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League history, NOW v. Scheidler, Action News, Joe Scheidler, League staff
League history, NOW v. Scheidler, Action News, Joe Scheidler, League staff
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Fr. Frank Pavone and Joe Scheidler outside Priests for Life Headquarters
Since Pastor Matt Trewhella launched his first Truth Tour in Wisconsin in the 1990s, pro-life activists across the nation have enthusiastically adopted this most effective means of educating the public about the horror of abortion. Now Face the Truth comes to New York City, where on November 14 Priests for Life gave the project a trial run.
Priests for Life's Fr. Frank Pavone invited Joe and Ann Scheidler to New York to offer an all-day crash course in the logistics of the Truth Tour and to participate in the two-site tour.
The November 13th training session included Priests for Life's Fr. Pavone, Fr. Peter West, Fr. Dennis Wilde and Fr. Walter Quinn, as well as staffers Andrew Smith and Janet Morana. Joining them were Bob Newman of Pittsburg, New Yorker Chris Slattery, and Jack Ames of Baltimore. Highlights of the training day included a screening of the League's Face the Truth video and a special Mass in the Priests for Life chapel.
The next morning, unseasonably warm weather accompanied the Scheidlers and other Truth Tour veterans as they joined Priests for Life staff and volunteers for the trial run. Using Bob Newman's signs, the group visited sites in Staten Island and Brooklyn.
New York Truth Tour along Hylan Ave. in Staten Island
From 7:00 to 9:00 a.m., the group of 45 was on Hylan Avenue in Staten Island, where they reached thousands of rush-hour commuters. Ann described the rush-hour scene as "bus after bus after bus, loaded with people heading into Manhattan."
The group then displayed their signs from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Ocean Parkway at Z Street in Brooklyn. Joe and Fr. Pavone were interviewed together about the Truth Tour for a Baltimore radio program.
[Back to Top]Before leaving New York, Joe and Ann visited Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center destroyed by the 9/11 terrorist attack. On the memorial they found the name of a member of their parish who was in the south tower when it came down. The Scheidlers offered a prayer for her.
Fr. Frank Pavone is making the New York Face the Truth Tour in April 2003 a major national event. Join Priests for Life for this five-borough "truth blitz." For details, including dates, locations, and other activists you could stay with, call Priests for Life, 718-980-4400 or visit their website. If you live in the New York area, call Priests for Life to offer a fellow activist a place to stay.
The Scheidlers noted that New Yorkers seemed more apathetic towards the pictures than Chicagoans. "I didn't find it nearly as volatile as I thought it was going to be," said Ann, who described New Yorkers as "non-reactive."
Whatever the reason for this mild response, New York will face a five-borough, ten-day Face the Truth blitz April 1st through 10th. A million New Yorkers will face the truth about abortion.
Fr. Pavone is calling on activists across the country to participate in this major national event and appealing to New York pro-lifers to help with transportation, housing and meals. The Scheidlers are excited to see Priests for Life coming on board with Face the Truth and going national with it.
Look for a comprehensive 2003 schedule of Face the Truth Tours throughout the nation in the Spring issue of Action News. If you are planning to conduct a truth tour in 2003, please let us know by calling 773-777-2900 or e-mailing us with all the details.
To learn how to conduct a Truth Tour in your home town, order the Pro-Life Action League's free Face the Truth video and instructional booklet. Visite the League's online store, call 773-777-2900, or write to The Pro-Life Action League, 6160 N. Cicero Ave., Chicago, IL 60646.
Face the Truth has spread across the nation since the League launched its first tour in 1999, inspired by Trewhella's tours in Kenosha and Racine, WI. Joe recalls the scene as he drove into Kenosha: "As far as the eye could see it must have been a mile were people lining the street. It was impressive. We were in control!"
Scheidler has always supported the Truth Tour concept to bring the terrible reality of abortion to the public without any particular protest target, such as an abortion clinic. The target of the tour is the public at large as they drive by. From Wisconsin the Face the Truth concept has spread to twenty states, and will debut in even more states in 2003.
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