Mandela; Pope Francis and abortion; Fisher More College

Matt C. Abbott
December 11, 2013
© Matt C. Abbott
Reproduced with Permission
Renew America

An excellent statement was issued by Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., regarding the death of Nelson Mandela:

Many people around the world and in our own nation are mourning the loss of former South African President Nelson Mandela. Indeed there is much to admire in Mandela's long life and public service, particularly his personal courage and his stalwart defense of human rights.

There is part of President Mandela's legacy, however, that is not at all praiseworthy, namely his shameful promotion of abortion in South Africa. In 1996 Mandela promoted and signed into law the 'Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Bill' that, according to The New York Times, 'replaced one of the world's toughest abortion laws with one of the most liberal.'

While we pray for the peaceful repose of President Mandela's immortal soul and the forgiveness of his sins, we can only regret that his noble defense of human dignity did not include the youngest members of our human family, unborn children.

(A version of the following article originally appeared at Catholic Online.)

In his apostolic exhortation The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis writes:

Among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenseless and innocent among us. Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this. Frequently, as a way of ridiculing the Church's effort to defend their lives, attempts are made to present her position as ideological, obscurantist and conservative. Yet this defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development. Human beings are ends in themselves and never a means of resolving other problems. Once this conviction disappears, so do solid and lasting foundations for the defense of human rights, which would always be subject to the passing whims of the powers that be. Reason alone is sufficient to recognize the inviolable value of each single human life, but if we also look at the issue from the standpoint of faith, 'every violation of the personal dignity of the human being cries out in vengeance to God and is an offence against the creator of the individual.'

Precisely because this involves the internal consistency of our message about the value of the human person, the Church cannot be expected to change her position on this question. I want to be completely honest in this regard. This is not something subject to alleged reforms or 'modernizations.' It is not 'progressive' to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life. On the other hand, it is also true that we have done little to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them is the result of rape or a situation of extreme poverty. Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?

I'm sure that most if not all avowed pro-lifers are familiar with crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) and the wonderful work they do "behind the scenes," so to speak. There are a number of CPCs across the U.S. and in other parts of the world.

Part of me doesn't like to highlight specific CPCs because it may give the impression that those CPCs are doing better work than the others, which isn't necessarily the case. Still, I think it's good to show the overall success of CPCs in general and the vital role they play in the pro-life movement - and this can be done by highlighting a few such CPCs. Not to mention that featuring each and every CPC in the world would require writing a tome!

Living in Chicago, I know of three local CPCs that do a great deal of excellent pro-life work.

The Women's Center has been in existence since 1983 and has saved thousands of babies and assisted thousands of women and families. According to the organization's website, "We offer ongoing counseling and referral services for alternatives to abortion, as needed. We also provide over $500,000 annually in tangible assistance in clothing, food, baby goods, furniture (especially cribs and baby needs), toiletries, and other basic family needs. Over 1,000 children per year who would likely have been aborted are brought to birth because of our counselors' efforts...."

Aid for Women is another example of a fine CPC. Founded in 1978, Aid for Women "reaches out to thousands of women every year throughout the Chicago metropolitan area who find themselves in difficult and unplanned pregnancy situations. Each client is provided with compassionate and confidential counseling as well as the support and resources needed for her to choose life instead of abortion for her unborn baby."

The third example of a Chicago-area CPC is Waterleaf Women's Center, which opened a few years ago. A recent email from Waterleaf announced: "We just received word that our official 60th 'save' was born! This beautiful baby boy would have been aborted had her brave mother not opened her heart to our message. She was scared and felt pressure from her family to abort. The loving care of our client team, the ultrasound image of the life inside her, and the grace of God led her to choose life.

"We are frequently asked how many babies we have saved, and it is always tricky to answer. Unless we have knowledge that a client who was classified as abortion-minded (or leaning that way) has given birth, we do not count it. Of course, our clients frequently are too embarrassed or busy to call so the exact number is known only to God. We are grateful for each and remind ourselves that this is not a 'numbers game.' Every life is sacred."

In New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Expectant Mother Care/EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers "has served over 125,000 clients since 1985, with over 42,000 certain saves from abortion."

God bless the baby-saving, women-helping work of CPCs!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.


Informed and serious Catholics are well aware of the sorry state of Catholic higher education today. Still, there are exceptions. One such exception is Fisher More College, located in Fort Worth, Texas.

The small, four-year accredited Catholic college is committed to orthodoxy and, unlike too many other (supposedly) Catholic colleges and universities, does not tolerate and facilitate the promotion of modernism and sexual perversion.

Click here to read an interview conducted by John Vennari, editor of Catholic Family News, with Dr. Michael King, president of Fisher More College.

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