Author Archives: rocklandrtl

1st Monday Mass for Life

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L1210449The Catholic Prolife Vicariate of Rockland holds a mass for life on the first Monday of each month at St. Francis of Assisi Church at 128 Parrott Rd. in West Nyack at 7:30 p.m.  The next mass is July 7. Everyone is welcome to come to celebrate mass and pray for an end to abortion and all your prolife intentions.

Music for the mass will be provided by Frank D’Amato from Spring Valley. Frank helped lead the singing at the recent July 4 Mass for Life and for America at the Marian Shrine. He has volunteered to offer his musical talents (singing and guitar) to any group that is planning a prolife or prayer event. You can contact him at 845-507-2580.

 

Morning of Prayer on July 4th

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On Independence Day, Catholic prolifers gathered for the annual morning of prayer for Life and for America at the Marian Shrine in Stony Point, sponsored by the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants and the Rockland County Catholic Coalition.

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Mass concelebrants Fathers Joseph Kuzhichalil, Brendan Gormley, and Nicholas Callahan

The Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and the recitation of the Rosary was followed by Mass concelebrated by Father Brendan Gormley of St. Barnabas in the Bronx, Father Joseph Kuzhichalil of St. Margaret’s in Pearl River, and Father Nicholas Callahan, who is serving at St. Catherine’s in Blauvelt while on summer break from his studies of canon law in Rome.

Lector Richard Bruno

Lector Richard Bruno

In his homily, Father Brendan spoke of the importance of those most valuable things which do not belong solely to us and have been entrusted to us to hand down: the gifts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

These treasures must be defended, often at great cost. Father read the “Letter to Jackie,” a letter from Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Shay to his 5-year-old son during the early days of World War II.

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Father Joseph reading the Gospel.

Shay, knowing he may not live to see his son grow up, speaks to the child in a letter to tell him all the important things he wants him to know. He tells  the boy that he  lives in a land of great freedom and opportunity, that he should study hard and get all the education he can, play fair, try to win but be a good loser, never be a quitter, and follow the advice of those who love him because they’ll never let him down.

Shay tells his son to love and stay close to his mother and love his grandparents and aunts, and never forget his dad.

Sadly, Shay was killed in action shortly after writing his letter. But among the advice this brave man left was this, a message for all of us on Independence Day and always: Be a good Catholic  — and you can’t help being a good American.

The lector for the mass was Richard Bruno. The music was provided by Eileen Peterson, Monica Peterson-St. John, and Frank D’Amato.

Frank D'Amato, Monica Peterson St. John, and Eileen Peterson

Frank D’Amato, Monica Peterson St. John, and Eileen Peterson

Judy Murray, Jeanmarie Grahn, Terry Anselmi, Liz O'Brien, and Ginny Gulesian

Judy Murray, Jeanmarie Grahn, Terry Anselmi, Liz O’Brien, and Ginny Gulezian

Joe Clohosey and Tony Bosico

Joe Clohosey and Tony Bosico

Supreme Court Affirms Religious Freedom

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In the “Hobby Lobby” case, the Supreme Court today struck down the Obamacare requirement that religious owners of family-owned corporations must include no-cost contraceptive/abortifacient coverage in employee health insurance.

From The Washington Post (July 8)
A Good Day for Hobby Lobby, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and Mr. Muhammed Too

From The Becket Fund, counsel for Hobby Lobby
Supreme Court Victory for Hobby Lobby and Religious Freedom

From The Hill, Helen Alvare
After Hobby Lobby, What’s Next? (the question of the Little Sisters of the Poor and nonprofit ministries)

From National Right to Life Committee
Analysis and implications of the Hobby Lobby decision. Religious employers are hardly out of the woods yet.

Supreme Court Strikes Down Law Prohibiting Prolife Free Speech

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imagesA great victory for Life and for America! In a unanimous decision today, the Supreme Court struck down a Massachusetts buffer zone law prohibiting pro-life free speech outside abortion clinics.

Mark Rienzi, professor of constitutional law at Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law and lead counsel for the sidewalk counselor who brought the suit stated: “Americans have the freedom to talk to whomever they please on public sidewalks. That includes peaceful pro-lifers like Eleanor McCullen, who just wants to offer information and help to women who would like it. The Supreme Court has affirmed a critical freedom that has been an essential part of American life since the nation’s founding.”  Read more here.

And don’t miss Sean Miller’s blog about what it’s like to be a sidewalk counselor.

Sidewalk Counseling

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Guest blogger Sean Miller

Guest blogger Sean Miller

For the past two decades, blogger Sean Miller has counseled at a number of abortion mills in New Jersey. In this post, he shares what he has learned about sidewalk counseling, “the delicate balancing act between urgency and gentleness.”

“Sidewalk Counseling”

Sidewalk counseling outside an abortion clinic – human lives are at stake, and you’re on the front lines. You may be the last lifeline of hope for a pregnant woman as she approaches the building to abort her child. She and those with her tend to be in a fragile state, wrestling with conflicting emotions. Things can happen quickly.

Knowing what to say and how to say it is of utmost importance. It can make the difference between a person accepting your help or walking away.

If you’re considering becoming a part of this important work, I’d like to share with you a few of the important things I’ve learned. I’ve been counseling for 20 years now. And just like anything else, the more experience one has … well, it never gets easy, but it does get less difficult.

The Approach

How should you approach a couple who are seeking an abortion?

First, It’s important to understand where they’re coming from. Their emotions are in turmoil, overwhelming and volatile.

Internally, they’ve been going through a battle between what they’re tempted to do and what they should do. And now that they’ve decided to come to the abortion facility, many of them feel the question of whether or not to go through with the abortion has been resolved.

At this point, they just want to get this experience over with quickly so that they can get on with their lives and forget about the entire ordeal.

But, to their surprise, they see individuals on the sidewalk who appear to be standing in their way. A bunch of “religious zealots,” they think, who only want to harass them and make them feel guilty and add to the heavy burden that rests on their shoulders.

So how should we, the sidewalk counselors, respond?  Continue reading →

NY Abortion Expansion Blocked!

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The attempt to expand abortion — the “10th-point” of the Women’s Equality Act (WEA) — was again blocked this year in the New York state legislature.

Thank you everyone who made phone calls, wrote letters, sent postcards, talked up the issue, and organized your friends to become involved. We held off the attempts of pro-abortion advocates to ram this bill through the state legislature once again.

And a special thanks to Sen. Co-Majority Leader Dean Skelos, N. Rockland Senator William Larkin, and all the representatives in the Senate and Assembly who courageously stood up for Life.

Here’s how it happened.

In a replay of last year’s vote on the WEA, the Assembly (in January) passed the full WEA which included the abortion expansion measure. (Rockland representatives Ellen Jaffe, Ken Zebrowski and Jim Skoufis all voted in favor.)

However, the Senate did not take a vote on the abortion plank but did pass the rest of the WEA measures last week.

In view of the Senate’s action, several members of the Assembly pressed the body to take a re-vote on what they passed in January — voting on their 10 issues separately this time, so at least the 9 passed by the Senate could become law.

But the Assembly held to their “all or nothing” approach — insisting that the abortion plank was an integral part of the package. As a result, the entire WEA went down to defeat.  Unfortunately, the anti-human-trafficking bill and the other  8 bills protecting women’s rights did not become law.

The “boss bill” was not brought up for vote in the Senate and so did not become law even though it was passed earlier by the Assembly, again with Jaffe, Zebrowski, and Skoufis voting for it.

Supporters of abortion expansion say they will make the defeat of the WEA a major issue in the fall election, targeting prolife senators.

NYS Senate Still at Work

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The NYS Assembly adjourned yesterday, as scheduled, and held fast to their 10-point Women’s Equality Agenda. The good news: the abortion expansion legislation will not become law. The bad news: neither will any of nine points.

The Senate continued to work into the night, reconvened this morning — and is still working away passing bills at this hour (8 p.m.)

As soon as they adjourn and the legislative session is officially closed, we will have a story on what took place regarding legislation with prolife implications over the past few days.

Senate Passes More Women’s Rights Bills — But No Abortion

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Today the NYS Senate completed action on all the bills in its Women’s Equality Agenda.  The Senate version is comprised of 9 separate bills – -and it does not include the abortion expansion measure (the controversial “10th point”).

Passed today were bills to  stop sexual harassment at work, remove barriers to remedying discrimination, and allowing for electronic filing of orders of protection.

All bills have been sent to the Assembly.  So far, the Assembly — under pressure from abortion supporters and unwilling to separate the other issues from the abortion plank — has refused to take up the bills separately. Thursday is the last day of the legislative session, and if the Assembly does not act on the Senate bills at that time, none of them will become law.

Today, five members from the the Concerned Clergy for Choice called on the legislature to pass of the full 10-point WEA with the controversial abortion expansion measusre.

But an editorial in the today’s Daily News calls the abortion plank of the WEA for what it is:  From its genesis — above all, by forcing an abortion litmus test on legislators — the Women’s Equality Act was a nakedly political creation.

New Bill: Refuse to Pay for Abortifacient Drugs? That’s Discrimination in NY

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Today the NYS Assembly passed the so-called “Boss Bill,” a dangerous piece of legislation that would prevent a religious employer from refusing to provide health insurance that included coverage of birth control and abortifacient drugs because that would be a form of discrimination against women. It also says that employees must be protected from discrimination for the reproductive health decisions they make.

The bill was was sponsored by Rockland Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, and Rockland Assemblyman Jim Skoufis was one of the co-sponsors.

Advocates are pressing the Senate to vote on this bill before the legislative session closes on Thursday.