Dear Parish Family,
In last Sunday’s bulletin, I described how the graphic and damning undercover videos have revealed Planned Parenthood’s harvesting of body parts of aborted babies and selling them for research. Though half a billion dollars of federal aid still goes to benefit a mere 700 “clinics,” the movement to defund PP of our tax money is gaining momentum. A few governors have already acted to defund PP and channeled that state aid to other women’s health providers who do not practice such shadiness and cruel barbarism. If you think such language is too strong, please view the videos, and afterward you may not think it strong enough.
After seeing such shocking and heinous footage, we may be at a loss of what we can do to make a difference. So, I’d like to elaborate on three simple things we can do:
- Pray. Fast and pray for the atonement of our nation’s sins and for the fostering of a culture of life that respects the dignity of all. Kathy Potts and Beth Thorrez are spearheading Jackson’s participation in the nationwide “40 Days for Life” that will go from Sept. 23 to Nov. 1. Please take part by signing up for a weekly hour of prayer.
- Educate. I would think that most people who are pro-choice are doing so out of a motive of goodwill, but that goodwill is mistakenly directed due to lies for which they have fallen. Abortion advocates have done such a number on the general public that people look past the scientific evidence and buy into believing that to be against abortion is to be against women. When you look at all the courageous women involved in the pro-life movement, however, I would say that men are the ones that need to step up more. Share and educate within your sphere of influence about prenatal child development, how being pro-life is being pro-woman, and how there are always TWO victims in abortion. I have come into contact with this profound heartache firsthand as a priest and from taking part in Rachel’s Vineyard, a retreat that ministers to post-abortive women.
- Act in the Public Square. We are reaping what we have sown as a society. We have tolerated a pornographic sexually-charged culture that fuels the objectification and degradation of people, especially women, which in turn fosters promiscuity and thus abortion. We are the ones who have elected politicians who advocate such a disregard for human life and for our tax dollars to subsidize such a divisive organization as Planned Parenthood, particularly when there are thousands more health centers and clinics that serve women and do not perform abortions. Contact your government officials and tell them to stop dividing America by giving our tax dollars to organizations we can all support. Finally, get involved in the pro-life movement locally through organizations like Jackson Right to Life, where you can also find materials that educate.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Chas