto us while denying that they are even doing them, despite documentary evidence to the contrary.

It also saddens me to see how they mock our faith like they did using pictures of Jesus & Mary as well as prayers for abortion to be affordable & accessible. The latter reminds me of the story that Archbishop Sheen shared about a plane trip he took. It was Lent & he told the attendant he was skipping lunch to fast. The woman next to her said she was fasting as well. When he inquired "Are you also Catholic?" she answered, "No, I'm a witch, and I'm fasting for abortion."

These incidents point out all the more to us of the importance of prayer & fasting to end abortion. Those on the pro-abortion side are praying to Satan. But he can only win in so far as we let him. Our responsibility is to pray & fast so those strongholds will be broken. If we don't do as God has commanded, then those strongholds continue to stand.

Dave Bereit shows us the response we are to have when confronted with those who confront us angrily, with love & prayer. I too have seen the anger & hatred in the eyes of abortion supporters. He is right to say that for some, it is a result of the pain they have experienced because of an abortion in their lives, men & women.

These people need to know the love & mercy that Jesus offers them so they can be set free.

40 Days for Life is 1 of those ways in which God does so. As I mentioned in a recent post, we will be be having our 1st 40 Days for Life campaign in DBQ next week. I am excited because I know that it is a powerful tool that God has given us to build a "Culture of Life" & defeat the "culture of death".

If 40 Days for Life wasn't successful you wouldn't see incidents like this attempting to disrupt these events. These disruptions are more than just an attempt to protest what we stand for, they are an attempt to stop us from doing what we do that has been so successful.

Again, I ask all your prayers for the success of our campaign, beginning with the kick-off event tommorrow night. This is the largest 40 Days campaign ever. & I suspect that we will see God's hand move mightily, not only here in DBQ but accross the world as we answer the call to do our part in putting an end to abortion.

 

Source: Yes, they threw a SHOE at me …

See also: Record-Breaking 40 Days for Life Campaign Starts Next Week

Why I Haven't Been Posting As Regularly Lately - DBQ's 40 Days for Life Campaign

The last couple of weeks I haven't been able to put up as many posts as I would have liked. But there is a very good reason, much of the time I would have had for posting has been taken up with a very important project, doing my part as a campaign leader for the upcoming 40 Days for Life Campaign in DBQ.

 

 

I have posted many times about the 40 Days for Life Campaigns & the success they have been elsewhere. With the DBQ Planned Parenthood moving to its new location this year & offering telemed abortions, it was felt by some people  that now was the time to hold a campaign in DBQ. So with the support of DBQ Co Right to Life an application was made to be a part of the Fall Campaign.

I was contacted & agreed to act as the events coordinator. That means my primary responsibility is to plan 3 events, the kick-off rally, a mid-point rally & a closing event to celebrate the success we have had in our local campaign.

After going through the 40 Days training module, the work includes finding a site, setting up speakers & others who will have a part in leading the rally. Additionally, I have been called on to speak at a few places to promote the campaign. Add to that helping with PR & the work being done on other parts of the campaign, a lot of my time has been occupied with this important work.

Now I am NOT saying this to look for sympathy. Anyone who regularly reads this blog knows how I feel about abortion & the importance to put an end to it. They also know the emphasis on the importance or prayer I make as well. So my involvement is only natural & obviously is a priority for my time. I have to be involved or I couldn't look at myself, let alone ask God to bring about an end to abortion when I wasn't willing to answer His call to do my part.

40 Days campaigns do just this.

For those of you unaware of what 40 Days does, let me share a little about it. (Quotes taken from the 40 Days website unless otherwise noted)

"The first 40 Days for Life campaign was conducted in Bryan/College Station, Texas in the fall of 2004. A local pro-life group prayed for an answer about how to reduce abortion in their area, and the answer God gave them was 40 Days for Life. The campaign was put together in a matter of weeks, yet it activated 1,000 people and led directly to a 28 percent decline in abortions in that community."

After the news of the victories won by God spread, 6 other communities held their own campaigns. Like the 1st one God moved to bring more victories at each location. "For some, it was learning that clinics closed altogether or cut their operating hours. Other cities found an outpouring of women seeking post-abortion healing."

So in 2007 it was decided to go national. More than 80 cities in 30 states participated."People who had never been involved in pro-life activities came forward to answer the call. Lives were saved, hearts were changed and people are seeing that prayer indeed can make a difference in the quest to end abortion."

The success lead to scheduling a 2nd nationwide event. It was scheduled to coincide with Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday. Again it meet with success.

Since then they have been held twice a year, in the Spring (Lent) & in the Fall. Over the years they have grown in numbers & even gone international. There have been 440 cities across the United States & Canada, plus cities in Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Belize, Denmark, England, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Poland, Puerto Rico & Spain that have been a part of various campaigns. The Fall 2012 campaign includes the following:

• 314 locations -- the most ever!
• 49 US states -- plus Washington, DC
• 7 Canadian provinces
• Australia, England, Spain and -- for the first time -- Uganda
• Many NEW cities ... 46 first-time campaigns

As I said 1 of those new cities is DBQ.

For those wondering about the difference in numbers between the 440 total cities & the 314 this year, the answer is simple. Not every city participates in every campaign, & in some cases, 24 to be exact,  the abortion facilities have shut down completely. 1 of the most recent was the closing last Spring of the Planned Parenthood abortion Center in Storm Lake, IA in 1 March. That site had been the location for a campaign in the Fall of 2011. The vigil was coordinated by Sue Thayer – who once served as manager of that very facility ... until she was fired! In addition a 2nd site in nearby Knoxville was closed as well. (Note: the 40 Days campaign was endorsed by Sioux City Bishop Nickless who also did his part by leading a Eucharistic procession in the Summer of 2011 that stopped to pray there as 1 of its stops.)

In addition to the success closings of 24 abortion facilities the campaigns have seen prayers answered & the following things happen as well:

• 1,894 individual campaigns have taken place in 440 cities
• More than 525,000 have joined together in an historic display of unity to pray and fast for an end to abortion
• More than 15,000 church congregations have participated in the 40 Days for Life campaigns
• Reports document 5,928 lives that have been spared from abortion — and those are just the ones we know about
• 69 abortion workers have quit their jobs and walked away from the abortion industry
• Hundreds of women and men have been spared from the tragic effects of abortion, including a lifetime of regrets
• More than 2,100 news stories have been featured in newspapers, magazines, radio shows and TV programs from coast to coast ... and overseas
• Many people with past abortion experiences have stepped forward to begin post-abortion healing and recovery

Some people may remember that one of those workers was Abby Johnson. I have posted about her several times, including her appearance here in DBQ for a dinner for DBQ Co Right to Life.
40 Days has 3 main componants that are at the heart of its success.
The 1st is prayer & fasting. "Christ told us some demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. The two go hand in hand. Prayer keeps us rooted in the fact that it is our desire to carry out God's will. Fasting is a sacrifice that helps us reach beyond our own limitations with God's help. Fasting is not a Christian diet; it is a form of physical prayer. You can fast from food, TV, alcohol ... anything that separates you from God." This componant starts even before the actual campaign. People are asked to start early in order to ensure even the preperatory work done is under the guidance & blessing of God.
The second componant is the actual 40 Days of constant prayer vigil before the abortion facility. "The most visible component of 40 Days for Life is a constant prayer vigil outside a place where children are aborted. It is the hope that the vigil can be maintained 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is a prayerful witness to the clinic's patients and employees, and to the entire community, that evil is in our midst and that with God's help, it will be defeated." For most of the sites, the vigil runs 24-7 for the full 40 days. Here in DBQ we will only be praying for 12 hours each of the 40 days due to the smaller size of our community.
The final componant is community outreach. "During 40 Days for Life, the pro-life message is proactively taken to the community through focused, grassroots educational efforts. People are given the opportunity to visibly show their support for 40 Days for Life." Some of this starts earlier by contacting the media & putiing up posters, speaking at Churches, etc.

By now, I think you can understand  my excitement that we are having a campaign in DBQ & making it a huge priority in my life.

Her in DBQ the kick-off event will be held at 6 PM on Sunday, 23 September 2012. The site will be the St. Joseph the Worker School Gymnasium, 2113 St. Joseph ST, DBQ. On Tuesday, 25 September there will be a 6 PM Mass for the success of the campaign at St. Mary's Catholic Church, 170 Montgomery Ave, E DBQ, IL.

The campaign starts on 26 September 2012 at 8 AM & will run each of the 40 days from 8 AM to 8 PM. If you are in the DBQ area please come to the kick-off event & go to the DBQ campaign website to sign up for as many times as you can. If you live elsewhere, you can go here to check if there is a location near you.

Regardless, I ask everyone to start praying & fasting for the success of the campaign, both in DBQ as well as the rest of the locations.
The abortion industry thinks that they are winning the battle because of the support the have from the current administration. They think that as long as they can rake in as much of our tax dollars as possible they won't ever lose the battle. But they also know how effective these campaigns are so they try to downplay what we are doing. The one thing those in abortion industry won't admit is that it will eventually be defeated because this isn't a battle of dollars & cents, it is a spiritual battle. Because it is spiritual, it will be won using spiritual weapons, not merely by politics or education. The victories in those arenas will come about because we were willing to invest the time & effort in prayer, using all the spiritual weapons that God has given us. I don't know how much longer it will take. But if we continue to pray, ask God to guide & bless our efforts & remain faithful to our calling, then hearts will be changed, not only individual clinics but the entire industry will be shut down, abortion workers will be converted, those hurt by abortion (men & women) will receive the forgiveness & healing they need, & untold babies will have their lives spared from death.
The choice is ours. We can say yes & play our part in defeating the "culture of death". Or we cay no & answer to God for our refusal. We must say yes & do our part to bring about the "Culture of Life" God wants. & 40 Days for Life is one of the ways God has provided for us to bring it about.



The Day I Hoped & Prayed Would Never Be, Has Come to Pass

This afternoon I was at work at the DBQ Co Right to Life Office doing some things in my capacity of events coordinator for the 40 Days for Life campaign we are putting on starting 26 September. In the process of writing a news release I had to look up the address of the Planned Parenthood in Dubuque. So I went to the PP website to get it since the phone book had the old address. While there I noticed that one line in their list of services offered had changed from last week. Instead of saying abortion referal it now said abortion services.

It is my sad duty to report that PP has officially announced they are doing telemed abortions at the DBQ site. God help us.

After I read that on the website I called over Marion Bourek, the new executive director, to show her the bad news. As she came from her office, it was all I could do to hold back the tears. I was also sick to my stomach. She had a similar reaction. Then the executive assistant came over & for a few moments a pall of sorrowful silence fell over this office.

Part of the reason we decided to have a 40 days campaign in DBQ was because we knew that abortions would be a part of the services offered at the new site. & now they are. While it is only telemed abortions, the building is suitable for offering surgical abortions as well.

This news has added all the more impetus to continue the battle against PP & abortion. This evil MUST be driven out of DBQ as well as elsewhere.

I ask for your prayers for our 40 Days campaign to be successful, so that by its end, the Planned Parent Health Center as they describe themselves will be permanantly shut down. Calling themselves a health center is a sick joke. They are anything but a health center, especially for the unborn. What they really are is a death center.

Thankfully they haven't expanded their hours from the 17 they are currently open. When they 1st came to DBQ they were open 40 hours a week. At the time they claimed there was this huge need. Since then they reduced their hours to the current 17 & recently moved to Hillcrest & their own building. Offering abortions in DBQ is the only reason they have keep open a site that sees less than 20 people a week. They hope that this will enable them to make the money they need to keep it going. & maybe even expand as well. They have also stayed because this is a town that is mainly Catholic (although many are pro-choice)so they can mock God & His Church as well.

What PP won't admit is that it has been the ongoing prayful protest that has played a huge part in their failure. But it has. & with the 40 Days campaign coming up, the spiritual warfare going on will see them permanantly removed from DBQ, bringing an end to the scourge of an abortion clinic in this town.

This may be a sad day, but God will be triumphant in the end. & that is what gives me the hope to go on rather than give up.

A Huge Spiritual Battle Is Brewing In Dubuque

Over the years I have posted about the 40 Days for Life Campaigns held twice a year. These campaigns are aimed at closing down abortion clinics, saving the lives of unborn babies & converting clinic workers through prayer & fasting. A huge part of the campaign is maintaining a peaceful prayer vigil in front of the clinic, usually 24 hrs, throughout the 40 days.

According to their website, since they started in 2004:

1,894 individual campaigns have taken place in 440 cities

More than 525,000 have joined together in an historic display of unity to pray and fast for an end to abortion

More than 15,000 church congregations have participated in the 40 Days for Life campaigns

Reports document 5,928 lives that have been spared from abortion — and those are just the ones we know about

69 abortion workers have quit their jobs and walked away from the abortion industry

23 abortion facilities completely shut down following local 40 Days for Life campaigns

Hundreds of women and men have been spared from the tragic effects of abortion, including a lifetime of regrets

More than 2,100 news stories have been featured in newspapers, magazines, radio shows and TV programs from coast to coast ... and overseas

Many people with past abortion experiences have stepped forward to begin post-abortion healing and recovery

On 1 March 2012 the Planned Parenthood clinic in Storm Lake, IA closed (along with the nearby Knoxville site). This site was a location for a Fall 2011 vigil. That vigil was coordinated by Sue Thayer, who used to manage the Storm Lake site. You might also remember that Abby Johnson, a former director of  the Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas. Bryan is where 40 Days started out.

As I pointed out, the vigil in front of the clinics are peaceful & prayerful. Those who are involved are expected to be peaceful. they are expected to "show compassion and reflect Christ’s love to all abortion facility employees, volunteers, and customers."

But in a sense, what they are doing is battling. The battle is spiritual & it uses spiritual weapons, prayer & fasting. Weapons that are much more effective than any violent act could every be. They are the weapons Christ told us to use. As the 40 Days site points out "Christ told us some demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. The two go hand in hand. Prayer keeps us rooted in the fact that it is our desire to carry out God's will. Fasting is a sacrifice that helps us reach beyond our own limitations with God's help."

Now the 40 Days campaign is coming to DBQ. 4 years ago this month Planned Parenthood of East Central Iowa opened a clinic on Central Ave in DBQ. At the time they claimed there was a huge demand for their services. From the start DBQ Co Right to Life has coordinated a peaceful presence in front of the site during the hours they were open. It wasn't too long until they cut their hours from 40 to the 17 they now operate at. It was hoped that they would close after their lease was up last August. Instead they decided to buy a building (l) @ 3365 Hillcrest Rd. so they could start offering abortions. Jill June, CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland who now operates it, has made it clear that she things she can outlast us, despite all the evidence to the contrary. The new site has not seen either an increase in hours or clients since moving out there. Up to now they have not officially offered abortions at the site. But by sometime in the middle of September, they will be officially providing telemed abortions.

So DCRTL has decided it is time to step up to the next level in the fight to get Planned Parenthood out of town. So this Fall there will be a 40 Days campaign in DBQ. The dates are 26 Septemebr to 4 November.

But there is much more to it than people just showing up & praying. Yes volunteers are needed. Anyone who wants to can go to the DBQ webpage to sign up. So if you are in the DBQ area, please do. If not, but you know someone here, encourage them to get involved.

There will be a community outreach program. In addition, there will be several events put on. Among those events will be a kick-off rally planned for the 23 of September. This is in its early stages of planning, so I don't have any definite details. There will also be a Mass on the 25th & other events as well. I am the person coordinating the events so please keep me in your prayers as well.

Please pray for the success of the campaign so that by 5 November Planned Parenthood is permanently out of DBQ. I want it to close on the 1st day, 26 Sept because that would make the perfect birthday present for me. But any time during the campaign will be fine.

As I Said, The Main Stream Media Critics Are Attacking "For Greater Glory"

In May I made a prediction about how the Main Stream Media PC gang would review For Greater Glory. (here & here) While expecting a few to be fair, I added " For the rest, watch the reviews be positive about the Hispanic actors & how they played their roles, while attacking the movie in a similar way to how they attacked October Baby because of that movie's Pro-life message." In short, I predicted it would be attacked for its positive view of the Catholic Church. Well I have been proven right, sad to say.

The Rotton Tomatoes page for the movie currently shows a reviewer 16% approval rating by movie critics. When you get to the top list it drops to 6%. However the audience approval rating is 86%, quite a difference. (Note these are subject to change as more reviews are added, but at this point the numbers probably won't change much.)

I would have to say the review that is the best proves my point about reviews attacking the Catholic Church is the review of the movie by Roger Ebert. I have to ask after reading it, does he just NOT get what this movie was about, or is he intentionally being dense to cover up his subtly attacking those who stand up for the Catholic faith.

In the 1st paragraph he talks about the historical background of the film. But in the 2nd paragraph he begins to attack the movie. "An atheist and a hero of the revolution, Gorostieta signed on for the cash and because he supported the principle of religious freedom. In the context of a new English-language epic called "For Greater Glory," that principle apparently applies only to Catholics. No other religion is ever mentioned." (emphasis mine) Well DUH???????????? This movie is about the attack on the Catholic Church lead by Calles. Of course it doesn't mention other religions. Calles wasn't attacking them the way he attacked the Catholic Church. BTW, nowhere in the movie does it imply that the principle of religious freedom only applies to Catholics. Ebert is letting his anti-Catholic prejudice which shows up even stronger later in the review to undermine the message that an attack on the religious freedom of any church & the people who belong, is an attack on the religious freedom of everyone.
I would also remind Ebert of the origin of the word catholic. The word catholic was derived via the Late Latin catholicus, which came from the Greek adjective καθολικός (katholikos), meaning "universal." So in fact, looking at the attack on the Catholic Church's religious freedom does apply the principle to other religions as well.
Also, as the Wikipedia article on the 1917 Mexican Constitution points out "Articles 3, 5, 24, 27, and 130 as originally enacted were anticlerical and restricted religious freedoms, as well as the power of the Catholic Church, in part due to a desire by anticlerical framers to punish the Mexican Church's Hierarchy for its support of Victoriano Huerta." Did you get that Ebert?, the restrictions were aimed at the Catholic Church & Calles was using those restrictions to attack the Catholic Church. Also, these restrictions remained after the war & they were NOT removed until 1992. & even then, not all of them.

Later he says "This war has all the elements to make it well-known, but I confess I'd never heard of it. A close Mexican-American friend, well-informed in Mexican history, told me she never has, either. Is it in the usual history books? "
No, it has been buried. Ebert might do well to remember that even though the war ended in 1929, the attacks on the Catholic Church continued. Like I already said, the Constitutional restrictions remained. & continued to be sporadically enforced. After the war the government executed some 500 Cristero leaders and 5,000 other Cristeros. & that is just 1 example. So naturally, they were going to do their best to keep it out of the history books. We are seeing a modern form of historic revision with FDR & his memorial in DC. They omitted his wheel chair & his cigarette holder, to intentionally present a different picture.
Ebert goes on to say "It is well-made, yes, but has such pro-Catholic tunnel vision I began to question its view of events. One important subplot involves a 12-year-old boy choosing to die for his faith. Of course the federal troops who shot him were monsters, but the film seems to approve of his decision and includes him approvingly in a long list of Cristeros who have achieved sainthood or beatification after their deaths in the war."
Now we get into the meat of Ebert's attack on the Catholic Church. 1st of all, I again remind him that this is about the attack on the Catholic Church, so naturally it will be pro-Catholic. apparently that is something he doesn't like. Which fits in well with the current anti-Catholic attitude in Hollywood that usually uses the Catholic Church as it's whipping boy.
On the other hand, he called The DaVinci Code "preposterously entertaining." He went on to say "Both (book & movie) contain accusations against the Catholic Church and its order of Opus Dei that would be scandalous if anyone of sound mind could possibly entertain them." But nowhere does he criticize it for its anti-Catholic tunnel vision.
& yes, the film does approve of José Sánchez del Río's decision. He chose to die for the faith like many other martyrs for the faith did over the past 2000 years, martyrs of all ages, young & old. Some were even younger than José. & the reason he was included in the list is because the Catholic Church approves of his actions as well. Apparently Ebert thinks he knows better than the Catholic Church who should or shouldn't be made a saint. He might do well to look at the whole process. It just doesn't declare anyone a saint. There is a long process of discernment that ensures the person is really a saint in Heaven.
As Fr. Barry pointed out to me after Mass on Sunday, what we saw in the movie were people growing in their faith & towards sainthood. That is exactly what we say in the movie when it came to José. IMHO, José's last few days were shown as his taking up his cross willingly to follow Jesus. The journey to his execution  came across to me as José's  Via Dolorosa.
Ebert does, sort of, get 1 thing right. He says "President Calles (Ruben Blades), who can't believe the Cristeros can possibly be successful, pursues the war beyond what seems to be all common sense." (emphasis mine) He got that right. Calles hatred of the Catholic Church blinded him to using any Catholic sense. Something that seems somewhat true of Ebert as well when it comes to this review.
Ebert then goes on to add  "It's one thing to enforce legal restraints on the Catholic Church and another — a riskier one — to order such extremes as sending all the bishops and foreign-born clergy out of the country and authorizing the murder of priests in their own churches." (emphasis mine) Here we get to a very interesting point & one that may reveal a hidden motive in Ebert's attack on the movie & the Catholic Church. Ebert apparently approves of Calles' use of the Constitution to restrict the religious freedom of the Catholic Church. Could it be because he sees a parallel in the Obama asdministrations's attempt to use ObamaCare to put what they say are "legal restraints" on the Catholic Church? & he sees this movie as a reminder that what Obama is doing is just as wrong as what Calles is doing? Apparently so, & like the rest of the media he is trying to subvert &/or silence the message by attacking the messenger as I pointed out.
He ends the review with another attack on the Catholic Church. "If it had not hewed so singlemindedly to the Catholic view and included all religions under the banner of religious liberty, I believe it would have been more effective. If your religion doesn't respect the rights of other religions, it is lacking something. "  (emphasis mine) You will notice that he restates the attack he started the review with. He wants to remind us that if you only show the Catholic view in a movie about the Catholic Church than that invalidates the message. In one sense, this is another example of the spirit of relativism so widespread in the world that Papa Benedetto has been regularly warning us about.
But then we have that last line than can only be read as an out & out attack on the Catholic Church for its views on homosexuality, abortion & birth control, among others. He is intentionally confusing respecting the religious liberty rights of others with being able to proclaiming the truth. The Catholic Church fully respects religious liberty. Ebert should read Dignitatis Humanae. It says  "the human person has a right to religious freedom," which is described as "immunity from coercion in civil society." Did you get that last line? It clearly points to what Obama is doing, not the Catholic Church. But, just like the rest of those who support Obama, Ebert is twisting what the Catholic Church is saying to imply it is attacking others who believe differently rather than defending its own right to not be forced to support abortion, birth control etc.  He knows full well that the Catholic Church isn't taking away other's rights. Or disrespecting them.
On the other hand, Ebert is saying it is OK to take away the Catholic Church's freedom if society doesn't like what it teaches. There is no need to respect the Catholic Church or those who are faithful to its teachings. He is giving glowing approval to Obama's attack on religious freedom for those who disagree with what Obama thinks is right.
The sad thing is that Ebert was raised as a Catholic. These days he admits to being a secular humanist.* His attack on this movie also shows how far he has come from the day when was critical of films that he believed are grossly ignorant of or insulting to Catholicism, for example  Stigmata & Priest. Now he attacks those films that uphold authentic Catholicism.

______________
*As an aside, he says in the article that  "Catholicism made me a humanist before I knew the word." What he fails to point out is that there is a huge difference between secular humanism & the humanism promoted by the Catholic Church that has its basis in the fact that man is made in the image & likeness of God. (Note: it is not religious humanism as modern humanists try & promote either.) That humanism has been arround in the Catholic Church since the start. Although it received its greatest expression in the Catholic Church's support of the arts during the Renaissance, something that probably never would have happenned without the support of the Catholic Church. & don't forget that it was the Catholic Church who provided the foundation for it by the preservation of civilization in the monasteries during the Middle Ages. (I once again recommend you read Thomas E. Woods, Jr.'s book How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization for more on this subject.
Additionally, he admits to being pro-choice when it comes to abortion, another motivation for his attack on the Catholic Church's freedom through his attack on this movie. Of course he is going to support the Obama administration's forcing the Catholic Church to pay for abortions & attack anything that reminds people of what is really going on with the administration's actions, they are an attack on religious freedom.

"MASS"ive Battle Against Denver Planned Parenthood Abortion Mill

For the closing of this Spring's 40 Days of Prayer in Denver, the Catholic Church brought out all the biggest weapons it could. A March 31st closing rally kicked off with a Spanish Mass, followed by a rosary led by Bishop James Conley, apostolic administrator for the Denver Archdiocese. This was followed by a 2nd Mass was celebrated by Fr. Joseph Hearty FSSP, Assistant Pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in nearby Littleton. Fr Hearty originated the idea because he felt that it was time to “pull out the big guns.” He added“If we can pray the rosary, why not offer the Mass, why not use the Mass and the Eucharist as a means of fighting this tragedy. Why not use the most powerful means that we have?” As a member of the traditional Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Fr. Hearty celebrated the traditional Latin Mass, known as the Tridentine Mass.

The empty parking lot is right across the street from the Planned Parenthood & isowned by a pro-life couple.

Also, 6 different Masses offered in the parking lot during the 40 Days campaign in English & Spanish. All six Masses were well attended, averaging between fifty & a hundred persons.

Organizers are hoping to build on the momentum. They hope establish a regular schedule of Masses in front of the clinic, continuing to wage spiritual warfare against the nation’s largest abortion provider.

“Our fight is not against the world, it’s against principalities and darkness, it’s against evil, it is against the devil,” says Fr. Hearty. “Why not make a few demons quake?”

Why not indeed? 

Source: Denver priest ‘pulls out the big guns’ on Planned Parenthood: says Mass on the street outside clinic

1 Less Abortion Mill In Iowa

This is quite a story you are about to read. While the closing of any abortion mill is good news, this has special meaning for me for several reasons. 1st of all, it is 1 less stain on the great state of Iowa. 2ndly, it means that Planned Parenthood of the Heartland has failed in one of its attempts to spread telemed abortions across the state. Finally, it is an encouraging reminder to keep praying that the same thing will happen here in DBQ. As you may remember, I put up some posts about the new location including 1 about how it looks like the new site will be a telemed abortion mill.

The new site in DBQ is about 1-1/2 blocks from where I live. Every time I drive by the place I pray. I regularly ask St. Joseph's intercession to drive Planned Parenthood out of DBQ. So far, I have yet to see any sign that they are working on the place to get it open.
I won't go into details now, but I know that at least 2 priests have already been out there with others praying & using other spiritual weapons given to us by God through the Catholic Church to battle what Satan wants to do there.
Additionally, I know of others who have stopped there as well to pray that it won't open.
If you add all these prayers together then it is only a matter of time until they are driven out. Not because of me alone, or because of any one of us alone, but because we are in agreement in our asking God for this to come about. Matthew 18:19 is our assurance that if we remain faithful in our prayers we will see it Planned Parenthood driven out as it has happenned elsewhere.  Including Storm Lake.
It has now been over 5 months since PPH announced their big move. But so far, except for a couple ads mentioning the new location (with no address), there has been no sign that anything is going on at the new site. They claimed back then to be "renovating the new space to the specific needs of our patients and staff."  If they were, then you would think by now that some sign of that going on would be seen.
Additionally, the old site has been changing its hours arround & arround over the past few months. After 3-1/2 years you would think they would know what is best. But when they openned they claimed there was a need for them to be open 40 hrs which proved wrong as well.
Now there are several possibilities for the delay. They just opened a new site in Lincoln that took the place of 2 others in the area. They could have been focusing their efforts there, but that isn't likely. Their "Breaking New Ground" capital campaign could be faltering. They claimed last Suumer to already have raised $8.5 million of the $11.5 million goal. But how much of that was actual cash, & how much was pledges? & if it was, as is usually the case, mostly pledges, then how well are people fulfilling them?
They could be having troupble finding local people willing to do the work. That is a strong possibility given that I know of several businesses that they would need to contract with for renovations are openly pro-life.
Whatever the problems, God is working behind the scenes. Some people I know feel that they may not even open because of all the prayers. We shall see. it could very well be.

But none of this going on in DBQ is the reason this is quite a story.
What makes this quite a story has to do with the history of the place. This PPH abortion mill is located in Storm Lake. Last August, Bishop Nickless of the Sioux City Diocese led a Eucharistic procession that stopped in front of the site to pray. It was the site of a 40 Days for Life Campaign last Fall. Obviously this is a story of the power of prayer. It is a story of how God is powerfully using the 40 Days for Life to battle abortion.It is a story of how God works through His shepherds when they are willing to lead as the should in the battle against the "culture of death". But there is still 1 more thing that makes this story unique, something that has never happenned before in the history of the 40 Days for Life campaigns. But rather than give away the surprize I will let you read it for yourself below:

BREAKING: Planned Parenthood abortion center closing!

Sue Thayer did something that no other local 40 Days for Life leader had ever done before. She led the fall 2011 campaign outside the Planned Parenthood abortion center in Storm Lake, Iowa …

… a facility she used to manage!

More on Sue’s story in just a bit. She just e-mailed me with exciting news.

The local newspaper is reporting that the Planned Parenthood facility in Storm Lake …

… the one Sue used to manage …

… the one where Sue led the 40 Days for Life vigil …

… is CLOSING its doors for good on March 1!

That’s right. This location is GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!

This is the 21st abortion center where a 40 Days for Life vigil has been conducted that will be closing its doors forever.

“Wow!” Sue said in her e-mail. “Of course the clinic is closing! God hears our prayers and He answers! No more telemed abortions on Erie Street! Yay God!!”

If you haven’t heard of telemed abortions, it’s one of Planned Parenthood’s tactics for spreading abortion to rural areas to increase abortion numbers and revenues.

The abortions happen when an abortionist speaks to a woman via webcam over the Internet. They’re each at computer terminals, miles apart, and the “doctor” never physically examines or cares for his “patient.”

After a video interview, the abortionist pushes a button at his location. That opens a locked drawer next to the computer where the woman is watching … a drawer containing the dangerous RU-486 abortion pill.

The woman then takes the pill to begin what Planned Parenthood calls a “medication abortion.”

Sue Thayer had managed the Planned Parenthood office in Storm Lake. She used to think that Planned Parenthood provided valuable services for women and that the organization truly wanted to prevent abortions (the Storm Lake location did not previously do abortions).

That all changed when Planned Parenthood mandated telemed abortions for her facility. Sue expressed her concern — and the abortion chain promptly fired her.

After a time of healing, prayer and discernment, Sue signed up to lead the 40 Days for Life campaign outside her former workplace this past fall.

Sue was just profiled this past weekend in an article in the Des Moines Register. You can read the story at:

http://tinyurl.com/7auvonf

Just days after that article appeared — and less than three months after Sue finished leading the 40 Days for Life campaign outside the Storm Lake Planned Parenthood — the closure was announced.

“Let’s all take some time to thank God for His unending love and faithfulness,” Sue said. “40 Days For Life was a blessing to each and every person who prayed. Now the Lord has answered with a resounding YES to our petition to end abortion in Storm Lake. Praise the Lord!”

AMEN, Sue!

In just three weeks, the next 40 Days for Life campaign begins. Watch VERY SOON for the list of communities that will be taking part …

… and maybe — through your prayers and participation — YOUR community will be the next one praising God for the closure of the local abortion center.

I can’t wait to see what God has in store for this next campaign!

For Life,

Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

Any Bets That This Is An Attempt by Obama to Stop Any Pro-Life Presence @ Abortion Mills

I am willing to bet that this is the latest bone being tossed to the abortion industry after all their losses of funding in the states. Also that this is the 1st shot in an attempt to deny Pro-lifers their 1st Amendment right to free speech. In fact, I suspect this is an attempt to try & shut down the presence of Pro-lifers at every clinic because they do regularly suceed in their efforts to convince women to not have abortions. (& that includes here in DBQ where at least 6 babies have been saved. NOTE: The DBQ Planned Parenthood site currently just does referals. Still, our presence has helped women to go to a Crisis Pregnancy Center instead.)

I suspect Richard Retta has said “Don’t go in there. Don’t let them kill your baby.” However, I highly doubt he ever shouted it. The fact that he & his co-workers have been so successful in convincing women not to have an abortion has to be a part of it. If this charge sticks, you can be sure that he is only the 1st of many that will face charges.

As I said, I am sure this is the 1st shot being fired that will be aimed at shutting the Pro-life presence down.

Obama admin takes elderly pro-life sidewalk counselor to court

WASHINGTON, DC, July 19, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A pro-life activist who has engaged in sidewalk counseling for 14 years has been taken to court by the federal Department of Justice. The complaint to the court submitted by the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice alleges that Richard Retta non-violently obstructed a woman and her ‘clinic escorts’ from entering Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, an abortion facility.
When LifeSiteNews.com contacted Retta for comment today, the shocked veteran pro-life activist said that he was unaware that the lawsuit had been filed against him, and that he had not been informed by the Department of Justice. He is seeking legal counsel before making a public statement.
Dick Retta
The Department of Justice is demanding that Retta be fined $10,000, that a permanent 20 foot bubble zone be placed around the clinic barring pro-lifers, and that Retta pay an additional fine of $15,000 in equal parts to the three ‘victims’ of his actions, which the DoJ argues were contrary to the Freedom of Access to Clinic Act (FACE).
Richard, better known as Dick Retta, is an older gentleman who is well known to the pro-life movement for having saved hundreds of lives by offering women assistance and factual information. A video of his activities was made by Peter Shinn’s Pro-Life Unity, in which Retta can be seen in action on a day where the lives of six unborn children were saved. In the video Retta can be seen walking with a woman leaving the clinic, offering what is described as post-abortion help.
Shinn, the President of Pro-Life Unity and Cherish Life Ministries, told LifeSiteNews, “I’ve been out to the Planned Parenthood with Dick a number of times and Dick has always exhibited compassion for the women going in to have abortions and asking them to turn away from what he knows will kill their child and cause emotional harm to them afterwards. He is in no way aggressive nor does he block women from entering.”
The DoJ complaint, however, describes Retta as “among the most vocal and aggressive anti-abortion protestors outside the Clinic.” The complaint takes issue with Retta walking “very closely beside patients as they walk to the clinic” and claims that he yells at them.
The complaint claims that Retta yelled, “Don’t go in there. Don’t let them kill your baby.”

Another 40 Days for Life Campaign Wraps Up

Yesterday marked the end of the Spring 2011 40 Days for Life campaign. & while the reports are still coming in, it can safely be said that God has worked powerfully through the intercession of all those involved.

As of this morning the lives of at least 495 unborn babies have been saved. I say at least because there will be more reports in the dasy ahead. But beyond that, it is fairly certain that there are others who were saved we won't know about this side of eternity.

A milestone was reached a few of days ago. At least 4000 unborn lives have been savedince September of 2007 when the coordinated campaigns began. In fact within a day or 2 that number will pass the 4100 mark, & as I said, that is just the number of lives they know about.

The Spring 2011 campaign also saw a record number of locations as well, 247. From their start in Texas, the 40 Days campaigns have spread across the United States, then on to Canada, Australia, England, Ireland, Spain, Belize, Armenia & the nation of Georgia. Over the years there have been 9 abortion centers permanantly closed that were sites of campaigns. & while Abby Johnson may be the most well known person who left Planned Parenthood, many others hearts have been touched & changed by God from being pro-abortion to Pro-life.

As I said at the start, God has once again worked powerfully through the prayers of those involved in the latest campaign. I also know that we won't know the full extent of the fruit that prayer (& that of the previous campaigns) has & will bear until eternity. But we can be sure it will be far more than we can imagine.