To: National Desk, Religion Desk
Contact: Joe Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League, 773-777-2900, cell 312-965-1030
Chicago, April 19—The Pro-Life Action League is rejoicing over the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope of the Catholic Church. “Joseph Ratzinger has always been a great champion of the Culture of Life,” said League National Director Joe Scheidler. “As Pope Benedict XIV he is sure to carry on the work of Pope John Paul II in defending the value of life, especially those who are most vulnerable: the unborn, aged and disabled.”
Scheidler noted that as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Ratzinger strongly supported American bishops who had the courage to stand up to pro-abortion Catholic politicians. He has spoken and written on both the dignity and value of the unborn child and society’s responsibility to care for women with crisis pregnancies and to “reawaken a new love for children.”
Scheidler is particularly touched by the new Holy Father’s choice of the name Benedict XVI, since as a young man he spent several years as a Benedictine seminarian and monk. Scheidler and the League staff said prayers for the new Holy Father in the League’s St. Joseph Chapel immediately after his name was announced.