Catholic Family Vignettes

48,632,071 little lives lost since January 22, 1973.

Thirty-five years of Roe vs. Wade. Thirty-five years of legalized infanticide. Thirty-five years of "civil" war on the front lines of the pro-life crusade. Thirty-five years of political doublespeak.

Thirty-five years of prayer and sacrifice.

From the USCCB:

In all the dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life. The Mass “For Peace and Justice” (no. 22 of the “Masses for Various Needs”) should be celebrated with violet vestments as an appropriate liturgical observance for this day.

General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 373

Shall we pray? From Priests For Life:

Prayer to End Abortion

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,
And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.
I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion,
Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death
by the Resurrection of Your Son.
I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.
Today I commit myself
Never to be silent,
Never to be passive,
Never to be forgetful of the unborn.
I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement,
And never to stop defending life
Until all my brothers and sisters are protected,
And our nation once again becomes
A nation with liberty and justice
Not just for some, but for all,
Through Christ our Lord. Amen!

May God bless all of the good pilgrims on their way to our nation's capital to give witness to the sanctity of human life. Read more!

From Human Life International:

How Many Heisman Winners Has Abortion Killed?

The sports world recently greeted the news that this year’s Heisman Trophy Winner, Tim Tebow from the University of Florida, was almost a casualty of abortion. Twenty-some years ago he was not the strapping 6’3”, 235 lb. beloved sports hero that he is today. At that time he was a one-inch-long unborn child whose existence, because of an amoebic infection, was defined as threat to his mother’s health. Pam Tebow, his mother, was told by a doctor that it would be in her best interests to abort this baby, and she refused. Her husband backed her up on that generous decision, and seven months later they gave birth to a perfectly healthy boy. Little did they know that twenty years later they would be standing on a national stage with a Heisman Trophy winner giving that magnificent witness to life. The world thanks you, Mr. and Mrs. Tebow! There cannot be a more touching Advent story than this.

I wonder if anyone has ever asked how many potential Heisman Trophy winners abortion has actually killed. The answer is, twelve. Reflect on that a bit as you read further because there is a larger lesson in the Tebows’ witness.

Dr. Brian Clowes, HLI researcher, has examined the data from the 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States (most recent census data) and extrapolated the numbers of the various professions and categories of Americans who have been eliminated in the wake of nearly 49 million legalized abortions, one third of all Americans conceived since 1973. The following numbers are based on the actual government estimates of the professions represented in America. So then, who have we lost to abortion?

* 2 US Presidents
* 7 Supreme Court Justices
* 102 US Senators and 589 Congressmen
* 8,123 Federal, district and local court judges
* 31 Nobel Prize laureates
* 328 Olympic medalists including 123 Gold medalists
* 6,092 professional athletes
* 134,841 physicians and surgeons
* 392,500 registered nurses
* 70,669 priests, ministers, rabbis and imams including
* 6,852 priests and 11,010 nuns (vocations “shortage”?)
* 1,102,443 teachers (K-12)
* 553,821 truck drivers
* 224,518 maids and housekeepers
* 336,939 janitors
* 134,028 farmers and ranchers
* 109,984 police officers and sheriff’s deputies
* 39,477 firefighters
* 17,221 barbers, and
* 24,450,000…women (the gender of roughly half of all children aborted).



These numbers of course are only the tip of the iceberg. Keep in mind that we get our statistics about abortion from the abortion industry itself which has a vested interest in under-reporting the numbers. Likewise, these categories are only a few of the professions that Americans actually work in and are by no means a full portrayal of the total American workforce. What they represent, however, is the immense human toll that abortion takes on a society. Abortion-promoters present abortion as an exclusively private choice, but thirty-five years of abortion exposes the perniciousness of that lie. There is a social toll that comes from abortion which cannot easily be corrected.

For three and a half decades the feminists have reveled in a misleading “freedom to choose,” and on the basis of that false “right” have eliminated their children and done immense damage to the family as the basic unit of society. Those who respect these sacred realities, on the other hand, have their wives and husbands to grow old with, their children to enjoy and their grandkids to play with and spoil. The love of life, marriage and family never leaves its adherents penniless, lonely or abandoned, and every now and then God throws in a Heisman Trophy just to show the rest of us that it’s all worth it.

Sincerely Yours in Christ,


Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International


Read more!

From UNICEF USA:

Hey! Want to help kids in other parts of the world get the things they need to survive and grow? You've got the power to do it!

Join Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, The Original KIDS HELPING KIDS® campaign, and help save other kids' lives!

Join hundreds of kids across the country this October and create your very own Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF fundraiser. Click here to read about how other kids just like you helped UNICEF save kids' lives.

Getting involved is FUN and easy! Just follow these simple steps:

WHOOOOAAA!!! Let's look at that quote again: Want to help kids in other parts of the world get the things they need to survive and grow?

Survive and grow...interesting choice of words from an organization created by the United Nations. UNICEF has continually denied any hint of involvement with the abortion industry, but for most pro-life families, the UN tag has been enough to raise more than a few red flags.

Nonetheless, there are still many misguided individuals who continue to support UNICEF' despite increasing evidence of the organization's pro-abortion agenda.

The most vile aspect of UNICEF is the Halloween promotional "Trick or Treat For UNICEF, also called "Kids Helping Kids." Children are sent door to door to collect donations for the many programs sponsored by UNICEF.

The "treat"?

A T-shirt and the chance to appear on Cartoon Network in a promotional appeal.

The "trick"? Check this out:

UNICEF joins in pro-abortion drive

New York, Oct. 5, 2007 (C-fam.org/CWNews.com) - The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has joined with the sponsors of a new drive to promote legal abortion, the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-Fam) reports.

The new global initiative was launched by various UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in New York last week, Samantha Singson reports in C-Fam's Friday Fax. UNICEF-- a UN agency that has persistently denied supporting abortion-- has joined in the "Deliver Now for Women and Children" campaign.

Marketed as a campaign to raise awareness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on maternal and child health, the agenda of "Deliver Now" includes a call for “safe abortion"--which is treated as synonymous with legal abortion. The campaign is coordinated by The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, chaired by Kul Gautam, the deputy executive director of UNICEF and assistant secretary-general of the UN. The group's members include among others the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, International Planned Parenthood Federation, and government development agencies from the US, UK, Canada, and Bangladesh, as well as the World Health Organization and UN Population Fund.

The campaign lists a number of severe maladies that effect maternal health and concludes that "most maternal deaths could be prevented if women had access to and could use professional care." "Deliver Now" defines "quality care" as including "services before and during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, as well as safe abortion."

The "Deliver Now" web site features the stark tagline, "More than 10,000,000 deaths per year. Too many to ignore." This enormous number is the conflation of two numbers: the total number of childhood deaths per year from all causes, which is said to be 10 million; and the number of deaths women suffer from maternal causes, a highly suspect figure claimed by some UN agencies to total 500,000 per year.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the child mortality numbers are calculated from official sources including birth and death data derived from vital registration, census, and/or household surveys. On the other hand, the maternal mortality statistics are questionable estimations at best. According to the WHO, the primary source for maternal mortality statistics, "data on maternal mortality and other causes of death are often unavailable or, where available, are unreliable due to deficiencies in vital statistics registration systems." Dr. Joseph Chamie, the former head of the UN Population Division, official statisticians of the UN, states the 500,000 number used for maternal deaths cannot substantiated, and he has refused to use it.

You can read the rest of this article here.

This is, without doubt, one of the most reprehensible, insidious and evil ploys yet devised by the UN. Appealing to the sympathetic nature of the young. Lying to them and manipulating their desire to help other children. All to support the UN's pro-abortion agenda.

The response of the Catholic Church to UNICEF? The Church answered this question a few years ago:

“In fact, in 1996, the Vatican suspended its financial support—and symbolic approval—for UNICEF, a move that still rankles senior UNICEF officials and remains a public relations problem for the agency,” Douglas A. Sylva writes in The United Nations Children’s Fund: Women or Children First? Sylva’s study was published by the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute.

So...watch out for those little orange UNICEF boxes. Death is lurking; hidden under the guise of charity.

Now for a warning to the UN and UNICEF:

"But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea."
Matthew 18:6 Read more!

The 40 Days For Life Campaign begins today and ends November 4th, 2007.

From the website:

Why 40 Days?

Throughout Biblical history, God has used 40-day periods to transform individuals, communities and nations...

* Noah was transformed by 40 days of rain
* Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai
* David was transformed by Goliath's 40 day challenge
* Elijah was transformed when God gave him 40 days of strength from one meal
* Nineveh was transformed when God gave the city 40 days to remain faithful
* Jesus was empowered by 40 days in the desert
* The Disciples were transformed by 40 days with Jesus following His resurrection

Imagine the transformation God could accomplish in America this fall when individuals and communities unite together for 40 days of prayer and fasting, pulling out all the stops to end the violence of abortion...

You can be a part of that transformation by taking action today!
Never underestimate the power of prayer. You CAN make a difference. Read more!

Remember this post?

A quick note to a school administrator has effected a change.

Here is the response:

Thank you for your concern and comment. Frankly, I never made the connection you pointed out. Several days ago, I was able to remove the words "Freedom of Choice" from the machine. So, it is taken care of. Thank you again. (name withheld)

Edifying. And quickly resolved. God bless this administrator for "erring on the side of caution," though I truly believe there is no error here. Read more!

Freedom of choice. What images do these words instill in the mind of the average person? Bumper stickers from Planned Parenthood and NARAL, perhaps? Slogans emblazoned across banners carried by feminists marching for the "right to choose?"

Certainly, one would not associate this particular slogan with the brand name of a feminine product (tampon, sorry guys...had to clarify!) And one would certainly never expect to see these words boldly proclaimed on a dispenser in a Catholic elementary school girl's restroom. Which is where they were found. Today. Check out the image to the right.

"Freedom of choice" is perhaps the most hateful slogan ever devised, as it promotes a freedom that is hardly free. A freedom purchased by the death of the unborn. Yet young students in a local Catholic school are being exposed to this subtle ideology with every visit to the restroom.

If you are still unconvinced, and think that "it's just a phrase and can mean many things," then type that "phrase" into Google. The very first listing is for NARAL and every other listing thereafter is for the pro-death camp.

Perhaps it is only a sick coincidence. After all, the school can't pick and choose the names of the providers of these services. It is, nonetheless, unsettling for those of us who see the rights of the unborn encroached upon at every turn.

I will be expressing my concern to the school and Diocese. As a home educator, I'm only too thankful that my own children are not being exposed to this subtle lie...though I don't think anyone would want their children to see this advertisement and fall for the line that "it's just a phrase, it doesn't really mean anything." Read more!

The United Nations, of course. What other global entity could, on the one hand, pronounce the devastating effects of an "aging global population", and on the other join hands (again) with Planned Parenthood to campaign for legalized abortion in Africa?

A recent document published by the UN, World Population Aging 2007, outlines several "profound" (duh!) discoveries regarding our shrinking world population:

Population ageing is unprecedented, a process without parallel in the history of
humanity. A population ages when increases in the proportion of older persons
(that is, those aged 60 years or over) are accompanied by reductions in the proportion of children (persons under age 15) and then by declines in the proportions
of persons in the working ages (15 to 59). At the world level, the number of older
persons is expected to exceed the number of children for the first time in 2047. In
the more developed regions, where population ageing is far advanced, the number
of children dropped below that of older persons in 1998.

Population ageing is pervasive since it is affecting nearly all the countries of the
world. Population ageing results mainly from reductions of fertility that have
become virtually universal. The resulting slowdown in the growth of the number
of children coupled with the steady increase in the number of older persons has a
direct bearing on both the intergenerational and intragenerational equity and solidarity that are the foundations of society.

Population ageing is profound, having major consequences and implications for all
facets of human life. In the economic area, population ageing will have an impact
on economic growth, savings, investment, consumption, labour markets, pensions,
taxation and intergenerational transfers. In the social sphere, population ageing
influences family composition and living arrangements, housing demand, migration
trends, epidemiology and the need for health-care services. In the political
arena, population ageing may shape voting patterns and political representation.

Population ageing is enduring. Since 1950 the proportion of older persons has
been rising steadily, passing from 8 per cent in 1950 to 11 per cent in 2007, and
is expected to reach 22 per cent in 2050 (figure I). As long as old age mortality
continues to decline and fertility remains low, the proportion of older persons will
continue to increase.

Unprecedented, pervasive, profound and enduring. Strong words.

And the obvious conclusion to these "profound discoveries":

Because fertility levels are unlikely to rise again to the high levels common in the past, population ageing is irreversible and the young populations that were common until recently are likely to become rare over the course of the twenty-first century.

Irreversible. Well...it seems rather obvious that the biblical mandate "be fruitful and multiply" might possibly offer a solution to this irreversible "problem."

In a nutshell: the UN is forecasting, basically, an end to life on this planet as we know it due to an aging world population with no known solution. Their response to this devastating news? More abortion! Legalized abortion for Africa.

Working with Planned Parenthood, their goal is to "demystify taboos about abortion" through the promotion of the Maputo Plan of Action, which includes proposed health program costs, targets and measures for abortion services, calling on states to "enact policies and legal frameworks," to "prepare and implement national plans of action" as well as "refurbish and equip facilities for provision of comprehensive abortion care services."

An aging population, increased promotion of abortion and contraceptive services. Business as usual for the United Nations.

Beyond ridiculous.

I call heaven and earth to witness this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose therefore life, that both thou and thy seed may live Deuteronomy 30:19

Read more!

Blessings to Margaret at Minnesota Mom for the "heads up" on this one. The imagery associated with and comparison of abortion to ritualistic demonic blood sacrifice, is horrifying. Please pray the Prayer to St. Michael, before reading:

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen..

The Demonic Abortion Industry
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer - President
Human Life International
(excerpt)

In what sense is abortion demonic?
The spiritual dimension of this grisly “business” is its systematizing of ritual blood sacrifice to the god of child murder, Moloch, who we know of from the severe condemnations of him in the Old Testament (Lev 18:21, 20:2-5, 1 Kings 11:5.33, 2 Kings 23:13 and Zephaniah 1:5). This demon of murder appears in many forms and cultures through history (Phoenician, Carthaginian, Canaanite, Celt, Indian, Aztec and others) but is always the same bloodthirsty beast that demands the killing of children as his form of worship. This demon is not content with a single act of murder here and there. His insatiable appetite for the death of innocents seeks public endorsement to justify his gruesome deeds, and he needs a systematic expression of it to increase his worship.

The modern abortion industry offers ritual blood sacrifice to the ancient abortion demon. It is in every way a demonic religion. It has its sacred dogma (“choice”), its ruling hierarchy (Planned Parenthood), its theologians (feminist ideologues), its sacrificing priesthood (abortionists), its temples (abortion mills), altars (surgical tables), ritual victims (primarily babies and secondarily women), acolytes and sacristans (clinic workers and death-scorts), congregations (all supporters of abortion) and its own unifying principle of sacramental “grace” (money). In short, the abortion industry is a perfect demonic system which offers a perverse form of worship to the devil.

The sacrificial victim in this demonic religion is not a brute animal as was offered to the Old Testament God of Israel in a legitimate system of religious sacrifices. In abortion, the victim is an innocent human being who is made in the “image and likeness of God” and who can never defend herself. This combination of innocence, parental participation and ritualized obliteration of the visage of God in human form is the devil’s way of blaspheming the Father with the misguided participation of God’s own children. The systematic destruction of the human body which St. Paul calls “the temple of the Holy Spirit” is a blasphemous insult to God. If the abortion business is not truly demonic, nothing is. (End of excerpt.)


The rest of Fr. Euteneuer's article made be read here. Please consider participating in the St. Michael Pray Campaign to End Abortion. The campaign began on March 25th, but it is never to late to join! Read more!

Cardinal Rejects Pro-Choice City Label

Philadelphia Council Adopts Resolution for New Status

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, JUNE 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Justin Rigali issued a statement against the city council's new resolution to adopt the status of a "pro-choice city."

Cardinal Rigali, the archbishop of Philadelphia, in Thursday's statement called upon "all people of good will to join me in rejecting the divisive and erroneous label that Philadelphia City Council has forced upon the citizens of Philadelphia today."

"I reject the resolution because so many heroic efforts are made continually to safeguard unborn children from the evil of abortion, to protect vulnerable children and families and to defend all women and men in crisis," he said.


Cardinal Rigali, who is also the chairman of the U.S. bishops' committee for pro-life activities, continued: "In a city where so many people vigorously defend life at every stage, proclaiming Philadelphia 'pro-choice' is inconsistent with reality. It unfairly saddles those who support life at all stages with this shameful label.

"Philadelphia is experiencing homicide at a record rate; now is not the time to affirm the false choice of procured abortion. Rather, all residents should rally around the common cause of eliminating the hopelessness that generates violence.

"Everyone deserves to be born and live in a society that builds conditions conducive to life, not despair and death."

The 72-year-old prelate added: "The dialogue between individuals and groups working to build a just society is ill-served by City Council's unproductive resolution.

"I commend those members who opposed this resolution. Council members who voted for it should apologize to the thousands of Philadelphians they have offended today, and turn their energies toward improving the quality of life and the safeguarding of all residents."
Read more!

Today is my youngest daughter's 4th birthday. Sigh. The "baby" is not a baby any longer. This is the longest "space" Roger and I have had between children, a rather poignant reminder of how our lives are changing and how our roles are expanding. While still the parents of toddlers, we are also grandparents to three (soon to be four and one in heaven) beautiful grandchildren. For over twelve years we had at least one child, and frequently two, in diapers.

The last three pregnancies were hard beyond belief...bed rest from the sixth month on, not being able to walk, using a wheelchair and a walker and the distinct possibility of not being able to walk again. What a price...but what was purchased was beyond measure. Maximilian, Abigail and Rylee Elizabeth! I can't imagine a world without them, my family without them, ME without them. Though we would gladly welcome another child (please God!) into our family, we also know that our God has wisdom that supercedes our desire. May His will be done and may we remain open to His promptings.

So we celebrate the life of a child today, and in doing so, celebrate the lives of all children. God bless all families who remain open to grace, open to joy...open to life.

Read more!