Archive for the 'The Front Lines' Category

Would you be willing to ride three hours, one way, on a bus, so you could pray outside an abortion clinic?

The students at St. John’s Catholic High School in Beloit, Kansas have done just that — and not just once, but numerous times, most recently last month.

I spoke yesterday with Andrew Niewald, a theology teacher at the school, who is eager to share the story of his students’ courageous pro-life witness in the hope that other Catholic schools will be willing to provide similar opportunities for their students to put their pro-life beliefs into action out in the world.

The students at St. John’s have been the subject of several feature articles recently, including one at LifeSite by Rita Diller of STOPP.

In it, Andrew is quoted as saying:

We tried all sorts of things, including watching The Silent Scream and other abortion videos, but that did not have the impact we needed. Once the students were out there, three or four feet from the girls coming in to have abortions, begging them not to go in, it made it so much more real. …

We could take the students to the World War II museum, let them see the memorabilia behind glass doors, but that does not have the same impact as taking them to the front lines. We take them, instead, to the battle lines, and the conviction they walk away with is tremendous.

The importance of Andrew’s observations here cannot be overstated. (more…)

This past weekend, Eric Scheidler and I traveled to Los Angeles for the second annual International Pro-Life Youth Conference to join hundreds of enthusiastic young pro-lifers and an All-Star cast of speakers, including Lila Rose, Fr. Frank Pavone, Ryan Bomberger, Star Parker, Troy Newman, Bryan Kemper, and Kristan Hawkins.

The conference was hosted by Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust and Priests for Life and co-sponsored by several other including the Pro-Life Action League League, which provided copies of our Sharing the Pro-Life Message handbook to all attendees.

On the first day of the conference, Eric Scheidler delivered a new PowerPoint presentation provocatively titled “First Convince Them You’re Wrong”.

Eric explained that when we talk about abortion with those who are firmly committed to the “pro-choice” ideology, they very often think that the pro-life position doesn’t deserve a hearing, and that we pro-lifers are completely crazy.

Our first step, then, has to be convince our “pro-choice” audience that they need to give the pro-life position a second look. (more…)

The next Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally is only three days away, and today our list of cities has topped 140!

More than 125,000 people attended the March 23 and June 8 Rallies, and the number of cities on board for October 20 indicates that the Stand Up for Religious Freedom campaign shows no signs of weakening.

On the contrary, opposition among the American people to the HHS Mandate’s assault on religious freedom is intense—and getting stronger!

From Miami, Florida to Seattle, Washington and all the way out to Honolulu, Hawaii the American people of all ages are sending a message that we will not stand idly by while the federal government forces all employer health plans to provide free contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs, regardless of any moral or religious objections.

Check out the Locations Page to see all the cities taking part and find a Rally near you.

There’s a great pro-life event beginning tomorrow in over 300 cities across the country: the 40 Days for Life prayer campaign.

From September 26th through November 4th, 40 Days for Life prayer vigils will be held outside abortion clinics in 316 locations in the U.S., Canada, Australia, England, Spain, and Uganda.

This will be the eleventh 40 Days for Life campaign, and the results of the first ten have been amazing:

• MORE THAN 525,000 PEOPLE of all ages have joined together to
  pray and fast for an end to abortion
• At least 5,928 BABIES HAVE BEEN SAVED from abortion—and those
  are just the ones we know about
• 69 abortion workers have QUIT THEIR JOBS and walked away from
  the abortion industry
• 24 abortion facilities COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN following local 40
  Days for Life vigils

And this fall’s 40 Days will be the biggest one yet — more babies will be saved, more parents will be spared a lifetime of regrets, and more abortion workers will have their hearts touched and leave their jobs.

I hope you won’t want to miss the chance to take part in this historic pro-life prayer campaign. You can find the 40 Days site nearest you here.

With our summer “Face the Truth” Tour getting ready to hit the streets July 6-14, the Pro-Life Action League — GFL’s parent organization — is proud to present an exciting video explaining the Face the Truth approach to pro-life activism and why we believe it’s one of the most important tools in fighting abortion:

(more…)

The list of cities taking part in tomorrow’s Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally now stands at 160—far surpassing the 145 cities that participated in the first Stand Up Rally on March 23.

The number of cities on board for the June 8 Nationwide Rally shows that the massive turnout seen at that first Rally on March 23 was hardly a one-time phenomenon.

Opposition among the American people to the HHS Mandate’s assault on religious freedom is intense—and getting stronger!

From Augusta, Maine to Miami, Florida to Fairbanks, Alaska to Honolulu, Hawaii the American people are sending a message that we will not stand idly by while the federal government forces all employer health plans to provide free contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs, regardless of any moral or religious objections.

When Friday night comes around, you don’t want to find yourself saying, “I wish I had gone to the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally.”

Don’t be that guy. Be there!

Check out the Locations Page to see all the cities taking part and find a Rally near you!

It’s not just in the U.S. that teens and college students have begun to play an increasingly bigger role in the pro-life movement — the same thing is happening across Europe.

There’s an article today in LifeSiteNews about this phenomenon titled “David Is Advancing: Young Pro-Lifers on the March in Europe.”

The article begins:

Anyone who has ever participated in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., has marvelled not only at the always-surprisingly massive and joyful crowds, but also at the abundance of pro-life resources available: books, pamphlets, buttons, stickers, CDs, DVDs, and so on. And in light of the comparably modest amount of pro-life material available in German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy), one may even be a little envious of the influential presence of the American pro-life movement in the worldwide battle to defend life, especially their youth activism. (more…)

The next Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally is still more than a month away, and this week our list of cities taking part reached 101!

The number of cities already on board for June 8 shows that the massive turnout seen at the first Nationwide Rally on March 23 wasn’t just a one-time thing.

Opposition among the American people to the HHS Mandate’s assault on religious freedom is intense—and getting stronger!

From Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon and all the way out to Honolulu, Hawaii, Americans of all ages are sending a message that we will not stand idly by while the federal government forces all employer health plans to provide free contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs, regardless of any moral or religious objections.

Check out the Locations Page to see all the cities taking part and find a Rally near you.

Pro-life veteran and world renowned sidewalk counselor Monsignor Philip Reilly will visit the Chicago area on Saturday, March 10 for a pro-life prayer vigil sponsored by the Chicago Helpers of God’s Precious Infants.

March 10 is an especially fitting day for a pro-life prayer vigil, as it is National Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. What better day to pray for unborn children and that those responsible for taking their lives will have a genuine conversion of heart and become ex-abortion providers?

In addition, on Friday, March 9, Msgr. Reilly will give a presentation entitled “Be Not Afraid” at St. Isaac Jogues Parish in Hinsdale, IL.

Msgr. Reilly has been active in the pro-life movement since 1967 — six years before Roe v. Wade — and in 1989, along with just four volunteers, he founded the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants outside the infamous Choices abortion center in Brooklyn, New York. Helpers Chapters now span across the United States and 18 countries worldwide. (more…)

I’ve attended the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. for the past 8 years, but this year’s was by far the most upbeat, energetic and encouraging march I’ve been to, and Generations for Life was thrilled to be a part of it.

The crowd was enormous and excited about the coming year, as well they should be. 2011 was an amazing year for the pro-life movement, and the momentum only keeps going our way.

As the march wound through the streets of the nation’s capital, you could see groups from all religious traditions, all ages and races, school groups, church groups, colleges with huge banners—it was quite a show.

Crusaders for Life Steal the Show

But there was one thing that I don’t think anyone missed—the Crusaders for Life pro-life youth group from my parish, St. John Cantius in Chicago. The giant group came equipped with chants, huge yellow “LIFE” balloons, and portable platforms where they could carry some of their cohorts above the crowd to lead chants. (more…)

During the Pro-Life Action League’s “Face the Truth Tour” a few weeks ago in Cincinnati, one of the local pro-life activists who came out to join us for the day reminded me of something that can’t be repeated often enough.

He and I were talking about various ways to fight abortion, and he remarked that one of the most important things any of us can do — no matter how old we are — is to strive for personal holiness in our everyday lives.  I couldn’t agree with him more.

My co-worker Eric Scheidler has talked in two recent posts on the Pro-Life Action League’s blog about the need for pro-lifers to be diplomats for our cause, and to always keep in mind when we’re talking with people who are pro-choice that our purpose isn’t to “score points” but rather to persuade them to agree with us about the value of life in the womb.

Occasionally, a single conversation with someone who is pro-choice may result in an on-the-spot conversion to pro-life. But I would guess that instances like these are more the exception than the rule. (more…)

There’s a great pro-life event beginning next week in over 300 cities across the country: the 40 Days for Life prayer campaign.

From September 28th through November 6th, 40 Days for Life prayer vigils will be held outside abortion clinics in 301 locations in the U.S., Canada, Australia, England, Germany, Spain, and Argentina.

This will be the ninth ever 40 Days for Life campaign, and the results of the first eight have been amazing:

• MORE THAN 400,000 PEOPLE of all ages have joined together to
  pray and fast for an end to abortion
• At least 4,313 BABIES HAVE BEEN SAVED from abortion—and those
  are just the ones we know about
• 53 abortion workers have QUIT THEIR JOBS and walked away from
  the abortion industry
• 16 abortion facilities COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN following local 40
  Days for Life vigils

And this fall’s 40 Days will be the biggest one yet — more babies will be saved, more parents will be spared a lifetime of regrets, and more abortion workers will have their hearts touched and leave their jobs.

I hope you won’t want to miss the chance to take part in this historic pro-life prayer campaign. You can find the 40 Days site nearest you here.

With our summer “Face the Truth” Tour getting ready to hit the streets July 8-16, the Pro-Life Action League — GFL’s parent organization — is proud to present an exciting new video explaining the Face the Truth approach to pro-life activism and why we believe it’s one of the most important tools in fighting abortion:

(more…)

Hey everybody! Gosh, I am so sorry for not blogging here for so long! I got so sidetracked, but the good news is that I was sidetracked with pro-life work! It’s been very wonderful, but I really do think I should share here more through blogging. I’ll do better now.

Something I’d love to discuss today is sidewalk counseling. Just that phrase, “sidewalk counseling”, tends to give us pro-life people either thrills and goose pimples, or it freaks us out! It’s really quite a glorious thing, and as a young pro-life kid, I used to watch my mother do it in real time. And boy did I dream of the day that I could do it too, just like Mom!

I’m 22 now, and finally this year, I really did get to do THE sidewalk counseling! It was every bit as thrilling as I dreamed; truly God is good to allow us to work with people in that way. I was able to bring a young pregnant mother away from an abortion facility, take her and the baby’s father out to lunch, and convince them to let us help them keep their child! Wow! (more…)

This time to counter Planned Parenthood’s poorly attended teen rally at the California State Capitol: