On Monday, May 7, the Pro-Life Action League protested an appearance by pro-abortion presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton a fundraiser for a Catholic charity. Fifty pro-lifers demonstrated outside the Chicago Hilton and Towers downtown during the luncheon benefiting Mercy Home.
League protests Clinton luncheon in downtown Chicago May 7 [Photo by EJS]
“I’m sorry we have to picket this Mercy Home fundraiser,” said League National Director Joe Scheidler in a press statement about the event. “But Hillary Clinton’s appearance at their Graduates’ Luncheon is just wrong! This is a well-known and much loved Catholic institution, while Senator Clinton is unabashedly hostile to the Catholic Church’s teaching on the value of life.”
Mercy Home under Fire
In the weeks leading up to the Clinton appearance, many loyal supporters of Mercy Home, including the Leauge’s Joe and Ann Scheidler, contacted Mercy Home Director Fr. Scott Donahue to voice their objections. Though Fr. Donahue said that he was troubled by the Clinton appearance, which was arranged without his approval, he chose not to take any action about it.
Abortion pictures punctuate the May 7 protest [Photo by EJS]
Donahue’s inaction stood in stark contast to the courageous decision by St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke to resign as chairman of the board of Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation when he learned that outspoken abortion proponent Sheryl Crow was scheduled to play at a fundraising event.
Scheidler remarked, “The young people who benefit from Mercy Home’s ministry are the very same ‘unwanted’ children Clinton and NOW would consign to the abortion scrap heap. Presenting Clinton as a role model for the young graduates is a travesty.”
Faithful Catholics Outraged
Senator Clinton was invited to the Graduates’ Luncheon by the Leader Council, a group associated with but not directly governed by Mercy Home. Sources at the Archdiocese report that Cardinal George was disgruntled over the invitation.
Many Mercy Home supporters contacted the League to report that they were disgusted that the beloved Catholic institution was giving a platform to one of nation’s staunchest pro-abortion politicians, and that they would not contribute to Mercy Home in the future. Some said they were demanding Fr. Donahue’s resignation.
Joe Scheidler talks to WBBM Channel 2 about the protest of Clinton’s appearance at a Catholic charity event [Photo by EJS]
The official policy of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops prohibits Catholic institutions from giving honors, awards or platforms to public figures who support abortion. The Church has taught consistently for twenty centuries that abortion is gravely evil.
Press Covers League Protest
League National Director Joe Scheidler conducted television interviews with WLS Channel 7, WGN Channel 9 and WBBM Channel 5, and cameras from WMAQ Channel 5 shot footage of the protest.
The pro-life protestors carried signs reading Stop Clinton Now and Life YES! Clinton NO!”, as well as graphic abortion signs. Joe and Eric Scheidler led chants of “Life yes! Abortion no! Hillary Clinton has got to go!”
Video footage by Sam Scheidler, aged 12.
