Fr. Frank Pavone Writes An Open Letter to President Barack Obama

1/23/2013

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list will be a Catholic Priest named Fr. Frank Pavone. He may be of small physical stature, like David of the Old Testament story, but he has a heart which is huge and the courage of a spiritual warrior. Fr Frank Pavone has wielded his small smooth stones and sling mightily in the battle against the Goliath of the contemporary Culture of Death and that giant staggers as a result.

On the day when we gather in Washington DC, to mourn the Fourtieth anniversary of Roe and Doe, I can think of no place I would rather be than by the side of Fr Frank Pavone. I will be, beginning at the National Memorial for the preborn and their mothers and fathers. You need to be there as well. You can find out all about it and join thousands of others in prayer, repentance and action by visiting this website.

I offer below an example of the prophetic and courageous voice of Fr Frank Pavone. This is a letter Fr Pavone addressed to President Barack Obama on the occasion of his second inauguration on Monday, January 21, 2013, the anniversary of the slain Civil Rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I invite our readers to reproduce this letter and make it as widely available as possible.

*****

An Open Letter to President Obama

January 21, 2013

Mr. President:

Many Americans are praying for you as you are inaugurated today. I am among them, as I participate today in the national commemorative service for the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and join his family at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Yet when wild applause erupts today for you here today, I will not be applauding. When standing ovations occur, I will stand to honor my country and the office of its President, but I will not be applauding, because, I do not believe that you should be the current occupant of the White House.

When you were first elected, many rejoiced that yet another barrier had been broken for racial equality in our nation. I rejoiced with them. Yet so many African-Americans could have been -- and can still be -- elected to the Presidency who better represent and advance the principles on which our country was founded.

Instead, you so often violate them. Therefore, along with the chorus of praise, I want to write this letter today representing so many of our fellow Americans who raise a chorus of concern, particularly regarding your stand on life, religious freedom, and marriage.

As I stated, I am here today with the King Family in Atlanta. That is because Dr. Alveda King, Martin's niece, is a fulltime member of my team at Priests for Life. She travels this nation bearing witness to the fact that the civil rights movement of today is the pro-life movement. We proclaim the principle behind the civil rights movement -- namely, equality for every human life -- and apply it to the children yet in their mothers' womb.

And we protest your apparent unwillingness to recognize their equal dignity. You represent the blind spot that advocates of abortion across America demonstrate, as they cry out about the right to life of children slain in Newtown, Connecticut, but never acknowledge the right to life that those same children had when in the womb.

We protest your unrelenting attack on religious freedom and on the institution of marriage. My ministry of Priests for Life was among the first to launch a federal lawsuit against the HHS mandate, and we recently won an initial victory in federal court in New York. We will continue to advance this lawsuit and will settle for nothing less than the complete withdrawal of the mandate across the board and across the nation.

Mr. President, I write today on behalf of countless Americans who love their country, but whose very love of that country causes them distress at so many of your actions and positions. There is a lot of room in our country for legitimate political debate. But our objections go beyond that. This is not just about your policies, but about your principles, so many of which completely contradict those on which our nation was founded.

Indeed, many will be praying for you today, and part of that fervent prayer is for an authentic change of mind and heart on the part of the President of the United States.

Respectfully,

Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Roe v Wade, Doe v Bolton, Fr Frank Pavone, President Barack Obama, Pro-Life, Right to Life, Deacon Keith Fournier

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1 - 6 of 6 Comments

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3 months ago
Fr. Frank Pavone is a genuine modern day hero. Priests For Life is a small group of priests who represent what every Bishop and priest should be. Sadly, Priests For Life are only an exception to the rule not "The Rule" of the church. This gives us an idea why 52% of the Catholics voted for Obama. What a shame.
Dan Brogdon
3 months ago
Thank You Father!
I will spread your letter around.
I will not bend on this issue either.
I will not go away, will take this to my grave.
John
3 months ago
Great, Great..... I wish that all legislators read and meditate Psalm 139 and see if they can contradict the word of God. " It was you who created my inmost being, and put me together in my mother's womb; You know me through and through, from having watched my boners take shape when I was being forme3d in secret, knitted together in my mother's womb,,,,,,,
Lindangel
3 months ago
This letter is awesome and so true. But unfortunately Obama will never see the letter, and if he did by some slim chance-he does not care what you think! He and the democrats have an agenda, and nothing will stand in their way--especially the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is just a nuisance to Obama, and he will make the Catholic Church irrelevant. Even the current Newsweek magazine is calling Obama, the "Second Coming". May God have mercy on the souls of all you Catholics who voted for Obama again.
DLL
4 months ago
A baby means responsibility,abortion means that one need not face that responsibility,so abortion is choice. Christ was a challenge to the beaurocracy of religious leaders of his day. They chose to find a convenient time to execute him. Christ challenged their mighty power of self righteousness. Christ rocked the boat with truth as he still does today. He was executed with the hope that his concepts as he taught them would die with him. His executioners hoped he would be completely forgotten in time. This is true of the aborted individual as welll because they were never born they are easily dismissed as nothing much to think about at all and only a fool would choose to remember them as a human person murdered in the womb. The truth is that truth must be protected,as with each pregnancy is an answer to a prayer. The individual that is gifted and capable of being a great human with great contributions for humanity is never given a chance to be born and nurtured. That is a great loss for everyone. A child must be the product of a country that loves children. Politics that protect abortion as a convenient form of birth control do not respect the dignity of each and every human person. A government that supports abortion is a token one with no conscience. They are not advocates for the freedoms of any human person as banality is the substance of such a government,in it's decrees,ordinances and agendas. No one who supports abortion can take any oath that protects the freedom of anyone because life has no concrete protection from conception to a natural death,espescially if at any time a human life is defined as being inconvenient. The President is unmovable in his position on birth control as is the Vice President,nothing will change. Father Pavone is a great American and I trust in his judgement on the matter of abortion because when he speaks about the issue it is as if I am hearing Christ firsthand. We have become a rolling stone culture because with the loss of morals each and every stone is continually rolling ever so slowly down hill. No morals equals no freedom for anyone....Luke Warm on this matter is confirmation of the entire issue and the endorsement of abortion.
Robert
4 months ago
Amen. It is good to hear a prominent Catholic clergy with fortitude take a stand against a man who does evil things.

Dear Father Pavone,
Thank you. Where did you find the strength? Please pass it around the halls of the USCCB.

I implore fellow Catholics to read Pope Benedict's Motus Propio.

Should Catholics support Social Justice? Yes, but not at the price of ignoring or violating the teachings of the faith. There does exist a hierarchy of evils. It is the duty of our clergy to make this known to the congregations.

Thank you Fr. Pavone

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