Pregnancy Support
Pro-Life Blogs
Commentary and News
"Pray that the witness of 40 Days for Life bears abundant fruit, and that we begin again each day to storm the gates of hell until God welcomes us into the gates of heaven."
~ Fr. Frank Pavone, 40 Days for Life, Day 41+, March 18, 2008 ~
After suffering the loss of their 36 1/2 week old infant in the womb, Jack and Taylor Arthur decided to open a fund dedicated to "young mothers struggling to believe that there are options for their unborn children." Their vision "...is to partner with existing ministries such as New Beginnings Home and Tacoma Rescue Mission and help give new moms choosing life a 'leg up' in the scary new beginning stages of motherhood. This may mean helping them buy a car seat, a crib, or other basic necessities that every mother needs and many go without. You may make your donations at any Bank of America to the CALEB JOSHUA ARTHUR MEMORIAL FUND. 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you'." (Jeremiah 1:5)
Recently, Fr. Phil Bloom, Gary Samaniego, Roger Thibodeau, Patricia Radmacher and Steve Stillwell, Sr. met with Isaac (a man who assaulted their pro-life vigil group) and Officer Shute. Isaac and Officer Shute arrived punctually on Wednesday morning (Mar 12). Below is a brief and inspirational report on the meeting from Fr. Bloom:
After introductions, I read a summary of what Isaac had done: the vehicular assault and property destruction on Nov. 16 - and other occasions. I also mentioned some of his other hostile behavior - repeatedly giving the finger, parking in front of us with radio at full blast, etc. These were especially disturbing since children were present in our group. I then asked Isaac for his response. He expressed contrition and shame for what he had done - particularly that his son was with him on the final instance (Nov. 16). He spent some time talking about his anger problem and how it has affected his relationships. He said that it had even affected his relationship with his dog. We of course smiled at that admission.
After Isaac finished, I asked others present if they wanted to say anything. Steve mentioned the incident when he drove by us, pointing a gun out of his window. It turned out to be a water pistol, but was still distressing. Isaac acknowledged it and again said he regretted doing that. Roger (good monk that he is) said that this could be a moment of grace for Isaac and encouraged him to take advantage of this moment. Pat showed one of the signs he had crushed, that she had a hard time replacing. I told him that we would like him to give restitution for the damaged signs, suggesting thirty dollars. He readily pulled forty dollars out of his wallet and gave it to us. (I put it in the parish "pro-life" account.)
Pat spoke about how we can have different opinions, but find peaceful ways to disagree and to talk with each other.
At the conclusion Officer Shute said that he has been a policeman for twenty-five years and that this was the first time a case was resolved this way. I told him I would like to see them all resolved on this level. Roger mentioned that there is something in the Bible about that.
Anyway, thank you all for helping bring this to a conclusion before Holy Week.
P.S. If you know someone else who might be interested in knowing the resolution of this case, please feel free to forward this information to them. It might provide homily material...
The 40 Days for Life campaign witnessed numerous evidence of "the potent power of prayer" during the past 40 days. The Bereit family and 40 Days for Life thank each and every one of you for your participation in and prayers for the Lent 2008 40 Days for Life campaign. See their video by visiting the 40 Days for Life website. Thank you!
On the morning of Saturday March 8, about 15 people, including Sarah Schaper, were praying in front of the Planned Parenthood on E. Madison St. in Seattle. Some of those praying held signs which said, "GOD LOVES YOU AND YOUR BABY”, "STOP ABORTION", and "I REGRET MY ABORTION." One sign was a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. A Yellow Cab stopped in front of the vigil attendees. A lady got out of the back seat. She asked for permission to take Sarah’s photo. Two men then got out of the cab and photographed others in the group. The lady told Sarah, "We have a prince." Prince Philippe, the crown prince of Belgium, introduced himself, took a photo of Sarah and said, “God bless you.”
May God bless Prince Philippe and his family!
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 11, 2008) - In the wake of fraud allegations against Planned Parenthood affiliates in California, American Life League calls on state attorneys general across the nation to investigate the possibility of fraud in other states.
Listen to Shawn Carney's report on his visit to the West Coast on the 40 Days for Life blog. Shawn Carney was also interviewed with Aaron Stockton by Tom Curran on Sound Insight.
Planned Parenthood is building a 45,000 sq. ft. abortion facility on Beech Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Portland, OR. Walsh Construction and Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects are helping them to construct the killing center. In speaking about the abortion facility, Dr. Greenberg, CEO of Planned Parenthood, stated, "We continue to exercise careful stewardship of the resources invested by our donors, and the agency maintains strong financial stability. The Board of Directors has approved plans to conduct a $12.5 million Regional Services Center Capital Campaign to develop a 45,000 square foot facility that will include a medical and administrative building in N/NE Portland, as well as a state-of-the art Surgicenter designed to increase access to abortion care in anticipation of continuing political challenges." (PPCW Annual Report 2005-2006, p. 3) "Records show that the bulk of Planned Parenthood’s clinic income is derived from abortions, especially now that donations are dropping. In its 2005-2006 fiscal year, Planned Parenthood performed a record 265,000 abortions nationwide. That accounted for about a third of $345 million in income from clinics. The group reported it was almost $56 million in the black and received more than $305 million in taxpayer funding." (Beech Street abortion clinic emerged from failed search for tenants) Please advise businesses, churches, senior housing facilities, medical clinics, and cities not to contract with Walsh Construction and Ankrom Moisan, due to their involvement in building Planned Parenthood's Portland killing center. Ankrom Moisan has offices in both Portland, OR and Seattle, WA. Don't forget to pray for all those involved in building this abortion facility that they may realize the error of their ways.
"Assisted Suicide...Don't sign your own death warrant."
~ Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett, The Archbishop's Hour, January 10, 2008 ~
If you have not already done so, please visit the Coalition Against Assisted Suicide and sign up. Donations can be made via the website to help defeat Initiative Measure No. 1000 (assisted suicide).