In This Issue:
- PRI in the Media
- Ultrasound Machine Arrives
- Drew The Catholic
- Uyghurs Under Attack
- Deepening Depopulation
- Four Reasons
- Fewer Marriages
- Communist China
- Renewal Announced
- CCP Dismisses the EU
- UN Misdeeds
- UN Calls on Feminists
- Science Gone Mad
- End-of-Life Evolves
- Pro-Life Around the World
- A Euthanasia Lawsuit
- Pro-Life on the Home Front
- Second Anniversary
- Progressive Programs
- Good News
- A Step Towards Blessed
PRI in the Media
Ultrasound Machine Arrives: On May 29th, Dr. Tessy Okafor delivered an ultrasound machine to a pro-life hospital in Tanzania on behalf of PRI. The hospital was in dire need, as their previous ultrasound machine had broken down. This clinic sees the birth of 300 to 400 babies every month. With a brand-new ultrasound machine and funds for training, this Catholic hospital will be able to provide quality care to mothers and babies. We at PRI know that quality, pro-life care leads to safe motherhood and successful births. We are grateful to our donors who make the Family Care Center Project possible. God willing we will continue to deliver ultrasound machines to African and South American countries for many years to come.
“Our Family Care Center project continues to expand, with two new ultrasound machines placed in hospitals run by committed Christian pro-lifers just this month,” says PRI President Steven Mosher. “These ultrasounds are truly the gift that keeps on giving since they are being used to discourage moms from considering abortion–and saving unborn lives–every day. We are grateful to everyone who has supported this life-saving effort.”
Drew The Catholic: Mr. Mosher appeared on Drew The Catholic to discuss his latest book, The Devil and Communist China. The host, Drew, shared how “timely” he believes this new book to be. The Chinese Communist Party has carried out and continues to carry out some of the greatest human rights abuses in history. As these evils are exposed, not only in China but also in other countries, the hope is that people will shy away and seek good instead. At the end of every chapter in The Devil and Communist China, Mr. Mosher brings attention to the light and truth of Jesus Christ. When confronted with great evil, people should turn to Christianity to find answers. This is exactly how Mr. Mosher’s conversion began when faced with the evil of forced abortion in China.
Don’t have a copy of this eye-opener yet? Request your copy today.
Uyghurs Under Attack: The Chinese Communist Party has started a new campaign to erase religion and religious history. According to the National Catholic Register, the campaign involves the widespread renaming of villages across Xinjiang. Human Rights Watch (HRW) exposed this campaign, which is a systematized effort to reframe the traditionally Islamic and Uyghur names into Communist references. In fourteen years, 3,600 of 25,000 total villages have been renamed, with 630 of these involving changes of a religious, cultural, or historical nature. This is yet another abuse of the Uyghurs, who have been a target of the CCP for years.
Quoted by the National Catholic Register, Mr. Mosher stated, “The CCP is determined to stamp out all religions in China, including Catholicism, and to this end has been rewriting history, changing names, and encouraging worship of the ‘Party,’ rather than God, from the very founding of the PRC [People’s Republic of China].”
Deepening Depopulation
Four Reasons: As you know well by now, the U.S. fertility rate is falling. But why aren’t young Americans having children? According to Professor (Emeritus) Mike Walden of North Carolina State University, it boils down to four reasons: individualism, tight money, aging, and fear. First, young Americans put themselves first. As journalist Louis March puts it, “The work, sacrifice and inconvenience of rearing children don’t jive with egotistical priorities.” Second, children cost money and with the current economy, Americans don’t see building a family as financially possible. Third, young Americans may be choosing to care for their elderly parents over having children. Finally, Americans may simply be scared. Whether it’s fear over financial struggle or fear that having children will hurt the planet, fear is preventing people from starting or growing their families.
Fewer Marriages: The number of first-time marriages in China dropped by 8.3% in the first quarter, continuing a decade-long decline. Despite a brief 12% uptick last year, following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, first marriages have overall plummeted by nearly 56% over the past nine years, according to the 2023 China Statistical Yearbook. This decline in marriages is one result of China’s one-child policy, which, combined with a preference for sons, caused a severe gender imbalance in the country. Now, fewer marriages mean a further decrease in birth rates and an aging population. These are projected by the United Nations to reduce China’s population from 1.4 billion to 800 million by 2100.
Communist China
Renewal Announced: Cardinal Parolin has announced that the Sino-Vatican agreement will be renewed at the end of this year. This announcement came last week, during a presentation of the book Cardinal Celso Costantini and China – Constructor of a “bridge” between the East and West. Without giving any details, Parolin alluded to alleged “positive developments” resulting from the mysterious deal, which he claimed “give us hope that more and greater ones will follow.” Parolin and Pope Francis continue defending their agreement with China, despite concerns voiced by Catholic clergy, freedom advocates, China experts, and numerous others. PRI President Steven Mosher even flew to Rome in 2018 to implore Parolin not to enter this agreement, but his warnings were disregarded.
“The Vatican continues to pretend that it has achieved a modus vivendi with the Chinese Communist Party,” says Mr. Mosher. “In fact, the supposed agreement–which I believe has never been ratified by the CCP–has only exposed faithful Catholics in China to even more persecution.”
Read PRI’s full report on the Sino-Vatican agreement.
CCP Dismisses the EU: The Chinese Communist Party has once again dismissed European Union (EU) calls for it to stop ongoing human rights abuses. The EU had expressed concerns, following a visit to Tibet and meetings with Chinese officials, over severe human rights conditions in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. Leaders of the EU highlighted crackdowns on rights defenders and journalists and cases of unlawful detention and torture. In response, Chinese officials stated that the EU should “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of human rights issues.” Despite this refusal, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian continued to claim that China was willing to cooperate with the EU based on equality and mutual respect.
UN Misdeeds
UN Calls on Feminists: The UN agency for women recently shared an anonymous article on its website calling upon feminists to defend LGBT ideology against “anti-rights” groups. The article contained warnings about the so-called “anti-rights” movements. It went on to urge feminists to “push forward and act collectively to protect and promote LGBTIQ+ people’s equality and rights.” The publication of this article shows the success of groups and organizations that stand for life, family, and traditional values against those that push the LGBT agenda. These progressive agencies, including UN Women, are seeing less support as more and more feminists see the danger of the transgender movement to women.
Science Gone Mad
End-of-Life Evolves: End-of-life care in the United Kingdom has changed a lot in the past 15 years. In this piece for the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family, Fr. Patrick Pullicino shares what he has observed in this field over time. He focuses on a new report titled “When End of Life Care Goes Wrong” which highlighted serious ethical and legal breaches in 16 cases out of 600 complaints. A few of these warranted prosecution for unlawful homicide. This report revealed instances where medical ethics were disregarded, leading to actions that hastened death without proper consent from patients or their families. These controversies have infiltrated the National Health Service, distorting palliative care, which was originally developed to ensure compassionate treatment for dying patients without hastening death.
Pro-Life Around the World
A Euthanasia Lawsuit: A Canadian couple is suing the healthcare provider of a Catholic hospital in Vancouver for not euthanizing their daughter. St. Paul’s Hospital does not perform euthanasia on its premises, instead transferring patients to non-Catholic facilities for the procedure. However, this was not enough for the parents of a terminally ill woman who was receiving care at St. Paul’s. The couple claims that their daughter’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms was violated by the British Columbia government’s religious exemption to the provincial medical assistance in dying (MAID) policy. The goal of their lawsuit, which was filed on June 17th, is for the province to remove the religious exemption.
Pro-Life on the Home Front
Second Anniversary: On Monday, the pro-life movement celebrated the second anniversary of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. While we celebrate this great victory, the fight for life does not stop here. As pro-life activist Ellen Sweeney shared with World, “You’re never going to win a final victory on this. Every day is a new fight. Every day, you gotta return to the battle.” Sweeney was correct—everyday is another day of effort in the pro-life movement. This November, almost a dozen states may hold pro-abortion referendums, so countless pro-life individuals, groups, and organizations are gearing up for state and national battles in this fall’s election. We celebrate the many little lives that Roe’s overturn has saved, while working and praying for the many more little lives that we have the chance to save in the future.
“Two years ago, the deadly Roe v. Wade decision was finally overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, thanks to the three new pro-life justices nominated by President Trump,” says Mr. Mosher. “The issue is now, for the time being, in the hands of the fifty states, where the pro-life movement continues to press forward towards the protection of every human life from conception.”
Progressive Programs: President Biden has announced two new taxpayer-funded, “equity”-focused programs to expand the Sexual Revolution at home and abroad. For the United States, the Biden administration unveiled the Accelerating Choice, Equity, and Sustainability for Services (ACCESS) program. This program will provide $1.2 million to address “persistent barriers” to “family planning and reproductive health,” especially for teenagers, disabled individuals, minorities, migrants, and “other underserved and underrepresented groups, such as LGBTQI+ persons.” Internationally, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed to “supporting family planning progress in West Africa through an expected $86.5 million,” which the administration says is a $15.5 million increase over last year. For both of these programs, “family planning” translates to pushing contraception and abortion.
Good News
A Step Towards Blessed: Chiara Corbella Petrillo’s cause for beatification has moved one step forward. On June 21st, the Diocese of Rome officially closed the diocesan phase of the investigation into the life and virtues of Chiara. Chiara was a Catholic wife and mother who suffered greatly from loss and cancer before dying in 2012. However, throughout all her suffering, she remained joyful. The investigation into her life and virtues was opened in 2018. Now the next step in the process of beatification is for the Holy Father to recognize her as someone who lived a life of heroic virtue and declare her “Venerable.” After that, two miracles attributed to her intercession will be necessary for her to be declared a saint.
“Chiara, soon to be declared Venerable, sacrificed her own life so that her child might live,” says Mr. Mosher. “She rejected treatment for an aggressive cancer because it would have harmed her unborn child. By the time she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, the cancer was too advanced to save her. Pray for us, Servant of God Chiara Corbella Petrillo.”
Quote of the Week
“Life is not even to be defended; it is to be guarded, which is perhaps a nuance, but it is a nuance that Chiara [Corbella Petrillo] helps us to grasp, because those who ‘defend’ have enemies. We don’t have any enemies, and we embraced [the story] the Lord was writing.”
~ Enrico Petrillo, Chiara’s husband, source
