I was out of the country on November 2, but not to worry, I made absolutely sure that my vote was counted, casting an absentee ballot several weeks before the election. That level of intensity was common on our side, among Catholics and evangelicals alike, and it brought pro-life voters out to the polls in unprecedented numbers. We gave Bush a second term, added to the pro-life majority in the House and Senate, and now expect the President to give priority to our concerns.
What led to my flight to London was not fear of a Kerry victory (although I do hope that some of my disgruntled countrymen on the other side of the abortion issue make good on their threat to move to France — it will raise the IQ of both countries), but a summit meeting to plan for a more pro-life world. With the pro-abortion, anti-family movement in the U.S. (and in Australia) in defeat and disarray, now is the time to push vigorously forward.
My Traveling Companion
Traveling with me to the UK was someone who has been faithful to the cause of life for longer than I have been alive, the Apostle of Life himself, Father Paul Marx. Still active at 84, Father continues to serve as the Chairman of the Board of Population Research Institute and is the Honorary Founder of our new international outreach, Family Life International. In honor of his tireless efforts to build a Culture of Life worldwide, we invited Father to become the first recipient of our annual “Faithful for Life Award.” No one deserved it more. (See “Fr. Paul Marx Receives Faithful for Life Award” for story.)
The first order of business was a two-day Family Life International/Population Research Institute conference. The event was organized by our UK branch headed by Greg Clovis, and featured many branch leaders, including Dr. Claude Newbury of South Africa, Colleen Bayer of New Zealand, Gail Instance of Australia, and Father Linus Clovis of the Caribbean, as well as talks by leading UK pro-life experts on many pressing issues, from euthanasia in the European Union to the imposition of abortion on Catholic countries.
The cover story has the details, but I want to remark here on the joy that suffused this meeting of people from around the world dedicated to what Pope John Paul II told Father Marx was “the most important work on earth.” And to see Father Marx himself, surrounded by dozens of pro-lite “acolytes,” talking non-stop about how to roll back the Culture of Death, brought additional satisfaction. The words of Peter came unbidden to mind, when at the Transfiguration he turned to Our Lord and said, “Master, it is good for us to be here.”
Why London?
London was an appropriate place to hold such an event. Along with Washington and New York, the British capital is one of the three great epicenters of the Culture of Death. It is the home of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, abortion provider Marie Stopes International, and the British government’s Overseas Development Agency, to name just three of the local agencies that regularly send out abortion shock waves to relatively innocent and untouched corners of the world. Although the battle to build a Culture of Life must be fought on every continent, every country and, indeed, in every family, it cannot be won without attacking the engines of the Culture of Death, several of which are found in the British capital.
So it was that, after the conference, the FLI board of directors went on retreat, spending two days laying out practical plans for the coming year. I don’t have the space to go into each of our projects here (not to mention that I don’t want to tip off any members of the abortion movement who may happen upon this publication), but let me assure you that we will be active on every continent. We will be rescuing mothers and babies, and seeking legal protection for the unborn. We will hold conferences to educate the public on the sanctity of life. We will attack the opposition where they are most vulnerable, exposing abuses and working to cut off funding. I will share the details of these initiatives with you in the months to come.
We have laid out, no doubt, what many would regard as an ambitious agenda, not least because the record of population control horrors is already long, and the abortion status quo remains deeply entrenched in many countries. But we trust, as it is written, that nothing is impossible with God. And we count on your prayers that our efforts will bear fruit.
You may notice a change in our masthead. Our former editor, Sarah (Dateno) Kramer has gone on to a higher calling, that of motherhood, in which endeavor we wish her well. She served PRI long and well, first as Executive Assistant to the President, and then later as our Editor. She will be missed.
The masthead now bears the name of our new editor, and Vice President for Communications, Joseph A. D’Agostino. Joseph joins us from almost a decade with the Washington publication Human Events, a national — and very pro-life — conservative political journal, where he most recently served as Associate Editor. Like myself, he is a convert to the Catholic faith and so is interested in making up for lost time. As the PRI Review grows in depth, breadth, and incisiveness in the months to come, it will be a result of his labors.
