If you’re in Lisle, IL this Saturday, drop by St. Joan of Arc Church for 8:15 Mass, then come to room 22 of the St. Joan of Arc Parish Center, 820 Division Street (map)
for my talk on the spiritual dimension of the anti-abortion movement. There will be lots of new material in my talk Saturday.
Besides, Karlana Pedersen of the Community Awareness Coalition, dedicated to preserve our public morals and ethical treatment of human life and preservation family, will discuss her involvement in C.A.C.
The event, “Speak Up for Life” is sponsored by St. Joan of Arc and the Robert P. Connelly Council of the Knights of Columbus. Seating is limited. Call if you’ re coming: 630-963-4500.
Bill Finally Stripped of Vindictive Measure
The six year battle to get a reformed bankruptcy bill will finally face the full Senate for a vote later this week, absent New York Senator Charlie Schumer’s amendment to make it impossible for pro-lifers under huge financial penalties to file for bankruptcy. Banks, credit card issuers and retailers have pushed for eight years for this bill, but it always had Schumer’s vindictive amendment that helped defeat it in the past.
Teen Births Decline
A story in Wednesday’s Chicago Tribune says the number of babies born to Illinois teens in 2003 dropped for the ninth straight year. Births to girls 10 to 14 fell by 57 percent since 1994, a record low. Overall teen births fell 28 percent.
Reduction in teen births by race in this period was greatest among black teens with a 40 percent decline, from 10,599 to 6,398. Teen births among whites fell 36 percent and Hispanic births dropped 31 percent.
While the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that teens are having less sex and using contraceptives more effectively, it does not mention the great success of abstinence programs.
Fight for Terri Continues
In the story of Terri Schiavo, a lawyer for her parents has asked a judge to allow new medical tests to determine if Terri has more mental activity than previously thought. The attorney told Judge George Greer that Terri deserves a re-evaluation with technology that has been advanced since her last test in 2002. In Washington two Florida Congressmen have introduced legislation requiring that the incapacitated be represented by their own attorneys.
At present, Michael Schiavo is her sole legal guardian, and insists on having her feeding tube removed at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 18. Terri’s parents, attorneys and friends are doing all they can to save her, but so far nothing has worked except to buy her a little time.
Irish Pro-Lifer Assaulted
Bernie Smyth, Director of Precious Life in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was the target of an abortion referral agency whose director, Audrey Simpson, threw a bucket of water on Bernie last week during a routine prayer vigil outside the abortion referral center. Bernie was distributing pro-life leaflets when she was hit by the bucket of water.
The incident was reported to the police and Simson has been cautioned for assault. A file will be sent to the Public Prosecution Service. Bernie said she was shocked by the sudden attack but that it will not deter her or her group from praying and handing out leaflets in front of the Abortion Referral Agency.
Eric and I were hit in the face with a bucket of black ink about a year ago. It does tend to catch one by surprise.
Anglicans Hungry for Truth
A survey of 14,000 British Anglicans taken during the past year shows that most have quit going to church because it does not defend moral values and has been silent or lukewarm in the face of moral and social collapse. There is real anger and a feeling that they are being betrayed by their clergy. Clerics respond that they have to keep their views to themselves because the Bishop may silence them.
Ninety-one percent of respondents blame the lack of moral and doctrinal teaching for empty churches and a general collapse of the church. They say they have not rejected Christianity but simply haven’t been told about it enough to accept or reject it. The overwhelming majority were against ordaining homosexuals. Two thousand letters asked for a return to the traditional liturgy.
