On the Eve of the March for Life

Two days after a massive crowd of people gathered for the inauguration of Barack Obama, another large group will take to the streets of Washington for a different reason. The March for Life takes place tomorrow, January 22nd, the 36th anniversary of the catastrophic Roe vs. Wade decision. The March generally draws large crowds of pro-lifers from all across the country, but tomorrow's will have a new significance. This year's marchers will not receive a message of support from their President, as they have for the past eight years. In fact, they will be marching largely to protest the proposed policies of the new President. This year's march takes place at the beginning of the term of a President who seemingly spells the defeat of the pro-life movement. Never has there been a President as extreme on abortion as Barack Obama, who even voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. Obama came to office on the themes of hope and change, but what hope is there for the pro-life movement? With our government so firmly in the grasp of those who want abortion to remain legal, what possibility is there of change?
Now is not the time to despair. The pro-life movement has made tremendous strides over the last several decades. Legislatively, yes, we will suffer setbacks; much of the progress made over the last 8 years will soon be lost. However, we must remember that the pro-life movement is not as dependent on the changing of laws than on the changing of hearts. Millions of Americans have come over to the pro-life side, and we must continue to speak to those who are willing to hear. An evil such as abortion cannot stand forever, and eventually the consciences of Americans will be stirred to rise above the evil of abortion just as we rose above the evil of slavery. How pro-lifers conduct themselves, especially at the March tomorrow, will provide a glimpse to others of what we have to offer. If we are angry about our situation and disrespectful of those who disagree with us, we will never win them over. If we behave as we have in Marches past, with love and joy in our hearts despite the darkness of the situation, we will prevail.

Where Does the Pro-Life Movement Go From Here?

A lot of us are disappointed over the outcome of the election. This country elected the most pro-abortion president in its history at the worst possible time for that to happen. With one more pro-life Supreme Court justice, Roe vs. Wade could have been overturned. Now, since it is likely that at least two justices will retire over the next four years, the people that the new President will choose to replace them with will assuredly not be pro-life. This is a devastating blow to the pro-life community; now it could be another generation before Roe vs. Wade is overturned.
Any hopes of advancing pro-life principles through legislation will have to be put on hold, too. Nancy Pelosi, who has distorted Church teaching on abortion, is unlikely to change her tune. During the Bush administration progress was made, but if Obama keeps his campaign promise of signing into law the Freedom of Choice Act all restrictions on abortion would be overturned. What are we to do?
It is NOT the time to give up. The pro-life community needs to step up its efforts more than ever. As it says in the John Paul II movie, we must "meet this abyss of hate with an abyss of love." We need to step up efforts in any way we can. When women are faced with fear because of an unwanted pregnancy, let our love guide them to embrace life rather than our indifference guiding them to the abortion clinic. We are not defeated, because Christ has conquered death!
Here's Father Pavone's take on the election results:

What do you feel are some ways in which the pro-life community can respond to this election?

The Blame Game

It's interesting seeing people's reactions to the election results. A lot of people want to find a scapegoat. Within 24 hours of voting for the man, many conservatives were bashing John McCain. Fox News reported that sources in the McCain campaign were blaming Sarah Palin for the loss and portraying her as an idiot. And of course, everybody points the finger at George W. Bush, which is nothing new.
While there certainly were failures that need to be noted, I think it's wrong to find someone to whom we pass the blame. Rather, we need to learn from our failures and the Democrats' success. We need to look at why Reagan was so successful in 1980 and 1984 and why the Republicans took the House in 1994. We can't criticize the Democrats for "throwing people under the bus" and then turn around and do it ourselves. Was McCain a perfect candidate? No. He wasn't my first choice for the nomination, and I'll admit I was a bit disappointed that he won it. However, though I may have disagreed with him on some policies, he was and is a man of honor, and was a far better option than Barack Obama. Pointing fingers gets us nowhere; we need to move ahead.
There are many Republicans out there who represent hope for the future leadership of the party and the country. In the future, we will be doing profiles on some of these Republicans to give you a better idea of where the party is going. That's where we need to look- the future. Scapegoating is not the answer.