In Brief...

The Holy Father’s Intentions

Pope John Paul II has announced the following general and missionary intentions for January and February 2001:

January

That Christians may foster the evangelization of new generations through the constant search for the unity desired by Christ.

That through civic and religious education, every form of intolerance and discrimination may be uprooted all over the world.

February

That children never again will be obliged to participate in any war, but may be freed from hatred and violence and may live, as children should, enjoying friendship in their family, school, and society.

That, through the acceptance of the Gospel, the family may be an evangelizing instrument to make humanity a true family of peoples.

Reaching Minds Through the Media

The largest public information campaign ever against abortion was recently launched.

The Caring Foundation initiated a media campaign in the greater Orlando region in the Spring of 2000. The objective was to reach women of child-bearing age with a positive, pro-life message and, in particular, to reach out to women facing a crisis pregnancy with a toll-free phone number that offered free counseling and support. This was the first time such a campaign had been aired in the area, and the first large-scale campaign in Florida. Orlando is an important market because it is the 18th largest television market in the United States. Research also revealed that this market had the greatest rise in the number of reported abortions in the nation.

The current ads of The Caring Foundation are of two different types: those focused more on changing public opinion, and those targeting women who are currently experiencing a crisis pregnancy, as well as those who may know or counsel such a woman. Given that this geographic area has experienced an astonishing increase of 62 percent in the number of abortions reported over the last 10 years, it was decided to air the second type of campaign.

Ads were aired from March 20 to June 18, reaching approximately 95 percent of women 12-34, with an average viewer seeing a Caring Foundation ad approximately 28-30 times.

The Caring Foundation has worked successfully in many markets with CareNet, a group that trains and supports pregnancy support centers around the country. CareNet also maintains a national toll-free number that even allows local centers not affiliated with CareNet to join during a Caring Foundation campaign. This means that when a woman calls the toll-free number for help, the phone will ring at the pregnancy center nearest to her. If a center is closed, or if a busy signal is detected, the phone system automatically reroutes the call to a center that is open. CareNet utilizes a 24-hour out-of-state counseling service as a backup, so there is currently 24-hour coverage, seven days a week, to assure that every woman will be able to speak directly with a qualified counselor.

While the months without a campaign saw an average of under 15 calls per month, during the ad campaign, calls jumped to approximately 39 times that amount, or 580 calls per month.

Other good news comes from Wisconsin, a state that has aired these ads annually since the early 90s. Wisconsin reported, again, that their abortion rate declined. Whereas the national abortion rate is 20 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age, Wisconsin has a rate of only 9 per 1,000. Their abortion numbers have dropped over 40 percent!

To find out more about the Caring Foundation and its media campaign against abortion, contact Paul Swope toll-free at (800) 705-9497, or write: The Caring Foundation, Regional Office, 10 Park Ave., Derry, NH 03038-2114.

Bishop Bans Pro-Abortion Speakers

Bishop James T. McHugh of Rockville Center, New York, has instituted a policy banning pro-abortion individuals from addressing "Catholic agencies or organizations, school or parish groups, even if he/she does not intend to express their pro-abortion views." The bishop explained his reasoning for this ban in saying that it would be "foolish and counterproductive to provide a platform" to those who support a public policy that is inimical to Catholic teaching. Bishop McHugh also said that it would be "extremely misleading" to provide a platform to them "even on other issues, lest they claim that the Church somehow implicitly tolerates their rejection of Church teaching on pro-life issues."

The bishop continued, "Parishes and other diocesan agencies or organizations should not bestow public honors or privileges of any type on such persons."

Bishop McHugh is responding to the common practice in Catholic colleges and universities of inviting individuals with views contrary to Catholic teaching to speak on campuses and at graduation ceremonies or to receive awards. Restricting such activities do not violate the principle of academic freedom, because such activities are contrary to the Catholic educational mission.

U.S. Bishops Unconditionally Pro-Life

Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, the president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and Baltimore Archbishop, Cardinal William H. Keeler, chairman of the conference’s Pro-Life Activities Committee, have issued a statement on partial-birth abortion and whether the conference supports inclusion of language concerning the health of the mother.

"As Catholics we benefit from a rich tradition of public theology and social teaching, which provides us with a unique guide in the search for the common good. We are unconditionally pro-life, since respect for the right to life is necessary for a human being to be able to exercise any other human right.

"We have received inquiries whether the National Conference of Catholic Bishops would lend support to a ban on partial-birth abortion that would include an exception for the health of the mother. We want to state again that such an exception is too broad. We look for the elimination of abortion, beginning with the banning of partial-birth abortion, without reservation or exception.

"We unite our commitment to this fundamental right with our many other concerns in such fields as family life, social justice, and global solidarity in order to build up the common good and promote the dignity of each person."

CUF Episcopal Advisor Dies

Retired Archbishop Daniel E. Sheehan of Omaha died of a brain tumor at age 83 on October 24 at the Mercy Care Center in Omaha, after serving the archdiocese for 58 years. He is remembered for his assiduous work in promoting Catholic education. Omaha Archbishop Elden Curtiss said that Sheehan "was a man of faith and integrity who loved the people of this archdiocese whom he served his entire life." An episcopal advisor to CUF, Archbishop Sheehan assisted our work and mission to support, defend and advance the efforts of the teaching Church. We share the sense of loss as expressed in these sentiments of Archbishop Curtiss: "All of us will miss this gentle shepherd who was such a loving presence in our midst for so many years."

The Door Opens to Infanticide

Roe v Wade was a watershed event. One day, we were a nation that protected the lives of unborn human beings. The next day, seven justices of the U.S. Supreme Court said that throughout pregnancy abortion is a fundamental constitutional right. That was January 1973. Over the next decade the number of abortions skyrocketed to 1.6 million a year.

Twenty-seven years later, another major shift occurs. In June 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the right to kill, from children in the womb (Roe v Wade) to children almost completely born (Stenberg v Carhart).

It is a horrid thing to think about. A doctor starts to deliver a living child in her second or third trimester of development. He stops mid-delivery. And with only the child’s head still inside her mother, the doctor kills her. Brutally. Confronted with the fact that this takes place thousands of times in this country each year, even those who consider themselves staunchly "pro-choice" have been known to shudder.

It is this, partial-birth abortion, that the U.S. Supreme Court has now wrapped in the mantle of our nation’s Constitution. The Court overrode the judgment of the American Medical Association and respected specialists that partial-birth abortion is never medically necessary. It ran roughshod over the decisive judgment of legislators in Nebraska (and, by extension, in 29 other states) who had voted to ban partial-birth abortion. And it disregarded the will of more than 70 percent of Americans who believe that partial-birth abortion should be banned.

Instead, the Court relied on the testimony of Nebraska’ leading abortionist who does these "procedures," and the abortionist’s expert witness, a doctor who has never performed a single partial-birth abortion.

With its decision in Carhart, the U.S. Supreme Court has moved beyond abortion to near infanticide. And in doing so it has created a new level of moral blindness and insensitivity. How much killing can we stand without losing our humanity?

Learn what you can do by contacting the bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities at (202) 541-3070, or visit their website at www.nccbuscc.org/prolife.

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