Council 112 Respect Life Report February 2007

Tony Marino is an Air Force veteran who later received a degree in English Literature at Long Island University. For more than 30 years, he was an insurance agent for Aetna before eventually becoming a private insurance consultant. Since his retirement in 2003, he has devoted himself to the service of St. Peter's Parish in Concord and the Right to Life movement in New Hampshire. Tony has been married to his wife, Annette for more than 40 years. They have ten children and 22 grandchildren.

“Rachel mourns her children . . . because her children are no more.” - Jeremiah 31:15. Like Rachel, do we mourn for our children who are no more? I wish that I could write that we do but I am convinced that many of us, even those of us who profess a love of God and live in decency do not mourn for the children who are no more. Who are those children? In the United States, it is the more than forty million children who have been killed in and out of abortion mills. Can it be that we are unaware of this monumental evil which has befallen our children? History has taught us that children, being the most vulnerable, are the targets of those who would make evil supreme. Herod killed children in his desire to kill Jesus. Children were sacrificed to the Phoenician god Baal. The Aztecs sacrificed thousands of children.

If the deaths of millions of children have not caused us to mourn it is because we have somehow anesthetized our consciences. I spoke with a Brother Knight recently who proclaimed that six of the candidates seeking the Presidency of the United States were Catholic. I reminded him that, unfortunately, these same six candidates were all pro-abortion. He knew nothing about that. He was not uncaring, simply operating within political standards which are no longer acceptable: mere party affiliation and a presumed self interest. Political concerns today transcend party affiliation and self interest. Our society now elects persons to public office who have, or who have tried, to establish laws which are directly opposed to fundamental human values - abortion on demand, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and even a definition of marriage which does not include the union of a man and a woman. It is up to us as Christians and Catholics to apply our moral convictions to any determination of whom should be elected to political office. Fortunately, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has provided guidance to us in the form of a document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. I urge all Christians and Catholics to read this important document.

As voters, we have to make moral choices that support human life, family values, and social justice. As we make these moral choices, we may see various ways to accomplish their ends - but we can never cooperate with evil. We have a legal system which allows the destruction of innocent human life: abortion and euthanasia. These acts are “intrinsically evil," and must always be opposed. A Catholic should never vote for any candidate who supports or promotes an “intrinsic evil." As the Bishops state, "[T]he moral obligation to oppose intrinsically evil acts has a special claim on our consciences and our actions.” Pope John Paul II stated in Christifideles Laici, “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights - for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture - is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.”

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RETURN TO RESPECT LIFE PAGE AWARDS AND HONORS BIRTHDAYS CHURCH PROGRAMS COMMUNITY PROGRAMS COUNCIL NEWS FAMILY PROGRAMS FIRST DEGREE TEAM GOOD OF THE ORDER INSURANCE KNIGHT OF THE MONTH LINKS OUR GRAND KNIGHT PHOTOS VIDEO OF THE MONTH YOUTH PROGRAMS CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO VISIT OUR FATHER McGIVNEY SITE	Tony Marino is an Air Force veteran who later received a degree in English Literature at Long Island University. For more than 30 years, he was an insurance agent for Aetna before eventually becoming a private insurance consultant. Since his retirement in 2003, he has devoted himself to the service of St. Peter's Parish in Concord and the Right to Life movement in New Hampshire. Tony has been married to his wife, Annette for more than 40 years. They have ten children and 22 grandchildren. Council 112 Respect Life Report January 2008 RACHEL MOURNS “Rachel mourns her children . . . because her children are no more.” - Jeremiah 31:15. Like Rachel, do we mourn for our children who are no more? I wish that I could write that we do but I am convinced that many of us, even those of us who profess a love of God and live in decency do not mourn for the children who are no more. Who are those children? In the United States, it is the more than forty million children who have been killed in and out of abortion mills. Can it be that we are unaware of this monumental evil which has befallen our children? History has taught us that children, being the most vulnerable, are the targets of those who would make evil supreme. Herod killed children in his desire to kill Jesus. Children were sacrificed to the Phoenician god Baal. The Aztecs sacrificed thousands of children. If the deaths of millions of children have not caused us to mourn it is because we have somehow anesthetized our consciences. I spoke with a Brother Knight recently who proclaimed that six of the candidates seeking the Presidency of the United States were Catholic. I reminded him that, unfortunately, these same six candidates were all pro-abortion. He knew nothing about that. He was not uncaring, simply operating within political standards which are no longer acceptable: mere party affiliation and a presumed self interest. Political concerns today transcend party affiliation and self interest. Our society now elects persons to public office who have, or who have tried, to establish laws which are directly opposed to fundamental human values - abortion on demand, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and even a definition of marriage which does not include the union of a man and a woman. It is up to us as Christians and Catholics to apply our moral convictions to any determination of whom should be elected to political office. Fortunately, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has provided guidance to us in the form of a document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. I urge all Christians and Catholics to read this important document. As voters, we have to make moral choices that support human life, family values, and social justice. As we make these moral choices, we may see various ways to accomplish their ends - but we can never cooperate with evil. We have a legal system which allows the destruction of innocent human life: abortion and euthanasia. These acts are “intrinsically evil," and must always be opposed. A Catholic should never vote for any candidate who supports or promotes an “intrinsic evil." As the Bishops state, "[T]he moral obligation to oppose intrinsically evil acts has a special claim on our consciences and our actions.” Pope John Paul II stated in Christifideles Laici, “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights - for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture - is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination.” Next Article --->
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