Dear People of God,
This is to wish you a Merry Christmas and a grace-filled New Year. It is my hope that this Christmas finds you all healthy in body, soul and spirit. I am constantly praying for you. Have a fruitful Christmas celebration.
I am equally thankful to you for the weekly briefing throughout the year. What is more, I have been able to compiled these weekly briefings into pamphlet or book for the parish mini-library. I am grateful to you all for all that you have been doing for humanity.
God bless you all,
Fr. Effah, Ghana, West Africa
Dear Steve,
Your letter was quite an encouragement to me. We have 7 children and recently left our church of the past 9 years in part because of how we were treated. Unusual in today’s society, neither my husband nor I have living parents, I have no siblings, and we have no contact with my husband’s two siblings.
We always hoped that we would be embraced by a local church to be an extended church family for us and our children. Instead, at the Main Street Baptist Church in Oneonta, New York, we found antagonism toward our large home-schooling family. Our children were ignored even though we made clear how much we needed help. The children who were from the more “elite” families, even if they had tons of family, got all the attention and my children were ignored or ridiculed.
We got so much criticism from them, and so little support. Each time I had a new baby, they really didn’t care, and they knew I had no one to help me once l got home. They did provide about a week or so of meals, but when you have a large family and no extended family to help, it can be quite emotionally trying.
We meet people outside the church, some who may or may not be Christians, who seem to like my children and my family, but why our church ignored us escapes us. Christmas time was sad because we had so few to share it with. But thank you for your encouragement.
Janine, New York
Ed. Note: We live in an age where even many churches are unwelcoming of large families. Perhaps this is guilt on the part of the other members of the congregation who, despite knowing that children are a blessing from God, nevertheless reject that blessing by contracepting, sterilizing, or aborting themselves. When we encounter a large family, we give them all the encouragement we can.
Thanks for the great news [rejection of legalized abortion in Colombia]. Although I was born in the Panama Canal Zone back in the 1940s, therefore a natural-born citizen of the USA, my dad was born in Bogota in 1900. We celebrate with the people of Colombia, those who understand this good news and with those who do not. La Inmaculada is a merciful mother to all.
Mary Hartwell, Florida
Dear Mr. Mosher,
I have just completed your book A Mother’s Ordeal, which I’d borrowed from a friend. I have just ordered a copy from your organization.
We are the Canadian parents of five children — 2 biological, and 3 adopted from China. We’ve also just begun the paperwork to adopt a 4th child from China. Your book will one day prove an invaluable tool in helping our children understand why their birth parents were forced to make the heart-rending decision to give their children up. Through its pages, they will see the horrific atrocities which were, and are, perpetrated upon the Chinese population.
Our sincere hope is that your book will help them arrive at a fuller understanding of the great sacrifice made by their birth mothers. Surely these women are heroes in the fullest sense.
I am daily surprised at the ignorance of people in the West. Their lack of understanding of just how our precious little girls came to be orphans grieves me. When we mention the one-child policy, we are — more often than not — met with blank, uncomprehending stares. Thank you for writing the book, and if you are still in contact with Chi An, please thank her for sharing her story.
Deborah, Canada
Dear Steve:
Tell them the reason nations have trouble meeting their social security obligations is that they discourage people from having children.
Prof. William Parente
Dept. of Political Science
University of Scranton, PA
For years we have been shouting this message from the rooftops; it appears people are listening. We appreciate Pro. Parente’s support. Steve
Glad you guys caught the current change at the Post [PRI Weekly Briefing: Abortion Doubters at the Washington Post?]. Richard Cohen was my biggest surprise.
Right now I am looking at the Social Security materials blaming the Baby Boomer growth for future problems. Last night an SS insider admitted to me that they are monitoring the birthrate here and overseas. He was remarkably well versed on Western Europe and Japan.
The speaker went on for 90 minutes without mentioning the birthrate until I brought it up after his presentation.
Larry Kane, Virginia
Dearest Beloved,
Greetings to you from Lagos-Nigeria. Thank you for the wonderful messages you send to me. I really appreciate it, because it sharpens my idea more on HIV/AIDS in term of abstinence. Pastor Jeremiah Lasun, Nigeria
