Priests for Life Visit African American Congressional Leaders and Ask, 'When You Say Abortion, is This What You Mean'by Staff
September 25, 2008
WASHINGTON, (christiansunite.com) -- Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life (PFL), and a team of pro-life activists today completed meetings with Congressional members and committee leaders, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus, to "redefine the abortion discussion."
Fr. Pavone, joined by Priests for Life's Director of African American Outreach Dr. Alveda King, Director of Hispanic Outreach Fr. Victor Salomon, Director of Missionary Outreach James Pinto, and Pastoral Associates Frs. Peter West and Denis Wilde, visited Capitol Hill offices this week presenting graphic diagrams and detailed descriptions of abortion procedures to members of the House and Senate.
Dr. King explained that the purpose of the meetings was to clarify in the minds of leaders exactly what abortion is. "Just as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and William Wilberforce insisted on graphically demonstrating the plight of the oppressed in their days, we are compelled to follow their example. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, 'America will not reject racism until America sees racism.' Today we say, 'America will not reject abortion until America sees abortion.'"
Dr. King said that she told those with whom she met, "These images are gruesome, yet they are real. We ask you, 'When you say the word abortion, is this what you mean?' Your constituents are asking us this question and we want to give them your reply."
The Priests for Life team visited both pro-life and pro- abortion Members of Congress. They stressed the importance of clarifying that the word "abortion" is not just an issue or a concept, but that it refers to the taking of a human life.
"While it is becoming increasingly apparent that women are secondary victims of abortion, it cannot be denied that babies in the womb are our weakest and most vulnerable Americans and they need advocates. Their civil rights and very lives are at stake," said Dr. King, who herself is post-abortive and speaks on abortion healing from the platforms of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign and Rachel's Vineyard. "I am honored to work with the valiant warriors of Priests for Life and I invite members of the African American community to join us in promoting the Culture of Life."
During her Capitol Hill visits, Dr. King also released an open letter on abortion from fellow black leaders to the Congressional Black Caucus.
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro- life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit
www.priestsforlife.org.
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