Archbishop Flynn, Why Won't You
Talk With The Priest Our Holy Father Calls
The "Apostle of Life"?
Your Excellency,
We must respectfully
ask: Just what is going on?! Has your staff not informed you of calls from
Father Paul Marx? From Father John Hardon? Of the letters and calls from
Human Life International (HLI)
supporters to your office?
For months we have
requested a meeting with you, any time, any place. The answer from your
staff is always no.
Now, acting solely on
the basis of inflammatory, incomplete, and libelous materials provided by
the enemies of Life, you have labeled us as "bigots." You refuse to honor
your promise to join us for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. You refuse to
talk with us. We have no choice but to use this extraordinary (and
expensive) means to get through to you. (Frankly, we'd rather spend this
money to save babies.)
We know what you were
shown, Your Excellency.
First, you were given a
paid advertisement from the Cincinnati Enquirer attacking
HLI. Did you know the names of the
groups behind the ad? Curiously, the names of the signers were deleted
from the copy you were given. Planned Parenthood, which has named pro-life
champion Father Marx "public enemy number one," was prominent among them.
Did you know that the ad's signers included such radical pro-abortion
organizations as Catholics for a Free Choice, the Lesbian Avengers, the
National Organization for Women, and the National Abortion Rights Action
League?
Second, you saw a
defamatory column by Monsignor George Higgins. Did you know that Msgr.
Higgins is a dissenter to Humanae Vitae? Did you know that his false
allegation of "anti-Semitism" originated with a 1994 Planned Parenthood
hit piece on HLI and is concocted out of
misquotes? Even Sacred Scripture can be twisted to say "There is no God"—
if one deceitfully leaves out "The fool says in his heart...." (Psalm
14:1)
Third, you saw a
fragment of a chapter from Father Marx's 1987 book, Confessions of a
Pro-life Missionary. If you had read the whole you would have found
Father lamenting the low birth rate of Jews, and urging "pro-life
Jews...to form specifically Jewish pro-life organizations, and to take
back the leadership of the Jewish community from the pro-abortionists. By
doing this you will not only help save millions of non-Jewish babies, you
may well help save the Jewish nation...." Are these the words of an
anti-Semite?
Had you taken our
calls, or agreed to meet with one of our priests, you would have learned
of HLI's JUDEA program to save Jewish
babies in Israel from abortion. We would have described our
Judeo-Christian Pro-Life Alliance, an ecumenical effort to promote the
Culture of Life. We would have invited you to hear the pro-life Jewish
speakers who will be addressing our 16th World Conference at the Radisson
Hotel South in Bloomington from April 16-20.
Your Excellency, this
misinformation about Human Life
International is nothing but a smokescreen. The real conflict here is
between the Culture of Life and the Culture of Death. On one side stand
those — Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants, Muslims and Jews alike— who
are ready to defend the sanctity of life. On the other are those who
promote destruction of life in the name of "choice."
You must take your
proper place in this great struggle, Your Excellency. We beg you to join
us in celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as you promised, and not
abandon your faithful to pray somewhere else. We beg you to tone down your
rhetoric. Pro-abortion anarchists, gay activists, and radical feminists
already threaten demonstrations against the thousands of peaceful
pro-lifers who will assemble with us next week. Please don't contribute
further to this climate of hate and intolerance by repeating slanders that
are not true. Please don't abandon your sheep to the lies and violence of
the Culture of Death.
Sincerely Yours In
Christ,
Human Life International
And Our Friends and
Supporters Around the World
"You Have Much
Experience...
You Are Doing the Most Important Work On Earth."
Pope John Paul II to Father Paul Marx, 1979
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