Author Archives: rocklandrtl

Chris Bell, Fr. Andrew Apostoli Honored at Triune Charity Ball

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At the podium, Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR, Grand Knight John Rio, and Good Counsel Home's Chris Bell at the Triune Council #2052 96th Anniversary Charity Ball.

At the podium, Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR, Grand Knight John Rio, and Good Counsel Home’s Chris Bell at the Triune Council #2052 96th Anniversary Charity Ball.

The Knights of Columbus Triune Council #2052 celebrated their 96th anniversary with a Charity Ball, held at the Colonial Manor in Norwood, N.J., on June 5. The event honored Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR, and Chris Bell of Good Counsel Homes for their dedicated years of service to so many ministries.

Knights of Columbus 4th Degree Honor Guard

Knights of Columbus 4th Degree Honor Guard

Grand Knight John Rio welcomed the guests and presented the honorees, who were escorted into the ballroom by the 4th Degree Knights of Columbus Honor Guard.

The program opened with the introduction of Fr. Apostoli by Fr. Frank Samoylo, longtime Rockland County resident, now pastor of St. Columbanus parish in Cortlandt Manor, and one of last year’s co-honorees for his work with the prolife movement.

Fr. Andrew is a member and co-founder of the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. He is a frequent host on the Eternal Word Television Network. Ordained in 1967 by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, the famous preacher and TV pioneer of the 1950s, Fr. Andrew  now works to advance the cause of the canonization of the bishop, whom he called a “great man who touched many hearts.”

In his talk, Fr. Andrew described some of the miracles attributed to the bishop, and asked the guests to pray for him to be declared a saint.

Fr. Andrew also spoke of his great devotion to Our Lady of Fatima and urged the audience to heed the Fatima message to pray the Rosary, which he said is “powerful enough to stop wars and bring peace,” and protect the Christian culture now beset by abortion, euthanasia, and attacks on religious freedom and marriage.

Fr. Apostoli, Richard Bruno, and Chris Bell

Fr. Apostoli, Richard Bruno, and Chris Bell

Next at the podium was Richard Bruno, coordinator of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Rosarians, who introduced Chris Bell, co-founder of the Good Counsel Homes for Babies and Mothers, and welcomed Chris’ wife, Joan Andrews Bell, who has been on the front lines of the prolife movement for decades,  and their son, Emiliano.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Good Counsel Homes, founded by Chris and Fr. Benedict Groeschel in 1985 to serve homeless, pregnant and parenting mothers and their babies.

Chris Bell -- A truly dedicated Apostle for Life

Chris Bell — A truly dedicated Apostle for Life

Chris began by thanking the prolife people of Rockland for their efforts to save unborn babies. He noted that over the years from the “rescues” in the 1980s — peaceful sit-ins blocking the doors of abortion clinics led by the Vicar of Rockland Msgr. Harrington  — to today’s 40 Days of Life vigils,  the number of  facilities in the county that provide surgical abortions declined from six to zero.

He also pointed out that Rockland has the lowest abortion rate in all the counties that comprise the Archdiocese of New York and attributed this to prayer and the Blessed Sacrament.

Many women who seek abortion do so under great pressure and despair, Chris said, and told the audience that many of the women who come to Good Counsel seeking help have had previous abortions because at the time, they said, it seemed they didn’t have a choice.

Good Counsel Homes offers them the choice of life for their babies and provides a program called Lumina to help women who have had abortions to heal. God’s mercy is infinite, Chris said, and to share that mercy and love of Christ with those in need is the mission of Good Counsel.

The final speaker of the evening was Rockland County Supervisor Ed Day who presented certificates of appreciation on behalf of the people of Rockland to the Triune Council’s honorees and to Good Counsel Homes on the occasion of their 30th anniversary.

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Liz O’Brien, chair of Rockland Right to Life, with Fr. Andrew and Chris Bell.

The program ended with the announcement of the council’s Knight of the Year: Kevin McGovern.

Rev. Gerry Deponai, pastor of St. Anthony’s Church in Nanuet and the chaplain emeritus of the Triune Council, said of Chris and Fr. Andrew, “The Triune Council is deeply honored to acknowledge and honor these two dedicated man of the Church!

Our Church, our nation, and the cause of life have been blesssed with their charisms.”

Photos below courtesy of Frank Traina

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Late-Term Abortion: Do You Know Where They Stand?

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candidatesgraphicMost interesting article!  A round-up of where all announced and likely-to-announce 2016 presidential candidates stand on late-term abortion legislation like the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. National Right to Life News Today puts it all together for you here, in the candidates’ own words whenever possible.

U.S. Senate to Introduce Bill Banning Abortion After 20 Weeks

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UPDATE:  THE BILL WAS INTRODUCED ON JUNE 11. See statement from National Right to Life President Carol Tobias here. Hopefully, it will come up for a vote in the Senate in the autumn.

In the wake of similar legislation which passed the U.S. House of Representatives on May 13, the Senate plans to introduce a bill this week to extend protection to unborn children who are at least 20 weeks beyond fertilization.

The bill, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, is being introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and the National Right to Life Committee is urging other senators to sign on as co-sponsors.

In a letter sent to all senators on June 1, the National RTL Committee wrote: It is now commonplace to read about evidence that, by 20 weeks fetal age and even earlier, an unborn child responds to many forms of stimuli, including music and the mother’s voice. Claims that the same child is nevertheless insensible to the violence done to her body during an abortion should engender strong skepticism. Abortions at this stage are performed using a variety of techniques, but most often by a method in which the unborn child’s arms and legs are twisted off by brute manual force, using a long stainless steel clamping tool. A medical illustration of this common method is posted here. This bill will save thousands of lives annually.

While opponents of the ban on late-term abortions say the procedure is rare, there are 275 facilities in America that offer abortions past 20 weeks.

Wednesday: Historic Vote to Ban Painful, Late Abortions

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UnbornPain050815On Wednesday, May 13, the U.S. House of Representatives will take up a landmark pro-life bill that, if enacted, will save thousands of unborn children each year from a painful death.

The bill, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, would protect unborn children from abortion, beginning at 20 weeks – nationwide.   By this point in development (and indeed even earlier), the unborn child is capable of experiencing great pain during an abortion.  This federal bill was developed on the basis of model legislation developed by National Right to Life, which has been enacted so far in 11 states.

Please email, call, or write to Nita Lowey, who represents Rockland in the House of Representatives. Ask her to please vote for H.R36, Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.

You can briefly cite one of the reasons from “Fetal Pain: The Evidence,” from the Doctors on Fetal Pain website.

To send an email to Rep. Lowey click here. 

Phone:  202-225-6506

Address:
Rep. Nita Lowey
2365 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Great News from Albany: Denial of Treatment Bills Withdrawn

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albanyThe four bills that would have seriously weakened the decision-making rights of patients and their surrogates have been withdrawn from consideration in the NYS Senate Health Committee. This legislation (S4791, S4794, S4795, S4796), introduced by Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-SD6), was strongly opposed by New York State Right to Life Committee and was the focus of their Lobby for Life Day in Albany last week, which drew over 250 protesters. New York State Right to Life thanks everyone who made calls and sent messages to their senators urging opposition of these bills. We must be vigilant and stand up against such laws as we continue to defend life from conception to natural death.

“Anti-Discrimination” Means RTL Must Hire Abortion Advocates??

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Late on April 30, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.J. Res. 43, a resolution to overturn the “Reproductive Health Nondiscrimination Amendment Act (RHNDA), a local law passed by the District of Columbia’s city council.

The National Right to Life Committee strongly supported the resolution to stop the RHNDA Act. The vote was 228-192.

Unfortunately, the Senate chose not to vote on the resolution, so the RHNDA took effect over the weekend in D.C.

Under RHNDA, prolife Washington, DC,-based employers (like the National Right to Life Committee) could be forced to hire people who advocate for abortion because not to do so would be “discrimination.”

Under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, Congress has the right to review and overturn laws created by the city council.

Rep. Nita Lowy, who represents Rockland County in the House of Representatives, voted to uphold the RHNDA Act.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), announced candidate for the presidency in 2016, released a statement urging his colleages in the Senate to strike down the RHNDA, and a spokesperson for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky), also a candidate, wrote in an email to CQ Roll Call on Monday that “Sen. Paul has always been strongly opposed to the government usurping the constitutional rights of American citizens, and will continue to fight to preserve our nation’s religious freedom.”

Lobby for Life Day — Standing Up for the Medically Vulnerable

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Liz O'Brien, Jeanmarie Grahn, and Judy Murray from Rockland Right to Life outside the Senate Chamber in Albany at Lobby for Life Day.

Liz O’Brien, Jeanmarie Grahn, and Judy Murray from Rockland Right to Life outside the Senate Chamber in Albany at Lobby for Life Day.

Opposing legislation to legalize physician-assisted suicide in New York and a separate package of bills that would deny treatment to the medically vulnerable received top priority at New York Right to Life’s Lobby for Life Day, held at the Capitol in Albany on April 29.

Over 250 prolifers from all around New York State came to a rally at the state house and to meet with their legislators about the dangerous implications of these bills.

Rockland Right to Life was represented by Liz O’Brien, chairperson, of Upper Nyack; Jeanmarie Grahn, secretary, of New City,  and member Judy Murray, also of New City. They discussed the legislation with the two senators representing Rockland, Sen. Bill Larkin (R-SD 39) and Sen. David Carlucci (D-SD 38). Continue reading →

Bills to Deny Medical Treatment Introduced in New York Senate

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Four bills regarding the denial of life-preserving medical treatment  have been introduced to the New York State Senate by Kemp Hannon (R-6th SD), chair of the Senate Committee on Health.

These bills would weaken the safeguards currently in place for the very ill and developmentally disabled patients.

Below you’ll find the “Opposition Memo” from the New York State Right to Life Committee, who strongly opposes these measures and has fought for years to protect from euthanasia those who can no longer make health decisions for themselves. The links will take you to the text of the bills. Continue reading →

Kansas Gov. Signs Law Banning Dismemberment Abortions

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ThankyouBrownbackre

This morning Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas signed into law a bill banning abortions in which the unborn child is dismembered. The new law was based on model legislation drafted by the National Right to Life Committee. It’s being considered in other states as well. Like partial-birth abortion ban, the Kansas law will make it clear to the American people how brutal abortion is. The ensuing debate could have the power to transform the landscape of abortion policy in the U.S. Read more about it here.

UPDATE:  April 14 — Oklahoma Becomes Second State to Ban Dismemberment Abortions

UPDATE: June 25 — Judge Halts Kansas Ban on Dismemberment Abortions Tearing Babies Limb From Limb