“As bishops, we have the responsibility to call Americans to conversion, including political leaders, and especially those publicly identified as Catholic. As the Holy Father reminds us in The Splendor of the Truth (Veritatis Splendor): “. . . [It] is part of our pastoral ministry to see to it that [the Church’s] moral teaching is faithfully handed down, and to have recourse to appropriate measures to ensure that the faithful are guarded from every doctrine and theory contrary to it” (116). As chief teachers in the Church, we must therefore explain, persuade, correct and admonish those in leadership positions who contradict the Gospel of life through their actions and policies. Catholic public officials who disregard Church teaching on the inviolability of the human person indirectly collude in the taking of innocent life. A private call to conversion should always be the first step in dealing with these leaders. Through prayer, through patiently speaking the truth in love, and by the witness of our lives, we must strive always to open their hearts to the God-given dignity of the unborn and of all vulnerable persons. So also we must remind these leaders of their duty to exercise genuine moral leadership in society. They do this not by unthinking adherence to public opinion polls or by repeating empty pro-choice slogans, but by educating and sensitizing themselves and their constituents to the humanity of the unborn child. At the same time we need to redouble our efforts to evangelize and catechize our people on the dignity of life and the wrongness of abortion. Nonetheless, some Catholic officials may exclude themselves from the truth by refusing to open their minds to the Church’s witness. In all cases, bishops have the duty and pastoral responsibility to continue to challenge those officials on the issue in question and persistently call them to a change of heart. As bishops we reflect particularly on the words of the Office of Readings: ‘Let us be neither dogs that do not bark nor silent onlookers nor paid servants who run away before the wolf. Instead, let us be careful shepherds watching over Christ’s flock. Let us preach the whole of God’s plan to the powerful and the humble, to rich and to poor, to men of every rank and age, as far as God gives us the strength, in season and out of season, as St. Gregory writes in his book of Pastoral Instruction.’”
Many good things are happening since the election. I was encouraged by Cardinal George’s statement made on behalf of all of the bishops last week. Please read these articles at
lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111209.html and
lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111213.html. The statements in the second article are very strong. I think that the statements by an increasing number of bishops prior to the election will give you some additional encouragement; you will find them at
priestsforlife.org/elections/bishops.htm. The joint statement by the Bishops of Dallas and Ft. Worth is probably the most powerful to date.
Priests for Life and many other pro-life organizations will be very active well before the inauguration to help bring about the defeat of FOCA. You should familiarize yourself with the following Priests for Life link
prolifestrategy.com/ now so as to be able to participate. This is an incredibly important window of time before the inauguration; we need to be working on our senators and congress people NOW to let them know that we will not tolerate the passage of FOCA now or ever. Please go to
www.fightfoca.com and join over 186,000 pro-lifers who have signed the Fight FOCA Petition and then pass it on. In addition, you should be sure that you fully understand what the FOCA Bill is; you will find this information at
nrlc.org/FOCA/LawmakersProposeFOCA.html. It would “sweep away” hundreds of pro-life laws and policies on the local, state and federal level, including the Partial Birth Abortion Ban. It would replace Roe V. Wade and Doe V. Bolton.
The purpose of the rest of this e-mail is to make you aware of the status of the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life which Father Pavone started in 2005. Jim Pinto is our National Coordinator and my primary job and passion here is helping him to grow this wonderful organization.
The primary goal of the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life is to give support and a sense of confidence to pro-lifers through prayer, study, community and apostolic witness to people who may not currently be fully connected with the pro-life cause in their area. Even people who already are active in local pro-life groups find our national organization to be very nurturing.
Our online community has been enthusiastically received by well over 200 members and is a great way to communicate with other Lay Associates all over the country. Jim has launched the M.E.V. teleconferencing calls and now that the election is over I am sure that he will plan another one soon. There are over 1,190 people registered in our country as well as several more in Canada, the UK and Australia and 24 Lay Associate groups called Life Cells have been formed and have monthly meetings. 86 people have now made their initial or permanent promises. You will be able do some very beneficial networking through the Lay Associates.
Jim Pinto is available to come to your area to assist in training and recruiting new members.
Yours in Christ,
Ray Mooney, M.E.V.
Missionaries of the Gospel of Life
Lay Associate
Priests for Life
PO Box 141172
Staten Island, NY 10314
888-PFL-3448
718-980-4400
Click here to visit the Priests for Life website
Click here to view the M.E.V. Lay Associates Website
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