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Dear Pro-Lifers,

We at the Quebec Life Coalition continue to be your watchmen for life and family here in Quebec and wherever fate calls us. Through different initiatives, we are informing or representing you, our benefactors, where these affronts occur. Thank you for generously supporting us.

The most pressing issue concerns the defense of the unborn. To this end, we have joined 300 other groups worldwide to confront in a peaceful and prayerful manner the wiles of the abortion mentality, wiles that consist in silencing our societies, our dialogues concerning this travesty.

This participation that I write to you about is the bi-annual prayer vigil called “40 Days for Life,” begun this past Tuesday, September 27. For the sake of newcomers to this prayer, a brief introduction is in order.

40 Days for Life is a continuous peaceful and prayerful vigil done outside an abortion facility. As a movement, we have come to recognize that we are unable to change attitudes in our own land for the abortion and contraception mentality is widely accepted as “health care” and a woman’s right. So, we humble ourselves and turn to God for help for in his beneficence and mercy he can work wonders.

Jesus, in speaking to his apostles, encouraged them that only through prayer and fasting can certain evil spirits be exorcised – Mark 9:26-29. And so we do likewise. For the next forty days, from September 28 though November 6, we are encouraging all to pray and fast to exorcise the evil that has wormed its way into the hearts of so many of our dear brothers and sisters.

• Pray at home or in the public transit, alone or with a prayer group, for an hour or a minute.
• Pray for the changing of heart of those who promote this unnatural butchery so they can recognize the preciousness of every life;
• Pray for those contemplating aborting their child, that they become aware that support is readily available through both governmental and private agencies, both during their pregnancy and afterwards; and
• Pray for those who have experienced one or more abortions so that they know that healing is readily available to them, whether through caring persons who will walk the walk with them for as long as it takes or through the healing balm that God readily has available to them.

In addition to prayer, we are aiding in a new manner – by providing a toll-free Help-line for all women interested in learning about alternatives health care options. Your generous help has permitted us to carry through with this initiative and confront this colossus of “health care” that abortion is often called.

Your contributions, either on-going or occasional basis, have permitted us to act in a couple of other ways:

This past Sunday, November 2, we at the Quebec Life Coalition participated in the Life Chain, an event involving over 1500 communities across North America;

We travelled to Cornwall to attend the annual conference of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in order to present a petition requesting that the CCCB examine the funding choices of the aid agency Development & Peace.

I was introduced to Mr. Thom O'Connor while volunteering in New York City. At the time, I mentioned to a colleague that I was out of rosaries for the sidewalk counselling ministry I was involved in and she suggested that I call Thom. Since that initial contact, I have learned that Mr. O'Connor's involvement in the pro-life movement is quite extensive as the following letter that he mailed me reveals.

As a television journalist of over forty years. I have heard every conceivable argument in regard to the pro-life / pro-choice debate. But, until now, I have never seen an abortion in living color. Even women who have had an abortion do not realize what is happening. So, I have presented on my website, an actual abortion. "The Silent Scream" was produced in 1958 by Dr. Bernard Nathanson with an introduction by Charlton Heston. It shows sonogram images of a child in the womb shrinking back from an abortionist's instruments. This documentary, "An Eclipse of Reason", displays and explains various procedures in graphic detail. Dr. Bernard Nathanson was co-founder of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws. Nathanson, who just did in 2011, oversaw the performance of about 75,000 abortions before becoming a leading pro-life activitst and a convert to the Catholic faith.

Before his baptism to the Catholic faith by Cardinal John O'Connor and his advocacy of the pro-life movement, Nathanson decribed himself as a Jewish atheist.

Dr. Nathanson wrote "Abortion is now a monster so unimaginably gargantuan that even to think of stuffing it back into its cage is ludicrous beyond words." "I am one of those who helped usher in this barbaric age."

Please watch "Eclipse of Reason" on my website, and join those who pledge to protect the young and innocent.

We condemn the murder of the unborn in abortion.

- Thom O'Connor

p.s. To view the video, after linking to Mr. O'Connor's site, the video may be seen by scrolling for the term "Eclipse"

Campagne Québec-Vie (also known as Quebec Life Coalition), the Quebec division of national pro-life group Campaign Life Coalition, will be presenting a 400-signature petition demanding a « top to bottom » reform of the catholic organisation Development and Peace (D&P)to the bishops assembled for their annual meeting beginning on October 17 in Cornwall, ON.

Development and Peace, an organisation established by the bishops of Canada in 1967 to help the poor of the Third World, has been accused by pro-life and pro-family groups of funding pro-abortion, pro-contraception and homosexualist organisations. The bishops of Canada have of late created a standing committee to oversee D&P’s work.

The petition demands a « reform » of Development and Peace, asserting that « Development and Peace funds agencies in the developing world – in Mexico, Latin America, and Africa— that promote abortion, contraception, and ideologies that run counter to the teachings of the Catholic Church » and expresses a fear that « only the tip of the iceberg has been exposed ». The petition concludes with a demand that the bishops of Canada « review from top to bottom the mandate and the organisation of D&P, so that D&P may accomplish its task of mercy and justice on behalf of the poor in light of ALL the teachings of the Church, particularly those concerned with the sacred character of human life and procreation. »

An online version of the petition may be found here.

Campagne Québec-Vie president Georges Buscemi, who will be delivering the petition in Cornwall this Monday, remains optimistic about finding a solution to the problems plaguing Development and Peace. « The answer » he believes « is found in pope Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical Caritas in Veritate, which states that ‘openness to life is at the centre of true development’ (section 28)» Buscemi believes that « this is a perfect statement to guide the reform of Development and Peace » and that « if Development and Peace wants to truly help the Third World develop, they should be promoting respect for life and openness to life in the Third World, especially when we consider how secular NGOs are showering the Third World with pro-abortion propaganda and condoms, to the detriment of Third World nations and cultures. »

Campagne Québec-Vie’s French language page dedicated to the Development and Peace affair can be found here.

The current "40 Days for Life" campaign is the largest in the movement's history. Over 300 grass-root groups have stepped forward to host a site where praying for the end of abortion is occurring and this in seven different countries. Information regarding the history of the movement may be found here.

Here in Canada, we are also seeing the greatest numbers of vigil locations occurring in any one campaign since these began back in 2007. From Victoria, B.C., through the prairies, into central Canada, and out east in the Maritime provinces, fifteen organizations have committed themselves to the cause of the unborn through 40 days of praying and fasting and constant vigil.

In Edmonton, Alberta, the prayer vigil caught the attention of the Western Catholic Reporter. In an October 10 story, and found here, the article notes the ecumenical tone to the vigil as both protestant and Catholic groups are participating.

Further, the reporter notes that what had been a once a year vigil - in the spring time, has for the first time become a twice a year event. Karen Richert, office director for Edmonton Pro-Life, says in regard to this change: "...we had a lot of people say to us that the weather is so much more favourable in the fall, so that's why we're doing both now.

Finally, we read how the vigilers are disproving the myth that we are there to judge and condemn the women who wish to procure an abortion. “People just want somebody to talk to, and they want to know that they are not hated for what they’ve done, so that sign of hope and witness is always so important,” said Richert.

Two good stories.

First, today's news contains an article that Canadian bishops are speaking up against abortion. Lifesitenews reports that the head of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops committee on family life has come out against the Tories' grant to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

In a Friday letter, Bishop Gerald Wiesner, O.M.I., chairman of the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF), said IPPF is “the world’s largest abortion provider and promoter,” and so the government’s recently announced $6 million grant is in clear violation of its pledge not to fund abortion abroad. The full story is available here, whereas the bishop's letter can be found here.

In a separate story of pastoral leadership, in Halifax, Most Reverent Anthony Mancini is supporting the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil. In an email from the site's coordinator, I learned of his participation at the vigil's kick-off this past September 27. There blog may be read right here.

Blessings

p.s. Lifesitenews also has a powerful story of a young mom choosing life. At 18 she became pregnant. She found support, and a friend, in her decision-making at a local crisis pregnancy centre. I found that she describes quite well the emotional roller-coaster associated with an unplanned pregnancy. The story may be read here.

In today's Journal de Montreal, you will find a story, on pages 14-15, entitled "Le bilan de sante du Grand Montreal" - An Inventory of Montreal's Health. The two-page spread outlines various statistics regarding well-being in Montreal, both pros and cons.

I wish to add a statistic that has escaped the editors of the daily. According to Stats Can, for every hundred births in the Quebec hub, there are 60 abortions.  That's right, out of 160 pregnancies, 60 of our defenseless brothers and sisters do not get to see the light of day.

A maternal healthcare non-profit misses out on federal funding whereas the International Planned Parenthood Federation - IPPF, get $6 Million over the next three years. More here.

(See our initial story about IPPF funding last week - Thursday.)

Hear Mr. James Hughes, president of Campaign Life Coalition, and others involved in the Canadian Pro-Life movement interviewed and learn about the history of the pro-life movement in Canada at Priests for Life Canada website.

I found the interview with Mr. Hughes quite informative. After treating about his early days in the pro-life movement, he spoke about his association with Quebec Life Coalition founder, Mr. Gilles Grondin, introduced me to a youth group operating at the UN - World Youth Alliance - started by a Canadian, gave a quick overview of the Canadian political scene that has led to the vacuum of legislation protecting the unborn child, and, lastly, dealt with euthanasia, in Canada and abroad.

These interviews are an hour or so long, without any commercials, safe for a pro-life song.

Enjoy.

Frequently I hear it falsely stated that aborting a child is preferable to having the child live in an abusive environment.

For example, yesterday, this justification made its appearance in two forms. First, as Charlotte and I were setting up at the 40 Days for Life vigil site, a young male in his mid-twenties, awaiting the traffic signal to change and be on his way, asked if either one of us had grown up in a good family. By good family, I understood him to mean one free of abuse. In syllogistic form, this reads:

• A quality of life unbecoming human beings is justification for abortion.
• An abusive home is a quality of life unbecoming human beings.
• Therefore, an abusive home is justification for abortion.

Second, yesterday’s Journal de Montreal ran a story on the increase in cases at the provincial youth protection agency – a.k.a., the DPJ. The article is entitled “Forte hausse des signalements” – “A Sharp Increase in Reporting” and is available here.

I perused the article carefully, looking for evidence which would justify abortion. Three case studies were noted; these are fodder that abortion advocates use in their logic.

This is warped logic for several reasons.

First, as ads for mutual funds advise, future performance is not guaranteed by past behaviour, or something like that. One simply does not know the future, other than God. So, to predict the fate of the unborn is folly.

Second, the first premise is not true. Quality of life is a highly subjective evaluation. A case in point concerns children with Down's syndrome of whom 95% are aborted. The motion picture “Trisomie 21 / Défi Pérou” is one of many instances that show the dignity and value Down's children.

Yes, abusive environments are highly undesirable but to consign a child a death sentence on account of his family is grossly misplaced justice.

Heavenly Father,

Our movement is God driven. Otherwise, we will fail. We know. We have tried to do it on our own and we have failed. We face a colossus. News reports show; the death toll due to abortion – whether surgical, chemical, abortifacients, pregnancy reductions, is huge. These reports reveal that the mountain simply gets bigger.

We pray that the scourge of abortion be lifted from our land,

• Since 1988, Canada has had no legislation regulating the procedure of abortion. Hence, anything and everything goes. At any stage of pregnancy, the child is unsafe – from conception through to delivery.

That those who promote it may be brought to a change of heart;

The shiny red SUV pulled up along the sidewalk. A well-dressed thirty-something man, dark trench coat, unbuttoned, two-piece suit underneath, steps out. Immediately, he spots a solitary figure standing some forty-five feet away. This figure hands clasped is holding a rosary. The driver's stance freezes and stiffens. He glares. The look persists. Fifteen yards separated the two. No words are spoken but the significance escapes neither. He re-enters his vehicle and does a 180, parking on the far side of the busy roadway, a block further away. Re-emerges, brief case in hand and makes his way inside the abortion facility.

That all who are tempted to abortion may be lovingly helped to protect the precious gift of life;

The two women approached the abortion facility unimpeded. One, the younger, a woman in her twenties, drags heavily on her cigarette. The other, an older woman, perhaps in her mid-thirties, walks closely next to the younger. In front of the facility, the younger one stops, again drawing deeply on her cigarette. Her partner's hand goes up, resting on her friend's shoulder. A moment later this same hand gently strokes shoulder and upper arm - consoling her. Another moment goes by. Finally the pair moves, walking up the steps leading into the facility. Again atop, the younger stops. Her cigarette unfinished, she inhales, again deeply. Her friend, always in close proximity, continues her reassuring stroking. The cigarette finished, they walk in.

And that all who have experienced an abortion may be comforted with the healing gift of love.

The young couple walk out. Both in their early to mid twenties. Her gait is unsteady; he provides much support as they walk down the five steps. At the bottom they pause. They continue their walk, she relying on him for support – both physical and emotional.

A dark car pulls up in front of the facility. The driver stays inside but the passenger emerges, springing out and up the steps, into the facility. Moments later two women and two men, the former passenger and another, walk out of the double doors. The younger of the two women is noticeably needy, body hunched and twisted. Her peers offer support, first down the stairs and then into the car. The others pile in and the car drives off.

We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Saviour of the World.

Heavenly Father,

We pray that the scourge of abortion be lifted from our land,

That those who promote it may be brought to a change of heart;

That all who are tempted to abortion may be lovingly helped to protect the precious gift of life;

And that all who have experienced an abortion may be comforted with the healing gift of love.

We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.