Author Archives: rocklandrtl

40 Days for Life: Week 1

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“Those 40 Days for Life people don’t have enough sense to come in out of the cold.”

You wonder how many people passing by in their cars might have been thinking that about us as we stood praying on Perlman Drive this week.

It’s been quite a couple of days weather-wise.  Our signs bent in the wind, the banners flapped furiously. Driving rains beat down and on two days the temperatures nosedived to near-record levels. It snowed.

And yet, there we were. Praying our way through the first week of our vigil to end abortion.

Yeah, it looked crazy. But if you really care about something, you take a little risk, you do crazy things.

How about the thousands of fans who fill football stadiums in subfreezing weather? Or all the  New Year’s celebrants who wait in the cold all afternoon in Times Square just to be there when the ball descends at midnight. Or the massive crowds who stood on security check lines for hours at Central Park just get a glimpse of Pope Francis passing by. Do you think they would gone away if it rained?

It’s about caring, ultimately.

It drives you to do things that others consider crazy. For us it’s keeping a commitment to pray, in public, for 40 days, no matter what. Ending abortion is just that important. It’s our way of showing how much we care.

And if our message can somehow move our world even the tiniest bit away from abortion — what’s a little bit of discomfort. No big deal!

Please join this peaceful  campaign of prayer and fasting.

9 a.m. to 6 p.m. — Perlman Drive, Spring Valley (on public property)

6 p.m. to 9 a.m. — Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel at St. Gregory Barbarigo Church, 21 Cinder Rd., in Garnerville.

For information call 845-429-6709.

40 Days of Life — Day 1

Prolife Tweet of the Week

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During Black History Month, we remember Dr. Mildred Jefferson, one of the founders of the National Right to Life Committee and president of the organization from 1975 to 1978.

She is also credited with converting Ronald Reagan to a prolife position. In a letter to Dr. Jefferson, Reagan wrote: “You have made it irrefutably clear that an abortion is the taking of a human life, I am grateful to you.”

Mildred Jefferson

 

 

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Dies

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ScaliaStatement of Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, on the death today of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia:

We are deeply saddened by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Justice Scalia steadfastly defended the right of elected lawmakers to enact laws that protect unborn children and their mothers and he often issued powerful critiques of the judicially manufactured barriers that limited such legislative efforts. Our thoughts and prayers are with Justice Scalia’s widow and family.

Day 1 — 40 Days of Life Begins

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Opening prayer

Deacon John Kelly of St. Gregory Barbarigo Church in Garnerville leads the prayers at the opening session of the Rockland 40 Days for Life on Perlman Drive in Spring Valley on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10.

The winter 40 Days of Life Campaign began on Wednesday.

Granted, it looks like a cold, lonely vigil, standing on the side of Perlman Drive in Spring Valley in February, praying for an end to abortion. And at times, it may be. But it’s a hopeful one – and a peaceful one.

The Planned Parenthood office is out of sight, far across the parking lot. There is no confrontation. We’re not even sure which of the cars entering the little strip mall is headed there.

But we hope they see us — and our message. It’s ultimately one of love and consolation: Life is a sacred gift. And that there’s help for those involved in crisis pregnancies, for whom powerlessness and impossibility may seem so overwhelming.

Please join us. Don’t be afraid. It’s not a protest. We’re there to offer up our prayers for the babies, the sorrowful parents, and all the troubled players in the tragedy that is abortion.

You may want to check this out. This did not take place here, but describes the experience in a unique and powerful way. Last Word: A Vigil — Praying the Rosary Outside Planned Parenthood.

Please join this peaceful  campaign of prayer and fasting.

9 a.m. to 6 p.m. — Perlman Drive, Spring Valley (on public property)

6 p.m. to 9 a.m. — Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel at St. Gregory Barbarigo Church, 21 Cinder Rd., in Garnerville.

For information call 845-429-6709.

Christie: Abortion for Rape/Incest May Be Self Defense

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What?? Heaven help us!

From the Daily Caller, online news publication:

“At a campaign stop in Manchester, New Hampshire, Monday, [Republican presidential candidate] Chris Christie said that abortion “can be an act of self-defense” and explained how that belief can still be consistent with a pro-life stance.“

Update (2/10/16): Chris Christie has dropped out of the presidential race.

 

40 Days of Life Starts Wednesday

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At the 40 Days for Life on Perlman Drive, Spring Valley, March 2015.

The winter 40 Days for Life begins on Ash Wednesday at 3 p.m., near the Planned Parenthood Office in Spring Valley (Perlman Drive, on public property).

Please join this peaceful international campaign of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion. 11,165 lives have been saved since its inception in 2007. 127 abortion workers have had a change of heart and quite their jobs. 64 abortion centers have closed their doors forever.  For information call 845-429-6709.

Call to Stop GOP Attacks on Prolife Stance of Cruz, Rubio

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From the prolife lobbying group, Susan B. Anthony List:

I think you’ll also be interested in reading this letter Marjorie [Dannenfelser, president of SBA List] sent to all Republican presidential campaigns. As you may have seen in the news, some campaigns and their supporters have been attacking Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio for supposedly being “too pro-life” to win. Marjorie has called for an immediate end to these outrageous attacks – which are essentially the talking points of Planned Parenthood! 

As Marjorie explains in the letter, “an attack on [these] candidates’ pro-life positions is an attack on the pro-life movement as a whole.” (I encourage you to read the letter linked above. You can also read stories about the matter from Politico, CNN, and The Weekly Standard).

Bishops Reject Abortion as Response to Microcephaly

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As a group of feminist organizations pushes abortion in the Zika virus healthcare crisis in Brazil, the Brazilian Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated the disease is “no justification whatsoever to promote abortion.”

The virus, spread by mosquitos, has been linked to an increase in microcephaly — a condition where babies are born with small heads and other complications.

“The connection between the Zika virus and microcephaly deserves special attention, even though it has not been scientifically proven,” the bishops said, as they called for a “comprehensive and effective national health policy” to fight the disease as well as “medical assistance to persons affected by the disease, especially babies with microcephaly and their families.”

For a clear, nuanced discussion of microcephaly and the situation in Brazil, please click here.

Obama’s Veto of Defunding PP Stands

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The vote to override President Obama’s veto of a bill to defund Planned Parenthood fell short of the two-thirds margin required to pass. The House of Representatives voted 241 (in favor of overriding) to 186 (against).

The “Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act” (H.R. 3762) would have denied Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading abortion provider, funding from Medicaid. Planned Parenthood performed 323,999 abortions and received $553.7 million from taxpayers in 2014 alone, according to its most recent annual report. (LifeSite News).