In Brief

Holy Father's Intentions

Pope John Paul II has announced the following general and missionary intentions for January and February 2002:

January

That Christians may intensify their efforts to proclaim together Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world.

That the local Churches may know how to carry out a renewed commitment to evangelization in every sphere of work and life.

February

That Catholic hospitals may be outstanding examples in the struggle against suffering and may play a leading role in proclaiming the Gospel of life and of respect for the human person.

That the Christian communities of Cambodia and Laos may devote themselves increasingly to the promotion of priestly and religious vocations.

No Monopoly on Sin

In an interview with Zenit news, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver commented on the U.S. military action in Afghanistan. When asked why those outside the United States talk less about just war and more about economic and social inequalities, Archbishop Chaput replied:

"The first and overriding inequality Americans face at the moment is this one: The real murderers, the architects of these murders, are alive and determined to kill again, while the murder victims have been robbed of their lives, their futures, their hopes, dreams, and families. More than 5,000 innocent people died at the hands of extremist killers in a single day in September, and others continue to die through what appears to be bioterrorism. Americans see this more clearly, and feel it more keenly, than outsiders because Americans are directly engaged as the target of the violence. Outsiders are not, so their perspective is predictably different. I think that reminders of the social and economic inequalities in the world serve an important purpose. But no government can keep its legitimacy if it fails to defend its people. The injustices in the world can never be used to 'contextualize' or excuse mass murder. And the United States is by no means the only source of the world's social and economic inequalities. America bears heavier moral obligations for its actions because of its prosperity and power, but in the Muslim countries and throughout the Third World, rulers have consistently exploited their own people, with or without Western involvement. Sin isn't a monopoly of the developed countries."

Her Little Garden by Norma McCorvey

My friend Monica Ashour knew before I did that I would join the Church. It was only a matter of time. That time came on August 17, 1998.

Some time later I had a dream of getting both Catholics and non-Catholics alike to work together to help overturn Roe v. Wade. (I was "Roe," for those of you who don't know.) I work very closely with the Texas Justice Foundation for this reason. The Foundation encompasses a team of both Catholic and non-Catholic lawyers who want to bring our children back to the world of the living without abortion.

My most recent endeavor is for Our Lady. I always bring one thing back for the Lord from each of my trips: seashells from the East Coast, sand from Florida, rocks from California, and leaves from Maine. I had been speaking at Texas A&M in hope of changing some minds on abortion. In a roadside store, I came across a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I looked upon Our Lady's face and I saw tremendous peace in her eyes. I wanted that same peace. What a great gift to be the mother of Jesus Christ!-to think there was no room at the inn.

As I approached her statue, knowing that this was the one I would get, my heart beat faster and faster. After some conversation with the clerk, we put her in the car. As I arrived home it occurred to me that the Blessed Mother needed a place all to herself. So that's when her little garden began.

Just a little garden for my Lady to see that all she endured for us was not in vain. Chimes-like church bells-now accompany her in the garden. I can hear the chimes when the wind blows outside the window where I live.

If only the world outside was so kind as not to kill little children in utero!

Center for Life Principles

The Center for Life Principles is a wonderful asset for the pro-life cause! The Center's mission is to reestablish recognition and appreciation that all human life is endowed with intrinsic dignity and the inalienable right to life from conception to natural death.

Founded in 1993 as a project of Human Life of Washington Education Foundation, Life Principle's purpose is to develop programs, materials, speakers, and partnerships to facilitate nationwide education in the Life Principles philosophy, a philosophy developed by Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J. The Center for Life Principles creates and distributes videos, audiotapes, articles, books, educational curricula, church programs, and more. Its outreaches include programs for high schools, colleges and universities, religious institutions, medical professionals, and nursing homes.

"LIFE Rally!" is Life Principles' national, pro-life weekend for Catholic high school teens. Talks include the subjects of happiness, relationships and chastity, abortion and the meaning of being human, euthanasia and the meaning of suffering, and the unconditional love of God. Life Principles also offers one-day and full weekend retreats for adults, and weekend mother/daughter retreats for high school-aged girls and their mothers.

The Center for Life Principles also designed a college curriculum to give students a comprehensive grounding in the philosophy of the pro-life movement while helping them integrate that philosophy into a basis for healthy decision making. "I never thought of the pro-life movement in philosophical language. It made me think," said a pro-choice college student. Another pro-choice student said: "I am seeing things in a whole different way. It's like walking out of a glass room into the world . . . not only can I see what's going on, but I can now touch and feel and understand!"

Life Principles speakers are available to speak in your area.
For more information, write: The Center for Life Principles, c/o Human Life of WA Education Foundation, 2601-151st Place NE, Redmond, WA 98052, or call (877) 345-LIFE, or email: mail@lifeprinciples.net, or visit www.lifeprinciples.net.

Growing in Love?

Growing in Love (GIL) elementary school sex education program is being promoted in a number of U.S. dioceses. Human Life International (HLI) recently concluded an evaluation of the program's sexual catechesis, and HLI's findings were published in the August 2001 HLI Reports, authored by Fr. Ignacio Barreiro and Kristin Sparks.

The authors state: "Unfortunately, although not surprisingly, Catholic schoolchildren are currently facing the danger of yet another immoral sex education curriculum. Many individuals have been alerted to the new Growing in Love program, which some critics rightly call, 'a sugar-coated sex education program, gift wrapped with religious content.'"

Fr. Barreiro and Sparks say that GIL "is deceptively presented as a 'family life' program and companion piece for religious education classes." They found the GIL series to be "at best, a massive waste of time and resources. At worst, GIL is a dangerous curriculum that can damage the faith of children and erode their moral sense."

HLI points out that the beneficiaries of this series are its publisher, Harcourt, Inc., and groups like Planned Parenthood which benefit from Harcourt's substantial donations. In addition, Harcourt subsidiaries have published several books promoting abortion and contraception, as well as such books as The Lives of Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals.

Fr. Barreiro and Sparks list numerous problems with GIL, including graphic sexual information and language providing, details of sexual abuses for children ages 5-12, advising that self-touching one's sexual organs is permissible for young children "if it is not overdone," incorporating the secular modern gender agenda, implying that sex-change operations are acceptable, carrying a theme toward legitimizing homosexual tendencies, stating that "there is no one all-encompassing way to define a family," and expressing theological misrepresentations and inaccuracies.

Fr. Barreiro and Kristin Sparks conclude that "it is advisable that parents remove their children from any program that uses these materials. Second, parents themselves should assume the responsibility of forming their children in these very delicate matters. In doing so, parents should be fully confident that God will grant them superabundant graces to fulfill their roles as educators."

CUF encourages its members to read our Faith Facts "Effective Chastity Education" and "Parental Right and Chastity Education: Working Within" which distill the Church's teaching as found in the 1995 pontifical document The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality-Guidelines for Education Within the Family and other magisterial sources to assess the merits of local sex education programs. For more information call CUF's Information Services department toll-free at (800) MY-FAITH (693-2484).

U.S. Bishops' New Pro-life Document

Responding to Pope John Paul II's call for "a general mobilization of consciences and a united ethical effort to activate a great campaign in support of life" (The Gospel of Life, no. 95), the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) published its new pro-life document in November 2001 entitled, Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities: A Campaign in Support of Life.

The U.S. bishops reaffirm that human life is a precious gift from God and "that society, through its laws and social institutions, must protect and nurture human life at every stage of its existence." Abortion "is always gravely immoral; its victims are the most vulnerable and defenseless members of the human family."

On the topic of in vitro fertilization and experimentation on human embryos, the bishops state that such efforts "embrace the manufacturing of human life without considering the consequences, including the many ethical dilemmas resulting from such misuse of scientific technology."

The document called "for individual Catholics and the many institutions and organizations of the Church to unite in an unprecedented effort to restore respect and legal protection for every human life-to be what the Holy Father asks us to be: a people of life and a people for life (The Gospel of Life, no. 78).

To obtain a copy of the document, call CUF's Information Services toll-free at (800) MY-FAITH (693-2484), or visit www.nccbuscc.org.

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