Pro-Life and Family Episode 26 with Special Guest Fr. Frank Pavone

Education in the pro-life family with the expert in this movement. In this episode, we are going to discuss the history of the pro-life movement and why we need to learn the importance of the ministry for life and what we are up against. Secondly, in the next podcast, we will discuss what we can do become more involved why now is the time that our voices are needed in this important movement.

Visit Fr. Pavone at his website:

About Father Pavone – Father Pavone is one of the most recognized pro-life advocates. He is also the President of the National Pro-life Religious Council, and the National Pastoral Director of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign and of Rachel’s Vineyard, the world’s largest ministry of healing after abortion.

We will discuss the history of the pro-life movement as well as ways to get involved (in the next episode).

In 1973, the Supreme court legalized abortion throughout pregnancy in the United States by its decision Roe versus Wade. And right after that pro-life efforts began there. In fact, there were some pro-life efforts that began before Roe V Wade. But the movement really began to grow as people said, children in the womb need protection. We need to do something to reverse this policy.

During that time, Pavone was in high school and became aware of abortion of the pro-life movement.

1. In 1976 Pavone went to Washington DC on the first annual March for Life. He was impressed by the crowd, by the diversity of it, by the determination of these people, by the fact that even though they were confronting a very tragic and sad reality, they were very joyful and positive and prayerful.
2. Began to get involved in local pro-life activities. And at the same time I felt the call to the priesthood. Long story short, I ended up getting ordained and through all my seminary years and into those first years of the priesthood, abortion was always front and center.
3. Fr. Pavone preached about it frequently as a new priest. And then I came to a point where I experienced what I can only call a call of conscience. I was very happy doing the work in the parish and doing some teaching as well. But pro-life work became the dominant alarm going off in my mind. And I came to the point where I said, Lord, I, I need to devote myself to this full time.
4. Felt the need to give his focus to defending the unborn. Cardinal John O’Connor of New York gave him permission to do that in 1993 as the first full-time director of priests for life. And I’ve been doing it ever since.

Pro-Life & Family – There is so much pain for those involved.

People become so emotionally volatile because there’s so much pain involved. Everyone is hurting from one for one reason or another by abortion either because of direct involvement, indirect involvement or just because of the fact that it’s happening all around us. It’s very painful.

1. So we have to acknowledge that pain.
2. We have to let people know that we are on their side.
3. You know, we’re not judging them.
4. We’re not condemning them.
5. We’re not against them.
6. We’re not their enemy.

And if we can convey that by our words and by our tone and by our actions as that should be done first, calm others down. This isn’t personal. You know, this is, we were trying to discuss an issue here.

What is the Pro-Life Issue?

1. The last thing that abortion supporters want to talk about is abortion.
2. They talked about the right to choose. Well, that’s not a discussion about abortion. Now you’re talking about who has the right to choose something.
3. But you have to start by talking about what the something is you, as you’re talking about, obviously the right to choose abortion
4. Start by talking about what an abortion is.
5. That cuts through the fog and the distraction and the slogan.
6. The good news about asking that question is we don’t have to figure out what it is. We just have to read the medical textbooks on how you do abortions or the public testimony of all kinds of doctors and nurses and physician assistants and others that have taken part in an abortion.
7. When people get right down to it – they do not agree with the abortion procedure.

The strength of the other side comes from their despair, they’re scared.

1. The of the pro-abortion side has always used the courts to advance their agenda. Starting with Roe V Wade itself, this has never sprung from the will or the vote of the people.
2. On the other hand, the pro-life movement has always used the legislature’s, including in the States to advance the protection of the unborn, even in the light of Roe versus Wade.
3. What’s happening now, thanks especially to President Trump and his administration is that more and more pro-life judges are being put in place all across the country.
4. The other side is saying, “Hey, we want legal abortion. We’ve always wanted legal abortion all throughout pregnancy.” And it’s the courts that have protected that. If the courts are moving now in the wrong direction according to them the wrong direction, we’re going to have to see what we can do in those legislatures that are controlled by Democrats because they are the party that favors abortion without any limits.

Norma (from Roe vs. Wade) was a friend of Father Pavone and he had the privilege of not only getting to know her, he received her into the Catholic church back in 1998. In the early seventies, the lawyers that wanted to change the laws on abortion recruited her. She was pregnant for the third time, didn’t know what to do. And they basically promised her that they would help her. And for her, that meant they would help her, not that they would try to change the law for the whole country. So she was used, they never did help her. She ended up giving birth to the baby and placing the baby for adoption. But meanwhile, in her case, Roe vs. Wade ended up striking down the laws protecting babies. And when she found out about that by reading the Dallas morning news, she learned she was technically the winner of the case.

She wasn’t happy. She was devastated. And, and, and she always was ambivalent about abortion. And, and even in those early years when the pro-abortion groups said to her, Oh, you’ve got to tell the world who you are and write a book and they championed her. Even in those days. She was uncomfortable with abortion. And then as time went on, she became more and more pro-life until the point that n 1995, she got baptized as a Christian. Fr. Pavone started working for the pro-life group. Three years later she decided to become a Catholic. She spent the rest of her life working against abortion. And she, she passed away a few years ago, but was very, very committed to overturning the decision that bears her name.

1. Abortion is becoming less and less popular, but it’s still happening at alarming rates.
2. Even though those rates are going down, people have to work hard together to save lives.
3. In the meanwhile to change the laws and policies, we must become educated.
4. Join the winning team and save more lives.
   1. Equip yourself with knowledge of the issue, not only how to talk about it, but how to actually do the things that do save lives.
   2. Do things that change the laws and public policies. Because we have the opportunity now to do that. More and more people are waking up realizing how bad our abortion policy is, realizing how bad abortion itself is. If we don’t seize this opportunity now, things could get harder later on if the political winds change again in the wrong direction, or if people forget.
   3. Elect pro-life candidates
   4. Get involved in the movement. Everyone can save lives. And here’s the thing I always say is that everyone listening to us has to understand there are certain lives that only they can save, certain people only they can reach. And so life literally depends on it for us getting involved in this great movement.

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