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Yesterday, I was delighted, and surprised, to be asked if I was organizing a trip to the Cornwall March for Life, set for Sunday, June 24.

I presumed that the caller knew I had just organised trips to both the National March for Life (in Ottawa on May 10) and the Marche Chrétienne (June 2 in Quebec City) and that it was only logical that I do the same in support of a sister organization so close to home. (Cornwall is an hour and half southwest of Montreal along the 401.)

I responded that I would be delighted to do so. Therefore...

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

You are coordially invited to join me, and two others, Sunday, June 24, in support of the cause of life in Cornwall, ON.

As the walk begins at 1 p.m., we will leave Montreal at about 11 a.m., from a location yet to be assigned.

The walk is about 1.5 km. It will followed Pro-Life Cornwall's Annual General Meeting. Guest Ms. Anastasia Bowles of Life Canada will be on hand to address the assembly.

Give me a call (514-344-2686) and I will see if numbers warrant the need for chartering a bus. Else, we will car pool it, as we did to Quebec City.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate the annual Saint-Jean Baptiste Day than giving it a pro-life spin.

For more information about the day or pro-life events in Cornwall, click Pro-Life Cornwall .

Again travelling the 110 km to Cornwall would take us about an hour and half.

Debate on Stephen Woodworth's motion, M-312, has been postponed from this Thursday until a later time, possibly this Fall.

CBC's Kady O'Malley reports that Mr. Woodworth traded spots in the queue with a fellow MP.

As of yesterday, M-312 was scheduled to come up for a final hour of debate on Thursday afternoon, with a vote to be held next Wednesday, but it appears that Woodworth did a last minute swap with Liberal MP Scott Brison, and is now 14th on the precedence list. With just 12 sitting days remaining before the House is scheduled to rise for the summer break, will almost certainly put his motion on ice until the fall.

Ms. O'Malley opines that the member of Parliament for Kitchener-Centre "hopes to spend the summer shoring up support for the motion, and combat the chilling effect of pressure reportedly being brought to bear against caucus colleagues sympathetic to his cause by no less powerful an adversary than the Prime Minister's Office."

The second of these comments refers to the lack of support Mr. Woodworth has received from the Prime Minister. The latter's whip, Mr. Gordon O'Connor, came out strong against M-312 during the first hour of debate this past Thursday, April 26, 2012.

Daniel Proussalidis, journalist with the Quebecor news giant, filing before the announcement of M-312's postponement, writes about the pressure Mr. Woodworth and like-minded tories may be under from the PMO.

In a release from Mr. Woodworth, he cites the ailing health of his mother, who hasn't eaten in five days, and his desire to be with her, as reason for postponing the second hour of debate.

See related stories - here and here.

This past Saturday, June 2, under cloudy skies, I was one among ten Montrealers who travelled to Quebec City in order to participate in the second annual Marche Chrétienne - Walk Alongside with Jesus.

We met at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral in downtown Montreal, and after the 7:30 a.m. mass, filled two cars and drove three hours to the provincial capital.

The rendez-vous location in Quebec City was appropriately The Plains of Abraham.  It was here back on September 13, 1759, that the Battle of Quebec took place, pitting French forces against the English.

On this Saturday, three centuries later, a different battle was being fought. We came to defend the Christian roots of our society from the forces of laicisation.

On so we gather with the Cross as our standard.

The difference with ages ago is that music and speeches replaced the retorts of canons and muskets.

At about 2:15 p.m. the crowd assembled behind the twelve-foot high cross that would lead our way out onto Grande Allée avenue, towards the provincial legislative building.

At about 2:30 p.m., the 650 or so people who had braved this day began the walk. Along the way, I spoke with peoples from different parts of the province - Gatineau, Victoriaville, Laval, Trois-Rivières, la Beauce, ...

Throughout the walk the skies remained overcast, yet no rain fell. Below, we are on Grande Allée avenue, looking towards the Plains of Abraham, about mid-way along the 1.6 km trek.

We walked five to six abreast, speaking among ourselves or greeting on-lookers.

Arriving at the provincial legislative building, the skies finally opened. Despite this, music was played and speeches given. Finally, the proceedings ended at around 4:30 p.m., when our group retired to a comfortable restaurant before returning to Montreal.

I received the following came in earlier today.

 Immediate Action Needed 

Dear Brian,

This Thursday, June 7th, the 2nd hour of debate on Motion 312 will be occuring in Parliament.

Please take 5 minutes right now and call your MP to stress the importance of this motion.

There is no time to send letters. Please call them directly!

But what if I'm not into politics?

Don't worry. You don't have to have political savy to express the importance of voting in favour of this motion. It's as easy as 1,2,3!

1. Introduce yourself as a member of their riding.

2. Ask your MP if they plans to vote in favor of this critical motion (Motion 312)

3. Ensure you stress that as a constituent in their riding, you expect that your voice will be heard through their vote.

A little background:

Mr. Stephen Woodworth, (the MP bringing this motion to Parliament) is simply requesting a special committee to look at the 400-year-old law that currently defines a human life (a life worthy of rights) to begin at the moment of complete birth. Voting against this motion is denying a fundament aspects of democracy - debate.

Please don't wait to call. Our MP's MUST know we care!

Thanks for your time and dedication to this cause.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Fennelly

Executive Director Alberta Pro-Life

(The exercise took me ten minutes, tops. First, the provided link brought to a site that, by entering my postal code, allowed me identify my MP - the Honourable Stephane Dion.

Next, on this page, I noted the phone numbers and email addresses for both the riding and parliamentary offices.

Then, I phoned both numbers, expressing my views in each instance to an office aide as per the below instructions.

Finally, further to the suggestion of one of the aides with whom I spoke, I emailed Mr. Dion my views. Your turn!)

Over the past two days, I have been stunned at just how violent those who oppose our pro-life message can get.

First, yesterday I came across a story set in Vancouver. A group travelling across the country promoting an anti-abortion theme kicked off their ride on Tuesday past at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

They were not alone. They faced violence, verbal assault, and public indecency from pro-abortion protesters.

Read the full story and watch a video clip of the violent proceedings here ; learn more about the cross-country caravan here.

In today's news comes a second story of pro-abortion extremism.

Something of a miracle has occurred at the University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university. This past Friday, June 1, in a 6-5 vote the Student Union approved the establishing of a prolife club, the only such club in all of Australia.

Reaction to this decison has been tempestuous. Pro-abortion students are moving to have the board rescind its decison, chatise the union members who voted in favour of the club-status, and change the union's constitution forbidding pro-life groups on campus.

Fortunately a word of reason was heard by the USU Board Director Mina Nada argued: “A diverse union is a healthy union. My fellow directors, I implore you to make a decision which honours the Union’s 138 year old traditions of free expression, free thought and open inquiry. Traditions of which we today are guardians.”

Dear all,

Last Saturday June 2nd at 1pm there was a pro-life gathering in front of the Russian Consulate (3685 Avenue de Musée) in Montreal in support of the “Warriors of Life” campaign to end abortion.

The "Warriors of Life" is an international anti-abortion movement whose campaign aims to prohibit abortions in Russia, Ukraine, USA, Poland, and Canada. 

On June 1st 2012, the “Warriors of Life” picketed in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New-York. The same day (June 1st) the Center for Bioethical Reform organized a picket in front of the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC to support the letter that the “Warriors of Life” wrote to Vladimir Putin "requesting an Institutional Court investigation into the legality of abortion-permitting clauses. According to the legal analysis done by 'Warriors of Life', these clauses are unconstitutional." 

Due to the poor weather conditions, the gathering in Montreal in front of the Russian Consulate was not as large as I expected. We were a group of five people. The organizer brought several images of aborted children with slogans in French, English, and Russian stating “Abortion – Genocide.” Together, we wore those images around our necks and stood in the rain facing the oncoming traffic.

This was the first time that I held signs with photos of aborted children in front of the public. I have spoken to several people about the use of graphic images, and, needless to say, the opinions are diverging (even within the pro-life field).

On the one hand, some claim the images are shocking, violent, and disrespectful both to the public and to the babies whose bodies are being displayed.

However, one must consider the fruits of such an act to decide whether it is worth it or not. Does displaying abortion imagery reveal the truth to those who are “pro-choice”? Are photos an unparalleled way to convey the horrors of abortion? Can lives be saved by doing this?

I think the answer to all these questions are yes, yes, and yes again. Every day in the news we are shown shocking photos of dead civilians, starving children, diseased people, road accidents, and other brutal acts. Advertising campaigns against smoking display awful images to warn people against the dangers of cigarettes. Museums in memory of the Holocaust show photos of its victims in order to inform people of the extreme violence that was done against humanity.

These photos impact us at an emotional level that cannot be attained through words alone. When one talks about the dismemberment of fetal body parts, does it compare in the least to the photographs we see of an aborted child? Upon recognizing the arms, legs, organs, and face of that little child, everyone is faced with the reality of abortion just as it is (no Photoshop used here!) I invite you to read these two articles in defense of the use of graphic images:

1) “Defending the use of Graphic Images” by the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform 

2) "The use of graphic images: Re-thinking pro-life strategy” by Priests for Life

The second article also includes a list of historical examples of the use of graphic images in other social reform movements. I hope the people that turned and saw our abortion signs on Saturday remain shocked by our images. In the same way, I believe all pro-lifers should be shocked time and time again that such atrocities continue to exist (and are even encouraged) in our society. Sometimes I forget that the work we do involves a constant defense against the murder of innocent infants- seeing the bodies of these little children reminds me that the work is not over and that we cannot be idle while these crimes continue to occur on a daily basis.

BUS CANCELLATION

Kindly note:

due to low numbers

there will not be any charter bus

for tomorrow's Christian Walk - a.k.a., "Marche Chrétienne,"

in Quebec City. ***

We regret any inconvenience this may cause to you plans.

Thank you.

For additional information, call (514) 344-2686.

Today, May 31st, some Christians celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. Here is the Gospel reading from Lk 1:39-56

Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."

And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever."

Even before birth, Jesus was already bringing life and joy to Elizabeth, her son John, and the Virgin Mary. John the Baptist "leaped for joy" upon Mary's arrival.

Notice that Elizabeth tells Mary "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." She is the first to recognize Mary as the Mother of God. The beauty of this day is that a wonderful encounter took place between four souls- one that gave happiness and hope to everyone.

Following Elizabeth's example, I pray that expectant mothers be filled with the same courage and faith as her. Following Mary's example, I wish that all women be filled with the grace of accepting God's will and trusting His plan, especially when faced with a difficult pregnancy.

Happy Feast of the Visitation!

Here are a couple of handy references for your perusal.

First

"The Unborn Child: A Gift, a Treasure, and a Promise," issued by the Catholic Organization for Life and Family, provides readers with an introductory panorama of the abortion issue.

Described as a "Reflection on Abortion," the twelve-page reference is ordered under ten headings posed as questions. These are:

1. When does life begin?; 2. What is an abortion?; 3. Is abortion legal in Canada?; 4. Why do women have abortions?; 5. But isn't abortion a woman's right and a private choice?; 6. How does abortion impact a woman's life?; 7. What is "post-abortion survivor syndrome"?; 8. What is the Church's position on abortion?; 9. Are there alternatives to abortion?; 10. As citizens, what can we do to promote a culture of life?.

It concludes solidly in two respects. First, it lists a range of resources, equally available for anglophones and francophones and, secondly, mobilizes interested individuals on how to take action, either alone or collectively, in ten ways.

Second

The second publication is a timely document issued by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Pastoral Letter on Freedom of Conscience and Religion".

As it notes at the outset, both in Canada and abroad a disturbing trend of "bias, prejudice, hate propaganda, discrimination, and persecution because of religious beliefs" is raging.

At home, we are not unfamiliar with the many assaults to people and groups for their faith. We see, in Manitoba, civil servants reprimanded or fired for not officiating in same-sex "marriages," in Quebec, parents compelled to have their children sit in on Ethics and Religious Culture courses that have watered down the Christian faith, and in Ontario, the provincial government legislating schools - including Catholic ones, to sponsor "gay-straight alliance" clubs.

Finally, both documents are fully referenced - via either endnotes or footnotes, and are available in either French or English from their respective issuers.

In conclusion, I think that a study of these two documents is important as it will better inform and prepare oneself for the trying times we are currently experiencing.

This just in: Motion 312's second hour of debate for is set for 5:30 p.m., Thursday, June 7th, 2012.

Recall that this past Fall, 2011, Mr. Stephen Woodworth tabled a motion - C-312, that a multi-party committee be established to update a section of Canada's Criminal Code founded on 17th century science.

On Thursday, March 22, 2012, motion 312 was debated for an hour in the House of Commons with a second hour to follow. During the session, Mr. Woodworth argued that the law needs to be revised in order to better reflect advances in medecine.

Yesterday, we received a correspondance from Mr. Woodworth, reproduced below, informing us of the date and time for the second hour of debate. 

Action Alert: Also as you read through the letter, note the MP's request for your assistance.

On June 7th, the debate will broadcasted lived  on CPAC - www.cpac.ca.

For background information regarding Mr. Stephen Woodworth's motion, see his website.

Good Afternoon,

Firstly, I’d like to start by thanking you for all of your efforts to date with regards to my Motion 312. Your support is greatly appreciated. As we quickly approach the 2nd hour of debate (currently scheduled for June 7th, 2012 at 5:30p.m.) as well as a vote to follow on June 13th (in the evening) it is more important than ever that we continue with the momentum generated so far and re-double our efforts.

Any assistance you can provide in encouraging Canadians to contact their respective MPs and urge their support would be a tremendous help.

I am greatly impressed by the efforts I have seen so far and I hope I can count upon your continued assistance during this crucial time. Once again, thank you for all of your support thus far – it has been vital in advancing the Motion.

Kind Regards,

Stephen Woodworth, Member of Parliament, Kitchener Centre