Pro-life movement motivated to protect helpless children

It is no less than a holocaust that millions of innocent babies are being killed. We were all once a baby in the womb. Would any one of us want to be aborted? All the diversion tactics do NOT change the fact that innocent defenseless babies are being killed. All the many lies that have been perpetuated by Planned Parenthood such as, "... abortion will be ever so rare..." Now we have millions of babies being mutilated in barbaric abortion procedures even to the point of late term partial birthday abortions where the baby's head is stabbed with a knife. Anyone who does not have a problem with that has something wrong with them.

IN REPLY TO (IRT)
TWMATTHEWS
POSTED ON MARCH 6, 2011 9:51 AM

IRT: “Are you trying to tell me that the Catholic church was supportive of these endeavors, especially those that clashed with faith versus science in biology (evolution), the position of the earth in the universe (astronomy) and in the medical sciences."

ANS: Science doesn’t clash with Faith. Both are by the same author, viz. God cannot contradict Himself, namely Truth doesn’t contradict Truth.

IRT: "To understand the support of science by the Catholic Church, look no further than the pope's words in 2010 -- condoms not only don't limit the spread of HIV and AIDS but contributes to the spread of the disease. Even today, with an incredible library of information contradicting those words, the Pope still believes that condoms, when used properly, won't limit the spread of STDs."

ANS: The argument is not the effectiveness of a contraceptive although their effectiveness is very debatable; the argument is that where Sex Education is promoted, abortions and sexual diseases proliferate.

Each year, U.S. teens experience as many as 850,000 pregnancies, and youth under age 25 experience about 9.1 million sexually transmitted infections By age 18, 70 percent of U.S. females and 62 percent of U.S. males have initiated vaginal sex. That's a moral crises, not a condom one.

Read all you want about contraceptives, and keep in mind the Pill, more so for teens; it is a carcinogenic. Nearly every public school in America has programs that teach Sexuality. How long has this been going on? Contraceptives don’t seem to be doing too good do they? Nor has public Sex education helped as Planned Parenthood metastasizes throughout the Public School System..

Second, it’s a matter of morality. If there are not moral restrictions, than according to the voice of the Sexual Revolutionist, one should be able to have sex indiscriminately, and with license. That's the message contraceptives proffer. We know where that has gotten our society, viz. gay marriage, high divorce rates, AIDS, HIV, and STDs epidemics, 53 million unborn dead from Abortion.

State Courts are forcing Gay Marriage down the throats of America and 9.1 million are infected, 1.3 million abortions per year in America.

Seventy percent of Black pregnancies are conceived out of wedlock. The Pope is telling you something. Are you too deaf to listen? Planned Parenthood the largest abortion providers and contraceptive providers in the world. Tax payers are paying the over $300 million to kill our prodigies and posterity. The contraceptive mentality is prevailing, and you want more?

Some 59.8% of Black abortions occur in New York City per year. You think Blacks are so stupid, that they never heard of contraceptives? Ever wonder why is Planned Parenthood targeting Black neighborhoods with their aboratoriums if condoms are working?

As a U.S. Citizen, & under The 1st Amendment, Fr. Frank Pavone has the right to free speech, including political speech & speech critical of the govt., the right to petition, free exercise of religion & the freedom of association so please don't confuse the facts & try to deny him his rights on the basis of he being a Catholic priest. When the government won't protect it's citizen's their unalienable right to life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness who will speak up for us? It's usually those citizens and religious leaders whose beliefs involve a Loving God & the dignity of the human person. (Martin Luther King for example).

IN REPLY TO (IRT)
TWMATTHEWS
POSTED ON MARCH 6, 2011 9:51 AM
“THE CHURCH AND SCIENCE”

IRT: “For most of the people that you've cited, the dominant religion was Christianity so it comes as no surprise that most would be Christian.”

ANS: Isn't that the point? Do you read what you write? Namely, “What makes you think religion and reason have even a glancing acquaintance? Is it reasonable to fight against virtually every scientific advancement including seeding understanding?"

ANS: That list you left out traces the Catholic Church’s a.k.a. religious involvement in Science, its promotion, and prominence in science from the Second Century to now. Her Universities in the world are more than all the other Universities combined. She is the vanguard of education because the more you are educated, the more you’ll become a Catholic, namely become informed of the truth. The true individual, one who is in accord with reason, seeks the truth. Truth is the food of the intellect. Since the Church was founded by Jesus, who is God, the universal teachings of the Church are infallible.

"The Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences during its various decades of activity, has had 34 Nobel Prize winners amongst its members. Many were appointed members of the Academy before they received this prestigious international award."

As a member of the Vatican’s council, Dr. Jerome Lejeune was one of Pope John Paul II’s counselors on the study of Man.

As "The Father of Modern Genetics, Lejeune won the Kennedy Medal; and received the Memorial Allen Award, the world's highest award for work in the field of Genetics. The troglodytes says his award winning work is just an opinion though it's backed by nearly every credible scientists in the field.

Dr. Lejeune was a member of the American Academy of the Arts and Science, a member of the Royal Society of Medicine in London, The Royal Society of Science in Stockholm, the Science Academy in Italy and Argentina, and The Academy of Medicine in France.

You also might know that Copernicus was a Catholic prelate whose uncle was a Bishop who paid for his education in a Catholic University. Copernicus was never in trouble for his theories. Galileo was supporting Copernicus’s theory. Galileo's problem wasn't in Science.

IN REPLY TO (IRT)
TWMATTHEWS
POSTED MARCH 6, 2011 9:51 AM
GALILEO

IRT: “I left out your complete list in my foolishness because I must have forgotten all the support the Catholic church provided Galileo. I just didn't remember how active the Catholic Church was in such scientific endeavors as blood transfusions, use of cadavers to under human anatomy."

ANS: I knew as soon Galileo was mentioned what your response would be. All preconceived antagonists are predictable. They are all emblematic of group of Secularist cenobites viz. your minds all cohabitating in the same train that’s on a one-way track, incapable of turning around, and headed for oblivion at the end of the track because you have no other way to go.

If you have a faulty memory, try reading this link below on Galileo, that is, if truth has any meaning to you. I’ll bet you haven’t a clue what the dispute between the Church and Galileo was, that is, without looking it up, and even then you may still not get it. Actually, Galileo was a good friend of the Church; She thought very highly of him.

http://www.traditioninaction.org/History/A_003_Galileo.html

G. K. Chesterton said those who are too otiose to do their research have a syndrome called “The Lazy Brain Syndrome" (LBS).” The LBSs don’t do the research because they really don’t want to risk the chance of being wrong, or they think they're so astute there’s not a need to check things out; others just seek information that agrees with their preconceptions.

The wise always check the facts; they think before they leap. It looks like you’ve leaped before thinking. A word to the wise should be sufficient. What LBSs do is repeat like poly parrots things that they want to hear, or they chase the information that suits their proclivities.

This isn't the only link; there are many who point out the same errors your presumption make. A similar preconceived perception exists with the aristarchian anti-Christian pundits about the Dark Ages, there was no Darkness, in fact, there was an Enlightenment.

redcloak2001,

Are you honestly so thick that you can't understand how tax-exempt status translates to taxpayer support?

If that's the case, then it's not worth trying to explain anything to you.

Fr. Frank, as you wrote it couldn't be any simpler than who gets to decide who is & who is not a human being.

"They are motivated by one simple but overwhelming purpose: to protect helpless children."

New York (CNN) -- Attorneys said they will announce a new lawsuit Monday against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which has been the subject of a two-year grand jury investigation into claims officials ignored and covered up sex crimes against children.
"The Lawsuit will allege that Archdiocese officials conspired to endanger the safety of the Plaintiff when they actively concealed their knowledge of (a) priest's previous offenses, lied to parishioners, and created a sham sexual abuse victim assistance program for the Archdiocese," according to a news release announcing the lawsuit.
In addition to the plaintiff, the lawsuit names seven parties in the complaint, including the archdiocese; Cardinal Justin Rigali, the current archbishop; Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, a former archbishop; and Monsignor William Lynn, a former top aide to Bevilacqua.
The suit accuses the defendants of conspiracy to endanger children, fraudulent concealment and actual fraud. Last week, a victims' rights organization called for further investigation of Bevilacqua, claiming records show that he ignored and covered up sex crimes against children "from the earliest days of his career."
Bevilacqua, now 87 and reportedly in ill health, was one of the subjects of a two-year Philadelphia grand jury investigation that ended about three weeks ago. The grand jury -- despite determining there was "no doubt" Bevilacqua "endangered thousands of children in the Philadelphia Archdiocese" by his actions while archbishop, according to a grand jury report -- declined "for now" to press charges against him.
. The documents obtained by the victims' organization "essentially show that from the earliest days of his career, Bevilacqua has ignored and concealed child sex crimes," said David Clohessy, the assisted in the priest's transfer from New York to St. Louis. group's national director.
The documents indicate that while serving as an auxiliary bishop in Brooklyn, New York, Bevilacqua knew of incidents involving a priest, failed to inform the authorities, and

Part II:

The former priest, Romano Ferraro, is now serving a life sentence for raping a child in Massachusetts.
"Father Ferraro claims that his major problem is with boys 13 to 15 years of age," Bevilacqua wrote in the 1977 document, followed by a reference to a molestation accusation from Ferraro's time as a Navy chaplain. "The one in the Navy involved a 13 to 15 year old boy and it involved the incident of touching one boy in bed."
Ferraro was also accused of grabbing "one of the young boys twice" and then trying "to engage 2 of the other boys to a conversation and discussion on their masturbatory practices," according to a handwritten letter that indicates that Bevilacqua received a copy.
According to the documents released by prosecutors, Ferraro was placed in psychological treatment and transferred to St. Louis, where he was again accused of molesting boys. He was later denied any more positions within the Diocese of Brooklyn.
While Bevilacqua was not charged, three priests and a parochial school teacher were charged with raping and assaulting boys in their care, and Lynn was accused of allowing the abusive priests to have access to children.
Lynn, who served as the secretary for clergy for Bevilacqua, was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the alleged assaults, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said earlier this month.
From 1992 until 2004, Lynn was responsible for investigating reports that priests had sexually abused children, the district attorney's office said.
The grand jury found that Lynn, 60, endangered children by knowingly allowing dangerous priests to continue in the ministry in roles in which they had access to kids.

The earth, I am told, is not flat. Word to RCC.

You said, "Don’t be so foolish, do your homework. The Catholic Church was the forerunner in Science. Copernicus, Galileo,"

I left out your complete list in my foolishness because I must have forgotten all the support the Catholic church provided Galileo. I just didn't remember how active the Catholic Church was in such scientific endeavors as blood transfusions, use of cadavers to under human anatomy.

For most of the people that you've cited, the dominant religion was Christianity so it comes as no surprise that most would be Christian. But, are you trying to tell me that the Catholic church was supportive of these endeavors, especially those that clashed with faith versus science in biology (evolution), the position of the earth in the universe (astronomy) and in the medical sciences.

To understand the support of science by the Catholic church, look no further than the pope's words in 2010 -- condoms not only don't limit the spread of HIV and AIDS but contributes to the spread of the disease.

Even today, with an incredible library of information contradicting those words, the Pope still believes that condoms, when used properly, won't limit the spread of STD's.

Haveaheart: The Catholic Church's money is their's, not yours. It should make no difference whether they pay taxes or not. They don't receive money from the government unlike Planned (sic) Parenthood. What is in question is whether my and your tax dollars should be used to fund an organization that supports teenage prostitution, illegal immigration and statutory rape.

IN REPLY TO (IRT)
TWMATTHEW
TRUTH CANNOT CONTRADICT TRUTH

IRT: “What makes you think religion and reason have even a glancing acquaintance?

ANS: Because both come from God, and God is Truth and Truth cannot contradict Truth.

IRT: “ Is it reasonable to fight against virtually every scientific advancement including seeding understanding?”

ANS: Don’t be so foolish, do your homework. The Catholic Church was the forerunner in Science. Copernicus, Galileo,
The names for three different kinds of electrical measure: amps, volts, and coulombs, come from the surnames of three Catholic scientists Here is a list of Christian and Catholic Scientist from the Second Century to Now.
CHARLES COULOMB
ANDRÉ MARIE AMPERE
ALESSANDRO VOLTA
BEDE, THE VENERABLE - Naturalist
POPE SILVESTER II) - math and astronomy
HERMANNUS CONTRACTUS - Wrote on geometry, mathematics, and the astrolabe.
ROBERT GROSSETESTE - Bishop of Lincoln in Oxford. on the mathematical sciences of optics, astronomy and geometry
POPE JOHN XXI- He wrote the widely used medical text before becoming Pope.
ALBERTUS MAGNUS Patron saint of scientists in Catholicism who may have been the first to isolate arsenic
ROGER BACON) presented as one of the earliest advocates of the modern scientific method.
THEODORIC OF FREIBERG Dominican Astrology
THOMAS BRADWARDINE) Mechanics
JEAN BURIDAN - Catholic priest who developed the theory of impetus, and modern concept of inertia.
NICOLE ORESME- Theologian and Bishop studies in curvature of light through atmospheric refraction
NICHOLAS OF CUSA – Cardinal studies in infinitesimal and of relative motion and anticipated Copernicus’ heliocentric world-view.
IGNAZIO DANTI- Bishop of Alatri a mathematician
RENÉ DESCARTES - Descartes was one of the key thinkers of the Scientific Revolution in the Western World. the Cartesian coordinate system used in plane geometry and algebra named after him.
GIOVANNI BATTISTA RICCIOLI -astronomer. f acceleration of a freely falling body.
ATHANASIUS KIRCHER
(1602-1680) – Jesuit Medecine“One of the first to observe microbes through a microscope, suggesting effective measures to prevent the spread of the disease. Kircher has been compared to Leonardo da Vinci for his inv
These are only a few of Christian leaders in Science:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_thinkers_in_science
JOHN PHILOPONUS
LEO THE MATHEMATICIAN
HUNAYN IBN ISHAQ Ten Treatises on Ophthalmology
POPE SYLVESTER II mathematics and astronomy
HERMANN OF REICHENAU = mathematics astronomy
WILLIAM OF CONCHES Naturalism
WILLIAM OF CONCHES
JOHANNES KEPLER
FRANCIS BACON
BLAISE PASCAL
ROBERT BOYLE
GOTTFRIED LEIBNIZ
ISAAC NEWTON
GREGOR MENDEL
GREGOR MENDEL
MAX PLANCK
FRANCIS COLLINS-Wikipedia

“THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE FOR AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN IS IN THE WOMB”.

Abortion is Black Genocide, as it was Jewish Genocide for Nazi Germany. Jesse Jackson, when it was not politically expedient to promote Abortion, said, “Abortion, is Black Genocide." Bill Cosby campaigning to mitigate the total annihilation of the Black race, said on several TV appearances that "seventy percent of Black pregnancies occur outside of wedlock." Blacks wake up!

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/billboard-opposing-abortion-stirs-debate/

A billboard a half-mile from a Planned Parenthood (PP) center, claimed that “THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE FOR AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN IS IN THE WOMB."

PP is being subsidized by the Federal Government to murder unborn Children. Some 43 million abortions occur worldwide. The America government provides family planning services, an oxymoron, (it doesn't plan families it prevents them) to China.

"Congress recently appropriated $34 million for the United Nations Population Fund, the organization that provides family planning services, such as birth control and abortion, to developing nations. Among these nations is China, a nation whose "family plan" is a one-couple, one-child policy."

NY city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in its summary of 2009 vital statistics, recently reported an overall abortion rate of 41 percent (excluding miscarriages) in the city. THE RATE AMONG NON-HISPANIC BLACK WOMEN WAS “59.8” PERCENT.

“Our future is in jeopardy as a genocidal plot is carried out through abortion,” Mr. Broden, who is black, said in a statement on the group’s Web site.

http://www.lifenews.com/2010/12/16/planned-parenthood-gets-363m-in-tax-money-abortions-rise/

"The Planned Parenthood Federation of America finally released its 2008-2009 Annual report detailing its financial figures. The report shows it received more government funding, which has translated into more abortions.

"The [World's] largest abortion business released a factsheet in September showing the number of abortions it performed in 2008 increased to 324,008, a 6.1 percent increase over the 305,310 abortions it did in 2007.

"The total government grants and contracts received by PPFA affiliates from government sources was $363 million..

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=26220

Black Leaders Condemn PP's Racism
by Ericka Andersen 04/25/2008

"Margaret Sanger, a noted anti-Semite and racist and FOUNDER OF PP, often said that we must “EXTERMINATE THE NEGRO POPULATION.”

"Black America must wake up and stand up to this racist organization that target aboratoriums firmly in Black and Minority neighborhoods -- sometimes, right next door to schools,” said Day Gardner, President of the National Black Pro-Life Union (NBPLU)." Our government has become a major provider for the flesh mongers.

"There are a lot of reasons why the number of abortions and STDs has not significantly declined. Blaming PP is overly simplistic in my view."

o Bottom Line #1: The failures of the widely used birth "control" methods i.e. the pill and male condom promoted by Planned Parenthood and distributed by said group have led to the large rate of abortions ( one million/yr) and STDs (19 million/yr) in the USA. Men and women must either recognize their responsibilities by using the pill or condoms properly and/or use other methods in order to reduce the epidemics of abortion and STDs.

Bottom line #2-

Currently, a perfect barrier birth control system does not exist. Time to develop one! Obviously, Planned Parenthood has no clue on how to do this. In the meantime, monomasturbation or mutual masturbation are highly recommended for hete-rose-xuals who need a contraceptive.

Abstinence is another best-solution but obviously the sex drive typically vitiates this option although being biological would it not be able to develop a drug to temporarily eliminate said drive?
Why hasn't Planned Parenthood made this one of their goals?

TTWSYFAMDGGAHJMJ1:
RELIGION IN ACCORD WITH REASON IS THE DISCIPLINE AGAINST THE LICENSE OF UNRESTRAINED GOVERNMENT.

What makes you think religion and reason have even a glancing acquaintance?

Is it reasonable to fight against virtually every scientific advancement including seeding understanding?

RELIGION IN ACCORD WITH REASON IS THE DISCIPLINE AGAINST THE LICENSE OF UNRESTRAINED GOVERNMENT.

When government is separated from God, a practical materialism exudes which gives priority to the satisfaction of personal pleasure over respect for those who are weak, and which ends by considering life worthwhile only to the extent that it is productive and enjoyable. Suffering is considered useless, Sacrifice for the sake of others is thought unjustified. Underlying all this is a loss of the sense of God. But "when the sense of God is lost, there is also a tendency to lose the sense of man.

Among the duties which the moral law prescribes are some which are directly concerned with God Himself, and as such are of supreme importance. Where morality is divorced from religion, reason will enable a man to recognize the ideal to which his nature points, simply because these laws are inscribed in Human Nature. Thus, man naturally recognizes such proscriptions of murder, theft and lying.

However, much will be wanting. He will disregard some of his most essential duties. He will, further, be destitute of the strong motives for obedience to the law afforded by the sense of obligation to God and the knowledge of the tremendous sanction attached to its neglect — motives which experience has proved to be necessary as a safeguard against the influence of the passions.

First there is a denunciation of the proliferation and increased intensity of threats to life, especially when life is weak and defenseless at its very beginning and at its end, viz. abortion, immoral experimentation on human embryos, euthanasia.

There is a clear description of the unprecedented and specific features of these crimes against life. In public opinion they are claimed to be rights based on individual freedom. There is an inevitable trend toward their recognition in law. They are carried out with an inclination to corrupt medical science in order to give substance to this ignominy.

This involves a distortion of society's nature and purpose and of the constitutional state itself: Democracy, if detached from its moral foundations and linked to an unlimited ethical relativism, risks becoming the pretext for a war of the stronger against the weaker; the roles of health care personnel tend to be subverted. Instead of respectful service of life, they lend themselves to actions which bring about death.

The causes of this "culture of death" which threatens man and civilization are traced to a perverse idea of freedom, which is seen as disconnected from any reference to truth and objective good, and which asserts itself in an individualistic way, without the constitutive link of relationships with others.

Why is life a good? Why is it always a good? The answer is simple and clear, because it is a gift from the Creator, who breathed into man the divine breath, thus making the human person the image of God. Hence life becomes sacred, lifted up above all the created Universe

Yeal9, "By their failure to reduce the number of abortions and cases of STDs in the last 35 years, however, they have shown that they cannot do the job they promised and therefore should get no more government money or support from the private sector."

Hmmm. So we have failed to stop the use of illegal drugs -- should we remove those laws from the books. We've failed to be in the top 25 countries for high school performance in science and math -- shall we do away will all teachers and schools?

During the 60's and 70's crime increased significantly. Should we fire all police departments?

Did you ever think that maybe the restrictions placed on Planned Parenthood, by a conservative congress, leads to increases in both abortions and STD's? Is it possible that an emphasis on abstinence, similar to Nancy Reagan's "Just say no" campaign is essentially useless?

There are a lot of reasons why the number of abortions and STDs has not significantly declined. Blaming PP is overly simplistic in my view.

EVEN ABORTIONIST KNOW YOU ARE TAKING AN INNOCENT LIFE.

Time Magazine admitted the conceived was a human life but said that there are times when there is a need to take an innocent life. Yeah, who makes that decision? Terri Schiavo or her parents had no say in the matter, so her ex-husband had a couple of former Hemlock Society members murder her by dehydration and starvation. She suffered excruciating pain for 14 days a death if done to a dog would land you in jail.

The Court, without substance decided there are no inviolable rights the Court can't violate. Hence unborn became things, could be destroyed at the whim of the mother, and so the unborn’s flesh became a commodity on the open market.

Every new life begins at conception. This is an irrefutable fact of biology. It is true for animals and true for humans. When considered alongside the law of biogenesis – that every species reproduces after its own kind – we can draw only one conclusion in regard to abortion. No matter what the circumstances of conception, no matter how far along in the pregnancy, abortion always ends the life of an individual innocent human being. Every honest abortion advocate concedes this simple fact.

Faye Wattleton, Planned Parenthood's longest reigning president of the largest abortion provider in the world said that everyone already knows that abortion kills. From Ms. Magazine:

"I think we have deluded ourselves into believing that people don't know that abortion is killing. So any pretense that abortion is not killing is a signal of our ambivalence, a signal that we cannot say yes, it kills a fetus."

Naomi Wolf, feminist author and abortion supporter, writes: "Clinging to a rhetoric about abortion in which there is no life and no death, we entangle our beliefs in a series of self-delusions, fibs and evasions. And we risk becoming precisely what our critics charge us with being: callous, selfish and casually destructive men and women who share a cheapened view of human life...we need to contextualize the fight to defend abortion rights within a moral framework that admits that the death of a fetus is a real death."

David Boonin, in his book, "A Defense of Abortion," admits, "There is no doubt in my mind that this sonogram shows [my son] at a very early stage in his physical development. And there is no question that the position I defend in this book entails that it would have been morally permissible to end his life at this point."

Peter Singer, contemporary philosopher and public abortion advocate, writes, "There is no doubt that from the first moments of its existence an embryo conceived from human sperm and eggs is a human being. Then defends having his son murdered.

How glib and cavalier is the attitude of these cold-hearted insensitive misanthropes, who defend murdering their own children, who kill the defenseless with impunity. Those who support Abortion are no different than the murderers.

Father Pavone's idea of protecting children apparently only applies to unborn ones and his statement "Human life needs protection now. Freedom of belief should never be confused with freedom to destroy others" rings hollow:

PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The New York Times

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
Published: March 4, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — Three weeks after a scathing grand jury report accused the Philadelphia Archdiocese of providing safe haven for as many as 37 priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse or inappropriate behavior toward minors, most of those priests remain active in the ministry.

The possibility that even one predatory priest, not to mention three dozen, might still be serving in parishes — “on duty in the archdiocese today, with open access to new young prey,” as the grand jury put it — has unnerved many Roman Catholics here and sent the church reeling in the latest and one of the most damning episodes in the American church since it became engulfed in the sexual abuse scandal nearly a decade ago.

The extent of the scandal here, including a cover-up that the grand jury said stretched over many years, is so great that Philadelphia is “Boston reborn,” said David J. O’Brien, who teaches Catholic history at the University of Dayton, referring to the archdiocese where widespread sexual abuse exploded in public in 2002.

"If you believe that churches shouldn't get tax-exempt status because you don't support their beliefs, then the same logic would apply to the opposition of pro-life Americans and Planned Parenthood."

No, roundlymocked, that's not my point at all.

What I'm saying is that no non-profit organization in this country should be denied funding for any activity that is legal.

There is nothing Planned Parenthood does that isn't legal under our system of laws and justice. Religious groups make the claim that their consciences are being trod upon and that, consequently, they shouldn't have to see their tax dollars used to fund abortions.

That is a bogus argument from any perspective.

I'm saying that if I can't withhold my tax money from funding activities I consider deeply immoral (e.g., wars started by the U.S. for nothing more than profit), then religious groups shouldn't have the power to prevent their tax dollars from funding things they feel are deeply immoral.

I can't do anything (from a practical standpoint) about the huge chunk of my taxes that goes to the DoD, and I accept that. Those who oppose abortion need to accept that a (miniscule) chunk of their tax money will go to funding organizations that support abortion rights and perform abortions. BECAUSE, until Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion is a legal activity when performed by licensed medical practitioners.

My conscience is no less important than that of an anti-abortionist. Why should his be heeded by the government while mine is ignored?

So, no, I'm not saying that all churches should lose their tax exemptions. (Only activist ones that are functioning as political lobbies.) I'm saying that anti-abortionists -- whatever their religious or non-religious affiliation might be -- shouldn't have the right to defund organizations performing legal activities that they don't happen to approve of.

whyyesbrain, I read it again, but I didn't see anything in Fr. Pavone's post to suggest that a womb becomes the property of the child dwelling within it.

Your kidney argument is interesting, but doesn't really apply. Pregnancy doesn't permanently deprive a mother from any of her body parts.

Parents have an obligation to not neglect the fundamental basic needs of their children. If a parent decided to stop feeding their infant child, I don't think anyone would be surprised if the state stepped in to stop the neglect.

What is missing from the father's argument above is any mention that there are two human lives at stake in this debate, not just that of the child's. In the view espoused above, the mother's womb is now the property of the fetus and the state should have a legal interest in protecting that womb. It would be logically consistent to argue that a parent is required to donate a kidney to their child if that child needs it to survive. While most parents I know, myself included, would gladly make that donation, to compel it seems to devalue the parent's life in favor of the childs.

'Generosity and selflessness??' Sure...if by that you mean arrogance, hubris and a fair amount of ignorance. When you get pregnant, Fr. Pavone, you'll have the right to make the decision. Not before.

Obviously, a perfect birth control barrier system does not exist. Time to develop one!

In the meantime, monomasturbation or mutual masturbation are highly recommended for heterosexuals who need a contraceptive.

Abstinence is another best-solution but obviously the sex drive typically vitiates this option although being biological would it not be able to develop a drug to temporarily eliminate said drive? Planned Parenthood should make the development of such a drug a high priority.

"They are motivated by one simple but overwhelming purpose: to protect helpless children."

ROME
The Canadian Press

By Nicole Winfield (CP)

ROME — An Italian court convicted a priest of molesting boys and sentenced him to 15 years in prison Thursday in a case closely watched because his bishop admitted knowing of the abuse allegations, but didn't remove the priest.

The trial of Rev. Ruggero Conti, a politically connected priest, garnered international headlines last year when his bishop was called to testify about the molestation just as the clerical abuse scandal that erupted in Europe inched closer to the Vatican.

Conti was charged with sexual violence and other charges stemming from accusations by seven boys who frequented his parish on the outskirts of Rome.

Planned Parenthood is actually a non-profit group (see www.guidestar.org).

By their failure to reduce the number of abortions and cases of STDs in the last 35 years, however, they have shown that they cannot do the job they promised and therefore should get no more government money or support from the private sector.

Good grief. Your tax dollars are not paying Father Pavone. The members of the Catholic Church pay him, and other donors. That the Catholic Church, like other churches, is granted tax relief does not mean that tax payers are paying Father Pavone.

Planned Parenthood, by contrast, is a for-profit organization that is the largest abortion provider in the country. They SHOULD be stripped of their tax support, so the many of us who oppose abortion won't have our tax dollars used so that PP can do more abortions. That is the really outrageous situation.

Thank you, Father Pavone!

The failures of the widely used birth "control" methods i.e. the Pill and male condom have led to the large rate of abortions ( one million/yr) and STDs (19 million/yr) in the USA. Men and women must either recognize their responsibilities by using the Pill or condoms properly and/or use other methods in order to reduce the epidemics of abortion and STDs.

Details:

From the Guttmacher Institute:

FIRST-YEAR CONTRACEPTIVE FAILURE RATES

Percentage of women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy

Method Typical

Pill (combined) 8.7
Tubal sterilization 0.7
Male condom 17.4
Vasectomy 0.2

Periodic abstinence 25.3
Calendar 9.0
Ovulation Method 3.0
Sympto-thermal 2.0
Post-ovulation 1.0

No method 85.0"

(Abstinence) 0

(Masturbation) 0

The failure of the Pill as noted above results in one million unplanned pregnancies every year because women basically fail to take it once a day as prescribed. Is there a literacy problem that Planned Parenthood failed to recognize?

The failure of the male condom results in another one million unplanned pregnancies every year basically because many men, as per Guttmacher, fail to use them even though they have them in their pockets or billfolds.

Then there are these additional facts:

from the CDC-2006

"Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remain a major public health challenge in the United States. While substantial progress has been made in preventing, diagnosing, and treating certain S-TDs in recent years, CDC estimates that approximately 19 million new infections occur each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.1 In addition to the physical and psychological consequences of STDs, these diseases also exact a tremendous economic toll. Direct medical costs as-sociated with STDs in the United States are estimated at up to $14.7 billion annually in 2006 dollars."

and

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/20/yes-oral-sex-is-sex-and-it-can-boost-cancer-risk/?npt=NP1

"Yes, oral sex is sex, and it can boost cancer risk-

Here's a crucial message for teens: Oral sex carries many of the same risks as vaginal sex, including human papilloma virus, or HPV. And HPV may now be overtaking tobacco as the leading cause of oral cancers in America in people under age 50.

"Adolescents don’t think oral sex is something to worry about," said Bonnie Halpern-Felsher professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. "They view it as a way to have intimacy without having 'sex.'"

Obviously, Planned Parenthood, parents, sexually active couple and educational system have failed miserably on many fronts.

I appreciate this priest's efforts to present a rational, logical argument concerning the protection of human life by equating a fetus to a fully developed, functioning person. Yet, the study of human development would contradict that argument as would the Catholic Church's earlier position on the subject of ensoulment. I believe what is actually being argued is the position that women are incapable of being moral agents, that women are inherently evil. For what other reason would any individual or institution seek to prevent women from making decisions that effect their lives? Of course, that position has been a mainstream religious position for millenia. I just wish religious institutions and individuals would be honest about their attitudes towards women.

Abortion is just the current version of slavery. In this case, a human person, the fetus, is denied the right to a free life, because another human person, the mother, has decided they are less than human.

Super - so in addition to taking federal funding away from Planned Parenthood, we can also feel free to take away their tax status.

If you believe that churches shouldn't get tax-exempt status because you don't support their beliefs, then the same logic would apply to the opposition of pro-life Americans and Planned Parenthood.

Because Planned Parenthood is also "non-profit" & files non-profit tax returns.

But once we take away tax-exempt status from both groups - then the poor will literally have no where left to turn.

Since 1993, that has been my full-time work, as National Director of Priests for Life
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Celibate men regulating female sexuality.

Next week, the Nation of Islam on protecting Israel.

"Since 1993, that has been my full-time work, as National Director of Priests for Life and of several other national pro-life efforts."

This statement right here shows what's wrong with church involvement in civil issues.

Here is a Catholic priest saying that, since 1993, he's been paid to actively work to overturn a Supreme Court decision that his church doesn't agree with.

Now, I don't care if the Catholic church wants to take a position on abortion. It is the church's right to do so. What I object to is that my tax dollars are paying the salaries of Mr. Pavone and other Catholics of his ilk through the church's tax-exempt status.

We hear, day in and day out, about how the anti-abortion lobby doesn't want their tax money used for things that fall outside their zone of conscience. Fair enough. But neither do I want my taxes used to fund activist churches that are involved in vigorous lobbying efforts to change laws that I'm subject to as a citizen.

Mr. Pavone is within his rights to oppose abortion and to work to eliminate it as an option for American women. The Catholic church has a right to pay him to do it. They just don't have the right to do it with my money -- an argument that anti-abortionists should recognize, since they use it all the time.

It's time to separate activist churches from their government funding -- their tax-exempt status.