This is a very comprehensive look at the current status of pro-life work in Massachusetts. Among other things, Ray expresses the overall sentiments of pro-life Catholics on the necessity of Anne Fox's removal and the reasons why.
2010 - A Watershed Amid Warning Lights
By R. T. Neary, February 16, 2010
ProLife Massachusetts was formed in 2002 to fill the need for a group to monitor the Right To Life scene, and be able to respond both individually and collectively to problems at the proper pressure points.
Many prolifers felt that highly structured organizations can perform in a self-defeating fashion, frequently getting bogged down internally. They also often veer away from their expressed purpose. We felt we needed to operate under an aegis which clearly represents our mission: “To defend innocent human life from fertilization to natural death”. No donations would be accepted. We would accept only uncompromised loyalty to this ideal.
We have operated with a core of advisors but shun recruitment and time-consuming ancillary projects. We are convinced that much good has been accomplished by this approach in many areas of restoring dignity to innocent members of our human family. Pre-born humans legally deserve the same level of respect as we have been given.
This past year ProLife Massachusetts became associated with the American Life League (ALL), giving us a national connection. The issue surrounding Caritas Christi’s tangential (some would say direct) involvement with the abortion industry was the catalyst, because ALL was very strong in publicizing and challenging the linkage of the Archdiocese of Boston to an abortion organization. ALL President Judie Brown, as is her hallmark, was outspoken on the issue and very effective in exposing an intolerable scenario.
Carol McKinley, Phil Lawler, C.J. Doyle and John O’Gorman had been pursuing the issue, and they did outstanding work. The Cardinal Archbishop of Boston did not distinguish himself throughout, and there are still serious questions about the inner workings of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Boston.
The first year of the ascendancy of the most pro-abortion/pro-infanticide President the U.S. had ever seen certainly set us back initially, but as Barack Hussein Obama (aka Barry Soetoro) moved into his term we have been able to stall him somewhat. Polls had shown that around 54% of professed Catholics had voted for the man, and we would be intellectually, as well as spiritually, blind not to draw many conclusions from that figure.
Essentially it not only affirmed that the pivotal issue to Catholics in the voting booth is not adherence to defense of all innocent human life, but rather adherence to any one of a number of more personally beneficial issues. Nor did it exclude flimsy issues manufactured by the media, and based on emotions rather than any logical reasoning. It once again also laid bare the disconnect between Roman Catholic Magisterial teaching and the laity.
2.
For all of us in this society who have recognized the mandate to defend that basic right to life given by Our Creator and the first enumerated in the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence, we could be disheartened. But we differ from our opponents in this struggle because we are committed to the pursuit of truth, and that is both immutable and Godly. Thus, we will prevail in the end. Truth always does. That point in time, however, is the unanswerable question, but any student of the Good Book knows that point historically is the most elusive. So… we persevere!
The honor bestowed on Barack Obama by the University of Notre Dame still lingers with us in 2010, as the “ND 88” are still awaiting trial for trespassing. There has been no attempt at intervention by President Jenkins, who presents himself as a priest in the service of Yeshua, the Nazarene, whom we know as our Messiah. The “honor” was blasphemy, and all of us sent letters and e-mails, as well as signed petitions to right this wrong. Their hubris is pathological, and it leads one to question whether “Our Lady” to the current administrators is not Margaret Sanger. They are a shameless lot, ignoring the request of over 80 bishops to cancel the award. We should continue to thank these prelates for their courageous stand as shepherds combating heresy. We take note that Cardinal Sean O’Malley was not among them.
We are continuing, however, through Father Thomas Euteneuer, ND graduate and the President of Human Life International, to petition to have the charges dropped against the defendants who include Norma McCorvey, the original Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade. Fr. Tom, a few years ago, joined us in our monthly vigil against the abortions performed at the MetroWest Hospital in Framingham, so we feel close to him in all his efforts.
We will always have fond memories of the thrill Norma McCorvey expressed by standing on the Lexington Green when she visited the place where it all began. Now she is charged as a criminal for protesting the honoring of a man who expressed his belief that the Roe decision trumps the delivery of any medical aid to a member of the human family who has survived an abortion attempt. Just to think that Miss Norma came all the way from being the plaintiff to working afterwards in an abortion clinic - and then ending up as one of us. It is a great inspiration. It’s also proof of God’s Providence in this imperfect world.
This school year saw the Culture War once again very much in evidence on Beacon Hill. Planned Parenthood continues in its attempt to pursue its deadly aims, using the field of education and specifically the window of “Health Education” to poison the minds of our youth. They have introduced a bill to include Sex Education under “Health Ed” and, in turn, make the latter a part of the “core curriculum” of public schools, K through 12. The arrogance of making abortion appear healthful is only exceeded by their aim, aided by the media, to sanitize their name as though they were a medical institution.
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We testified in opposition and also in favor of H472 which changes students’ exposure to Sex Education from the current need to Opt-out to the reverse of that, namely to a situation with an Opt-in provision in the law. H472 would allow for Parental/Guardian review of materials and questioning of those school personnel involved, as well as requiring written permission from them prior to exposure to the content. It also includes a conscience clause for school personnel. The wording is very concise in addressing these points
Hundreds of visits have been made to State House offices, with little or no strong objections to the Opt-in change – but no legislative action. The Democrat majority wants the bill to languish and die in committee. They fear open debate and don’t even televise the committee hearings. A panel including Atty. Robert Joyce, Dr. Alice Slattery and Carol McKinley among others gave testimony to the Joint Committee on Education on this bill (with its previous number) with written testimony handed to them from Ann Corkery, Charles Coudert and others coming from a variety of disciplines and life situations. A cigar-store Indian might have had more animation than some of these legislators displayed. To the contrary, Rep. Betty Poirier, who is a very polished professional, has graciously been the legislative sponsor and has given testimony to the Joint Committee on the bill’s behalf.
The Massachusetts Citizens For Life (MCFL) wrote an article on H472 by doing an interview with Representative Poirier for MCFL News. But curiously they failed to mention anything about its authorship. With my name on H472 and after having served for 10 years on the MCFL Board of Directors, as well as being elected to three l-year terms as President of the organization, it certainly led to questions as to why the present leadership could overlook the genesis of this bill. Clearly it was not accidental.
The Boston Herald, however, two days before the most recent Joint Committee hearings called to do an interview after doing the research on its origins. They ran an article and picture on page 2 the day before the hearing which led to 3 talk show interviews about the bill and the clear parental civil rights violations involved. This time, legislative response was somewhat different, and gives us more hope that someday with proper amplification we can break through and restore the rights of parents to determine the fare their children are served in schools paid for by our tax dollars. The ultimate irony was that in the article, Diane Luby, the President of Planned Parenthood, admitted that the parents should be the prime educators of their children in sexual matters. Yet, they have testified against our Opt-in bill.
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The regal funeral service conducted for the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy at the historic Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Mission Hill and the prominent involvement of Cardinal O’Malley still troubles those who have toiled for so long battling the barriers he had constructed against the Right To Life movement. Even to think that Barack Obama, the man who three times cast an infanticide vote, as well his outspoken promise to the abortion industry to enact the Freedom Of Choice Act (FOCA) which would strip from the law over 3 decades of protection enacted on behalf of the unborn, would speak from the altar is hardly believable. We are talking about the altar from which we heard and prayed with the saintly Father Edward McDonough, who often brought his spiritual qualities to the front of abortion facilities, asking for God’s graces to fuel our efforts in stopping this slaughter of the innocents. The beloved Father McDonough was such an inspiration, while the current President is more in the role of King Herod. Why Herod was allowed to speak from this hallowed altar is highly questionable – and inexcusable.
We need not put credence in the statements, letters and writings alleged to have been penned by the Senator to the Pope and in an autobiography. Others obviously were the authors of these words. Those of us who have witnessed the final weeks and days of relatives with the same type of malignant brain tumor, know the mental impairment which accompanies the final months, weeks and days of this earthly existence for them. Many of us prayed daily that before that stage came to him, EMK would right some of the wrong he was responsible for as a U.S. Senator during 47 years in Washington with regards to his abortion position. We were never told that he did.
No one can argue that the Senator, even without any evidence of repentance or attempt at restitution for his role in the American Holocaust, was entitled to a Mass of Christian Burial. But the praise, pomp and ceremony was uncalled for, given the abortion carnage we see in our society. It was a sell-out to the values of Mammon. We do believe in a merciful God, however, but One also who is just – and we leave the eternal judgment to Him, as is our calling.
Another lingering task ahead for ProLifers is the Health Care issue, with the inclusion of the funding of abortion very much still a part of the package. The following amendment was submitted to Sen. Kennedy’s office and then to Sen. Kirk, as well as to Sen. Kerry, Representative Stephen Lynch and to President Obama: “THIS BILL IS WORDED TO PROMOTE THE HEALTH OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS. NOTHING IN THE WORDING SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO INCLUDE COUNSELING FOR OR FUNDING OF ABORTION, EUTHANASIA, OR ASSISTED SUICIDE’. It is worded to be concise and to the point, but it has received only minimal acknowledgement and no action, needless to say.
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The Catholic News Service (CNS) unwittingly continues to reveal the inability of the U.S. Conference Of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to exact explicit language barring the funding of abortion in any “Health” bill. Abortion is simply not “Health Care”, as any unborn child would tell us if he or she could only voice it. CNS articles fail to take us behind the scenes or even quote the staffers and lobbyists who are really the ones fashioning a bill while the Obama/Pelosi/Reid triumvirate read their teleprompters and notes, trying to convince the public of the merits of their offerings. It became increasingly difficult to elucidate finer points in Letters to the Editor, and eventually they stopped acknowledging them or returning calls at the Boston Pilot. The Chancery does not answer letters, even if sent registered mail, but we will remain eternally vigilant without them. The “Catholic” in CNS is highly suspect, and The Pilot simply runs their releases verbatim.
On a very personal note, one day after a trip to Planned Parenthood in Boston to peacefully protest their child-killing at 1055 Commonwealth Avenue, I felt moved to extend it into a Novena For Life by following up for 8 more Tuesdays. My standing on the sidewalk with a full-front sign picturing a 19-week gestation child in utero always received at least a glance by clients and passers-by, but on balance it educates people - and the bottom line has to be that it can save lives.
On my 6th visit, I decided to stay a little longer when Eleanor McCullen and Mary O’Donnell, two living saints, had finished their stints after starting a lot earlier in the A.M. A while later, as I stood outside the 35-foot buffer zone, a man exited the building and quickly approached me in a rage, threatening my life while using the vilest language. Knowing I was outside the zone, still I took one step back and looked for a passerby with a cell phone. None wanted to get involved, but the individual, after repeated threats, eventually did return into 1055 Commonwealth Ave., and I eventually was able to get the Boston police. They entered the building to flush him out, and he must have been in hiding as they came out without anyone. He eventually though tried to flee out of PP and was apprehended by the officers after I identified him, was questioned, searched and written up by them on a side street.
In the pre-trial hearing he stood mute, and I related the happenings and it was then moved on to a trial. The defendant exercised his right to silence in the court room, and I was allowed by the judge to address the court with an impact statement which was accepted by the judge, later written up and is now on record in the Boston Municipal Court. The defendant is currently on probation, and we have accepted the court ruling. My thanks go for the support given by Bill Cotter, the Director of Operation Rescue, Boston and to attorneys from the law offices of Thomas E. Finnerty in Boston, who were very helpful in navigating the legal waters to bring it to a conclusion. There were multiple issues here including the question of Planned Parenthood’s culpability in harboring this law-breaker, and the fact that the buffer zone exclusion seems only to apply to prolife protesters, not those participating in the abortion business. No representative of Planned Parenthood appeared at the trial.
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The special election in Massachusetts on Jan. 19, 2010 with the election of Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate was truly a watershed event – one with worldwide implications. It served to clean up the long-tarnished image of this Commonwealth, so replete with beautiful history. What it should do once and for all is to destroy many myths about the socio/political structure of this state, many created to further power-grabbing ends.
People of this state are not “liberal”. The ruling establishment, by using their private vehicle known as the mass media, has promoted moral relativism, permissiveness and a counter-culture to which they have assigned this label. It’s an agenda and a far cry from its classical use, or even from the connotation of freedom. Christianity has not been the majority religious thinking for many decades. Secular Fundamentalism is really the religion which has held sway for these years through various channels and vehicles.
Organizationally, the Democratic Party is the strongest by far in a purely political sense, but they take their marching orders from The Boston Globe, which disseminates its views in a multitude of ways, from the electronic media to schools – and even Christian churches. The Roman Catholic Church, as a vehicle, is not an exception.
The largest political registration, as we all know is Unenrolled, and the Republican Party is miniscule, a throwback to the one controlled by the New England Yankees, who are no longer even clearly identifiable in it. The Bay State GOP has evolved into a party not much different from the Democrats, except they pull the purse strings a little tighter (or at least they say they do). The number of true conservatives has declined to a handful, and some of the GOP legislators flip-flopped by denying 170,000 of us who petitioned to have a vote on whether any two people of the same gender could be said to be “married”. The national platform of the Republicans, preserved since the Reagan years by the efforts of Phyllis Schlafly, is treated like it has leprosy by the Republican leadership in this state.
The Kennedy mystique had died tragically on November 22, 1963. The charisma of JFK was real, and his election as President genuinely changed people and the nation. The whole Camelot fable, though, was contrived as a way for the left-wing establishment to pursue their agenda, and through the media to fashion a real-life fairy tale. Edward M. Kennedy never wore that same mantle, and despite media-created “Liberal Lion” titles and statesman-type lavish praise, he was more a sad story of a missed opportunity where he could have left a legacy of real accomplishments. In person, he was very unimpressive and well-known for syntax which paralleled his wobbly gait. To students of the political scene, it should be clear that the tacit trade-off by the Boston Globe of Chappaquiddick silence for adherence to its editorial menu by the Senator was transparent. The persona attributed to the man was not based at all in reality, but rather bandied by elitists who had much to gain by perpetuating this fabrication. The election on Jan 19th shattered the myth.
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The Democratic Party candidate (not Democratic, unless someone has never heard of Superdelegates), who was reported to be of the Roman Catholic religion, could be described as both feticidal and infanticidal. Martha Coakley supports abortion of a child in utero at any stage of development, using any method, including the Partial Birth Abortion method. This is the procedure first described by Dr. Martin Haskell and once used in his Ohio abortion facility. State Sen. Scott Brown, her Republican opponent, could only be described as feticidal, as he expressed his support for the Roe v. Wade decision, which allows for over a million innocent, developing unborn humans to be dissected, scalded or homogenized annually. He did, however, express opposition to Partial Birth Abortion, which he knows has already been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Coakley during the campaign received her first massive infusion of campaign money from Emily’s List, NARAL, Planned Parenthood and the entire array of abortion supporters.
She willingly followed their directives and went as far as to state at one point, until quickly reeled in by the national Democrats up to the White House level, that she would vote for no “Health Care” bill unless it included our taxpayer dollars to fund abortions.
The Tea Party movement, which was gaining great national interest, tapped into the sentiments of the bulk of the Unenrolled as most of these tend to be Populist, and there was a simmering resentment as to where the country was heading, and especially the Health Care machinations. This sentiment was tailor-made for a Scott Brown, running as a Republican but identifying himself more as an Independent. The Tea Party movement itself could not take credit for his victory, but they were an organized populist group at the right place at the right time. They contributed nationally, helping to fund his well-crafted TV ads. Call it serendipity, providence or whatever, but mid-Jan. 2010 had every planet aligned. Only Martha Coakley’s handlers and sycophantic left wing ideologues could not perceive the voters disappointment with the status quo, and that a tectonic shift was about to take place.
Scott Brown politically ran a flawless campaign. His accent was on economic and security issues, and he dovetailed his positions into the very heated public sentiment on these. He seemed to be weighing every issue like a pharmacist with skill, whether that was by design or it was just pure luck. From his neat outdoorsy jacket, shirt-and-tie look and right down to the pick-up truck, which gave us familiar scenes around the state, he was genuine. His response to David Gergen’s reference to the Kennedy seat, that it belonged to the people came across as not rehearsed, but from the heart. We were also served up the real Martha Coakley, too, and she just does not have any verve – spewing only stilted, thin-lipped repetitive legalese. Barack Obama’s appearance with her at Northeastern University and his attempt at a humorous dig at her opponent’s pick-up truck fell flat, and once again he showed his lack of coattails or any real sense of humor. She was falling, and reality was setting in. Nothing could disguise her blandness.
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Indications that Scott Brown would pull off an upset were discernable in the closing days. Right To Life concerns about voting for a candidate such as Scott Brown had been answered by the Pope’s treatise, as Cardinal Ratzinger, which allowed Roman Catholics to weigh “proportionate reasons” in the process, and they clearly applied, calling for a vote for Scott Brown. Prolifers are voters, not stay-at-homes, so only a gaffe would not give him this demographic. As it turned out, Martha Coakley would make that major gaffe. Among other mistakes her statement that people with religious values such as Catholics should not work in emergency rooms, if they would not administer abortifacients was another clear indication of her aloofness, feeling of entitlement, and disdain for Judeo-Christian orthodoxy.
The Harvard/Boston Globe/Planned Parenthood axis, around which everything revolves in Massachusetts, over the last weekend had started to creak as negative ads against Scott Brown became more shrill. A message would go out to the world on Tuesday night.
A major question, however, was very much in the forefront during this campaign. Casting a vote for Scott Brown over Martha Coakley as our U.S. Senator until 2012 is one thing, but an organization using donations to tell untruths about a candidate, who will continue to support the legal destruction of over 1 million of our innocent brothers and sisters in each of these 3 years, is another very serious issue. We received multiple robocalls from Anne Fox, the current President of MCFL, stating that Scott Brown was “a prolife vote, which clearly anyone committed to Roe v. Wade is not. The calls and literature were all carefully worded to eliminate reference to his Roe support, which has always been MCFL’s first question to any candidate who sought the organization’s Political Action Committee support. The wording in each instance about Scott Brown was carefully honed to make him appear as one committed to prolife principles. He is not.
Long-time MCFL members were not only upset by the deception, but they felt it was tarnishing the organization’s image, as well as the integrity of the movement to restore legal protection to all members of our human family. We are well aware of the compromises which have to be made daily on the political stage, and that is acceptable if not on a moral plane. What we are adamantly opposed to are compromises of principle, and because of this stance we have always steadfastly claimed the moral high ground. The actions of the MCFL President has served to relinquish that claim.
John O’Gorman has distinguished himself by exposing hypocrisy with the Knights of Columbus by not expelling brother knights in political positions who claim to be loyal to the Catholic Church, and yet are consistent pro-abortion voters. Brother knights do a great deal of prolife work in the trenches, but the officers are not living up to the professed ideals by allowing a glaring double-standard to occur with regard to legislators in the ranks.
John, a former member of the Board of Directors of MCFL, has asked Anne Fox to resign because of purposefully deceptive statements made during and after the election. She has not responded.
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Among other constant assertions that he was prolife, she said in literature that “Brown will be a pro-life vote in the U.S. Senate.” Would that this was the truth, but it simply is false. His record and statements are very clear on his support for Roe v. Wade.
Several facts are indisputable here: The oft-repeated statements about Scott Brown being “a pro-life vote” in Washington are truncated to create another impression. He is a vote in the Senate to maintain a filibuster on the administration’s “Health Care” bill – but not what the implication was in the statement.
Several of us have heard Scott Brown personally express his support of Roe v. Wade, as well as his disdain for protesters outside of abortion facilities. In the Massachusetts Senate he voted in favor of the highly discriminatory 35-foot “Buffer zone”, which violates our 1st Amendment rights as well as putting our lives in jeopardy.
MCFL was also involved in double-speak in telling members that MCFL did not “endorse” Scott Brown. This dishonest approach which MCFL took sends the wrong message to aspirants for political office in a year when great gains could be made, given the currents running our way. The reputation of the entire Right To Life movement has been compromised, however, signaling a new model for political candidates.
This movement has for the most part been shunned by dilettantes and other-issue types because we have always asked for a commitment to integrity and credibility on right to life issues in pursuing our mission. While welcoming all to this effort, those virtues have been stressed, and we take pride in our own attention to them.
The Founding Father of MCFL, Dr. Joseph R. Stanton, who also founded a predecessor organization The Value Of Life Committee, was a magnet to many of us because of his character. He was passionately committed to this cause, and he was unrelenting and uncompromising in pursuing our mission. Dr. Stanton’s professional conduct conformed to the highest ethical standards, and he challenged all those within the medical field and without to be uncompromising in their own commitment to protect life all across the spectrum.
Scott Brown had the Right To Lifers’ vote by default when his opponent sold her soul right from the outset to the abortion industry. Just making Martha Coakley’s statements known would have been laudable. They were transparently evil and her campaign was soaked in the blood of innocents.
The election of Scott Brown to the seat occupied for 47 years by Edward Moore Kennedy could very well be attributed to the Providence of God, in this far-from-perfect existence. The entire national political scene took on a new look, and we must keep our loins girded through 2010, constantly shedding light to politicians about the daily slaughter of these innocents in our society. U.S. Senator Scott Brown is not excluded as MCFL gave him the wrong message.
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The current President of the Massachusetts Citizens For Life should step down, as requested, and allow for new leadership to assume the reins. MCFL, as all of us do, has a golden opportunity to work for the election of ideologically committed candidates to challenge the status quo. They have to subscribe to the MCFL mission statement which calls for “recognizing each human life as a continuum from conception to natural death”.
These words are clear, and they can not be watered down. Worse still, they can not be ignored in endorsing candidates and spending donors’ money for candidates who do not subscribe to this moral precept. Repeatedly selling to the membership as being prolife someone who supports Roe v. Wade, is a serious violation of trust.
A memorial to Dr. Joseph Stanton calls for new leadership and a return to his wisdom, dedication and the integrity which he brought into MCFL 37 years ago. Over 50 million of our progeny have been ruthlessly destroyed by that Roe v. Wade decision handed down in 1973, about which he would often say “was cut out of whole cloth”. The current blemish to the cause he fought for so passionately must be removed.
It should be obvious to all from our study of history that evil often reigns for many years, decades, and longer, but that truth will never be suppressed eternally. No, it is truth which will reign supreme. It could very well be that only future generations will see the end of this American Holocaust. But today’s generations will have to live by a purity of both purpose and words – or that goal will never be realized. And we know it will not be done by us alone. May God Be With Us!
R. T. Neary, Director of ProLife Massachusetts, PH: 508 359 4551
