Commentary and News

"Our media are the streets...Abortion will end when the People of God say so.  Now is the time for people of every religious and political background to join together to stop the killing.  When we come out on the streets, we always win.  Fewer babies die and more consciences are stirred to action, starting with our own."
~ Fr. Frank Pavone, Speaking about 40 Days for Life, 9/24/08 ~

Scranton Bishop's Letter for Respect Life Sunday

"I Beg You Not to Be Misled by Confusion and Lies"

SCRANTON, Pennsylvania, OCT. 3, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of the pastoral letter Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton released ahead of Respect Life Sunday, to be celebrated this weekend. The bishop has asked the letter to be read at all Masses over the weekend in place of the homily, and a copy placed in all parish bulletins.

My brothers and sisters in Christ,

The American Catholic bishops initiated Respect Life Sunday in 1972, the year before the Supreme Court legalized abortion in the United States. Since that time, Catholics across the country observe the month of October with devotions and pro-life activities in order to advance the culture of life. This October, our efforts have more significance than ever. Never have we seen such abusive criticism directed toward those who believe that life begins at conception and ends at natural death.

As Catholics, we should not be surprised by these developments. Forty years ago, Pope Paul VI predicted that widespread use of artificial contraceptives would lead to increased marital infidelity, lessened regard for women, and a general lowering of moral standards especially among the young. Forty years later, social scientists, not necessarily Catholics, attest to the accuracy of his predictions. As if following some bizarre script, the sexual revolution has produced widespread marital breakdown, weakened family ties, legalized abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, pornography, same-sex unions, euthanasia, destruction of human embryos for research purposes and a host of other ills. Read more...

October 3, 2008

PAULA RANNEY GUEST COLUMN: Assisted Suicide I-1000 Is a Bad Idea

Poulsbo, Oct. 2, 2008 (Kitsap Sun)
I am an attorney who has studied I-1000, the Washington Death with Dignity Act. Initiative 1000 is not about dignity, it's about assisted suicide.

For starters, I-1000 uses sanitized language in an attempt to soften the tragedy of suicide. The initiative says that the act does not authorize assisted suicide, even though it allows a physician to prescribe lethal drugs to a patient. In fact, I-1000 would ban the term "assisted suicide" from state reports, replacing it with the sterile, clinical sounding phrase "obtaining and self-administering life-ending medication." Painting stripes on a donkey won't make it behave like a zebra. Changing the language is deceptive and will only delude us into denying the reality of a violent act. Read more...

October 2, 2008

Famous Mexican actor rips Obama over abortion, warns U.S. Latinos

Los Angeles, Sep 24, 2008 / 04:34 pm (CNA).- The movie star Eduardo Verástegui has recorded a special video message to encourage Hispanic voters in the U.S. to put an end to abortion and to expose the radical abortion position of presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Verástegui, who is perhaps best known in the U.S. for his pro-life film "Bella," presents his challenge to Latino voters by calling attention to the fact that most abortion clinics are located in Hispanic neighborhoods and that the Spanish media is saturated with pro-abortion advertising.

“Abortion is not only a lucrative industry; it is also used by people who are racist as a means to eliminate our people, since they consider us to be a threat to democracy in this country,” Verástegui asserts.  Read more...

October 1, 2008

Initiative 1000 Opponents Debut Actor Martin Sheen in Commercials

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2008
Olympia---Today, the Coalition Against Assisted Suicide announced it has started a $750,000 broadcast advertising campaign, featuring actor Martin Sheen. Sheen agreed to help publicize the dangers of Initiative 1000, the assisted suicide measure on the November ballot in Washington State. Read more...

On Friday, September 26, a positive story about 40 Days for Life Seattle was featured on the front page of the UW Daily. The organizers of the Seattle campaign would appreciate it if more people could sign up to pray, especially between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. Their vigil hours calendar can be found here.

September 29, 2008