Y-LIFE? Because Life Is For Everyone!

2012-02-09T14:37:00.000-05:00

Check it out: The Media’s Abortion Blinders

2012-02-08T21:46:00.001-05:00

Check these out. They've got some really great info.
(www.abortionbreastcancer.com)
(www.polycarp.org).
(www.bcpinstitute.org)

2011-12-05T17:29:00.000-05:00

Interesting video...
http://youtu.be/zBS6f-JVvTY

Voices From the Womb

2011-11-14T07:48:00.003-05:00

Check this out...
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/voices-from-the-womb-goes-to-washington1

Y-LIFE's Awesome Conference

2011-10-09T18:35:00.000-04:00

Wow! How can I not be motivated to do more pro-life activities after listening to Fr. Stephen Imbarrato of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and Tyler Ament of the International Youth Coalition. Both speakers gave incredible talks on LIFE. Fr.Stephen told some very interesting stories (the Kathy Ireland one was great), and Mr. Ament gave a very informative talk on global LIFE issues. From Mr. Ament I leared that what we do in the battle for Life should be done positively and pro-actively. After Father's talk I understood that we are all accountable for the 126,000 daily deaths of unborn children in the world; and that we should do things everyday to stop this horrible slaughter. Posting pro-life things on Facebook is good, but it is not enough. We must go down to the abortion mills and pray and witness in front of them. It is there that we come face to face with the reality and can make a real difference.

Last Year's Conference with Father Tad ...

2011-09-09T11:57:00.000-04:00

Looking over the blog, we realized we never posted a picture from the 2010 Youth Conference ...! Here's one of Fr. Tad Pacholczyk with some of the Conference participants from last year.

Connecticut Right to Life Corp. Comes Through for Y-LIFE ... BIG TIME.

2011-09-08T11:25:00.001-04:00

Well, what can we say? Connecticut Right to Life Corporation has once again come through for us with a very generous donation to offset the Conference. Talk about "casting bread upon the waters" ... they are firm believers in the future of the pro-life movement, and they see that future as being young people.

Actually, the donation came a few days before the tag sale we had (with the AhChoo Homeschooling Group of Waterbury.) We were going into the tag sale late, in a different venue, without our usual inventory and it felt a little panicky. The CRLC donation was a sign to us as we plodded onwards that it was all going to be okay. And it was. The tag sale was a success!

Also, as an aside, tag sales are very pro-life and spiritually profitable ... a lot of stuff that would normally be thrown out gets used again (good stewardship AND green!), tag sales help the poor (work of mercy!) and you get to hang out with people in a semi-relaxing atmosphere (fellowship!) We say semi-relaxing because set-up and take-down are not relaxing at all, but LOTS of work (work is prayer!)

Tag Sales are good, Connecticut Right to Life Corp is wonderful, the Conference is all set. If anyone else out there would like to sponsor an ad in our program book, click here for the form!

Prayers for Deacon Scott McKee...

2011-09-08T01:34:00.000-04:00

Let's all keep Deacon Scott McKee in our prayers today as he undergoes surgery. One thing he was very comforted by is the fact that today is Our Lady's birthday. So let's ask for her loving intercession on his behalf for a successful surgery and speedy recovery.

And Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother!

Conference Schedule Firmed Up for OCTOBER 8th!

2011-09-08T01:12:00.003-04:00

Y-LIFE Confirms 2nd Conference Speaker Tyler Ament

2011-09-05T08:47:00.009-04:00

Tyler Ament is the Director of the International Youth Coalition (IYC). Prior to working as Director of IYC, Ament was the Manager of Operations and New Media at the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-FAM).

Ament has worked as an expert on youth issues for the Holy See at the United Nations, and also to defend the family in UN documents with various delegations at UN Commissions, as an Edmund Burke Fellow.

Ament is passionate about using technology and media to defend genuine values. He has worked in the film industry with Metanoia Films (makers of the award-winning film, Bella), and in the software industry in the field of emerging technologies.

Ament earned his BA in English Language and Literature from Christendom College, and is originally from Southern California.

Y-LIFE Confirms Conference Speaker Fr. Stephen Imbarrato

2011-08-30T14:05:00.004-04:00

One would be hard pressed to find a Catholic priest who wouldn’t describe his path to the priesthood as a "grace filled journey." Father Stephen Imbarrato of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, has good reason to make that claim. For Father Stephen, who was ordained in 2005, that grace includes great blessings – such as the joy of adopting a son as a single person and his dedicated involvement in various pro-life initiatives.

It also includes the knowledge that it was a painful past – namely his own complicity in an abortion 35 years ago- that brought him to the pro-life movement in the first place, opened him to the priesthood and now allows him to preach the Gospel of Life “from the standpoint of mercy.”

In 1974, he said, “I did not stand up for my girlfriend when I got her pregnant,” and today he counts himself as sharing the guilt for her decision to abort. It wasn’t until years later as a seminarian that he learned she had been carrying twins.

Fr Imbarrato began pro-life work in the early nineties as a political activist, but soon realized the call to pro-life ministry joining Lifenet of NJ as a member of their Speaker Bureau. When he entered Holy Apostles Seminary in 2000, he directed their Life League (HALL), and while still in the seminary founded St Gerard's Center for Life in Hartford. Ordained to the priesthood in 2005, Father soon founded Project Defending Life (www.defendinglife.org) in his home diocese of Santa Fe, NM, which has many pro-life ministries and activities under its direction including the Holy Innocents Chapel directly across from Planned Parenthood. Father Stephen celebrates Mass in the Chapel twice a week and leads a Eucharistic Procession to Planned Parenthood, the only ministry in the US with regularly scheduled Eucharistic processions to an abortion mill.

Y-LIFE members attend CT Right to Life Conference

2011-05-24T09:12:00.003-04:00

Five Y-LIFE members attended the CT Right to Life Conference in Cromwell on Saturday, May 21st. Steven Mosher from the Population Research Institute (PRI) gave an awesome presentation about the myths of an overpopulated world and also forced abortions in China. You can check out the PRI website at http://www.pop.org/.

Welcome Jasper Liggio

2011-05-16T12:08:00.000-04:00

We would like to welcome Jasper Liggio, the new president of Holy Apostles Life League. We look forward to working with Jasper on the details of the 2011 conference. A big "thank you" goes out to Scott McKee for all of his help at the first two Y-LIFE/Holy Apostles conferences.

Fall Conference 2011

2011-04-26T15:43:00.001-04:00

Keep an eye on this blog for new info concerning the 2011 Y-Life conference to be held in the fall!

Both Sides of the Debate on Embryonic Stem Cell Reseach Part 2

2011-04-26T14:10:00.001-04:00

If you haven't read part 1, click here.

Science has made many important advances over the last 50 years. Some of the most important of these advances are in the field of stem cell research. However, studies in the area of embryonic stem cell research have sparked considerable ethical disagreement. The controversy is caused by the fact that embryonic stem cells are obtained through the destruction of human embryos. This circumstance has led many people to claim that embryonic stem cell research is unethical. However, there are also many people who believe that the research is ethical and necessary to the future of modern medicine.

The debate in favor of embryonic stem cell research is based on three main arguments. The first and most important argument is that not all humans are persons. The second argument is that most of the embryos used for experimentation are left over from in-vitro fertilization. These embryos would simply be wasted if not used for research. The final argument is that all the good that will come from the research will far outweigh the negative effects of destroying the embryos.

The outcome of the embryonic stem cell debate could have serious consequences for our society. However, before the ethical arguments can be discussed, it is necessary to have some understanding of what stem cells are and why scientists find them so intriguing.

Stem cells are cells that have not yet been specialized to perform a specific bodily function. They have the ability to turn into many different types of specialized cells such as bone, muscle, and nerve cells. The two main types of stem cells are embryonic and adult. Embryonic stem cells are derived from human embryos. Researchers often proclaim embryonic stem cells as the most promising form of stem cell because of their potential to turn into almost any type of cell. Adult stem cells, on the other hand, are taken from a more developed human. Up until recently, it was believed that adult stem cells could only turn into a limited variety of cells. However, new advances in science indicate that adult stem cells can be “reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell–like state” (NIH, 2009). These cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells, may be as powerful as true embryonic stem cells. Thus, embryonic research is not the only promising form of stem cell research.

Adult stem cells, which do not raise ethical objections, also hold many possible uses. Stem cells have the potential to cure many previously untreatable diseases and disorders. According to the National Institute of Health website (2009), “Stem cells, directed to differentiate into specific cell types, offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat diseases including Alzheimer's diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.” Adult stem cells have already been successfully used to treat aliments such as spinal cord injuries, blindness, leukemia, and sickle cell anemia. On the contrary, embryonic stem cells have not yet been used effectively in humans. However, researchers continue to have great faith in their potential: “Stem cells offer exciting promise for future therapies, but significant technical hurdles remain that will only be overcome through years of intensive research” (NIH, 2009). Thus, while embryonic stem cells have many intriguing possibilities, it may be many years before any of them are realized.

The chief argument in favor of embryonic stem cell research is based on creating a distinction between being human and being a person. There is now agreement among most researchers that life begins at conception. According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, “the preimplantation human embryo warrants serious moral consideration as a developing form of human life” (Coleman, 1998, p. 4). Thus, rather than arguing that life does not begin at conception, proponents of embryonic research now believe that personhood does not begin at conception. According to this idea, a being must possess certain qualities in order to be considered a person: “Among these are an entity’s possession of a full human genome; its potential for development into a human being; sentience; and the presence of well- developed cognitive abilities such as consciousness, reasoning ability, or the possession of self-concept” (Chapman, Frankel, & Garfinkel, 1999, p. 11). This theory points out that, although every human cell has the unique set of DNA that classifies it as a member of the human species, not every individual cell is considered a person. Thus, there must be some distinction between being human and being a person. This distinction occurs when a human becomes conscious and able to reason. Since an embryo does not possess these qualities, it is not considered a person. All human cells are not protected by law, because they are not considered people; therefore, embryos, which do not meet all the qualifications of personhood, should not be protected either.

The people who are against embryonic stem cell research see the separation of personhood from humanity not only as fallacious but also dangerous. They argue that the ambiguous definition of personhood allows too much leeway. It is impossible to define exactly the day or second that a human becomes a person. Additionally, if a human can start being a person, they can also stop being one. Thus, any human who loses the ability to reason could potentially be considered a non-person. They would then not possess any inalienable human rights. Eventually, this belief could cause anyone who is mentally handicapped or disabled to be considered less of a person than those people who are of normal mental capacity. This circumstance essentially eliminates the idea that all people are equal and possess inherent human rights.

Both Sides of the Debate on Embryonic Stem Cell Reseach Part 1

2011-04-26T13:49:00.003-04:00

Y-Life will, in the next few blog posts, present a paper written by one of our members, Ella B. We are showing you Ella's paper because it isn't biased. It merely presents an argument from both sides without heated debate. Read these installments and decide for yourself.

There are two main types of stem cells used for research, embryonic and adult. Embryonic stem cell research is extremely controversial. The problem with the research is that it involves the destroying of a human embryo. So far, it has not produced any cures. However, adult stem cells have already been used successfully in several applications. Those people who favor embryonic research justify their position by saying that, while embryos are human, they are not people. Thus, embryos do not possess inherent human rights. The opponents of this idea argue that separating personhood from humanity could ultimately lead to the elimination of all inalienable rights. Another argument in favor of embryonic stem cell research is that there are many embryos frozen in in-vitro fertilization clinics that will be wasted if not used for research. It is thus best to get some good out of the embryos by using them for experimentation. The response to this position is that destroying human embryos in an attempt to advance medicine is just as unethical as killing a born person for the same reason. The fact that the person or embryo is going to die eventually is no reason to purposefully kill them. The final reason to support embryonic research is that it has the potential to do great good. This good will hopefully far outweigh the harm done in destroying the embryos. The oppositionists’ response to this idea is that the outcome of research is unpredictable. It is thus unsound to justify actions based on their goal because that goal may never be reached. Since both the possible good and bad effects of embryonic stem cell research are so far reaching, people should be sure to take the time to understand both sides of the debate before forming an opinion on the issue.

To read part 2, click here

Y-LIFE and Holy Apostles Life League CONFERENCE TOMORROW with Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

2010-10-15T11:29:00.000-04:00

Sorry we haven't posted in a while. Everyone is back to school and writing papers for teachers and professors. We hope to get some blog posts up soon.

Our Conference featuring Fr. Tad Pacholczyk is tomorrow, with registration beginning at 9:30 a.m. We are pleased to announce that our celebrant for Mass at 10 a.m. in the new Queen of Apostles Chapel is Fr. Dennis Kolinski, SJC.

If you would like to attend, shoot us an email to ylifeprovita@gmail.com and we will register you at the door.

Pro-Life Campus Group of the Week .... and CONFERENCE 2010

2010-08-29T22:01:00.001-04:00

Well, a bunch of our Y-Lifers have either gone back to school or headed off as freshmen and one of our supporters has entered religious life. In addition, Deacon John from Holy Apostles and a former member of the Holy Apostles Life League is now Father John Trambley of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and many other things have changed since our Conference last September. It's kind of sad to say goodbye to so many of our stalwarts, but there are some younger kids getting active in the group, we have a couple college students in the area and hopefully, the Conference will bring some new faces to Y-Life.

So ... a little quiz. Two of our members, Jeanne B. and Ella B. go to a university that has the graphic at left as part of their logo. We can inform you with absolute certainty that this graphic will not help you by just looking at it. But you can click here for the answer ... yet another active pro-life campus group at a state university ... young pro-lifers are EVERYWHERE.

Back to the Conference ... it's coming up fast - October 16th. Fr. Tad Pacholczyk is our speaker and he is really not to be missed. If you or your friends have ever been frustrated by proponents of abortion waving the wet towel of science around, it's time to snap a towel back. You will be fascinated by the truth, and taking truth away with you, you don't have to be frustrated anymore. Every form you need can be found on the left sidebar of this blog at the very top, but to make things super easy, here are the details about the Conference. Once you have read the preceding link, you will be so motivated to go that you'll need a registration form, which you will find here. And, seriously, if you are going to go, take friends from your parish, school or pro-life group with you. Check with your pastor or DRE and see if this Conference can also serve as a fulfillment of a requirement for your Confirmation. It is a retreat of sorts, but we covered that in the last post.

We are especially in need of ad sponsors, so if some of you out there would download the sponsor form and see if your parish or parish pro-life group would be interested in sponsoring an ad or sentiment, you can find all the detals here. And if any of our fantastic Twitter followers would like to either attend the Conference in Cromwell, CT at Holy Apostles OR send in an ad or sentiment, that would be great! Any any questions, concerns, comments ... whatever, do not hesitate to email us at: ylifeprovita@gmail.com.

And God keep all you guys out there ... we miss you and will see you at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Keep the Truth about the babies alive so they can stay alive and see the light of day and so their parents, especially their mothers, will not have to go through life damaged by abortion.

Confirmation Candidates in Connecticut - Retreat Opportunity

2010-07-17T12:12:00.009-04:00

(Check out all the info at the top of the blog sidebar.) Our Conference this year is also a fantastic retreat opportunity for Confirmation candidates. You may be thinking that pro-life work is all about the evil of abortion and we have even heard a priest say, "I would really like to see more pro-life groups focus on the death penalty and the injustice of war." A lot of folks think we ignore the more standard peace and justice ministries, and this is simply not the case.

Take Dr. Theresa Krankowski, founder of St. Gerard's Center for Life. In ministering to abortion-minded women, she, and the St. Gerard volunteers, often-times end up clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, visiting the prisoner and visiting the sick. Ironically, when it is time to bury the dead of this terrible wholesale killing of the unborn, most of the time their little bodies cannot be found, so Dr. Theresa works in the spiritual realm and comforts the sorrowful mothers. She and her volunteers also instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, counsel the doubtful, bear wrongs patiently, forgive injuries and pray for the living and the dead. And Dr. Theresa is just one of many who work tirelessly in the pro-life movement to stand up to the culture of death with truth and love. Just so you know. Her ministry doesn't play well in, say, The Hartford Courant or People Magazine or The New York Times. The secular culture likes food drives, cure walkathons and vigils outside of prisons (all of which are good things). But there is also lots of sympathetic coverage for "the right to choose" when you will not find any kind of truthful coverage regarding the difficult work of helping abortion-minded women in any way imaginable. This help is still there even if the baby is aborted, because these mothers suffer the most. This is a fight against the death penalty and war at its most fundamental level, put most eloquently by Bl. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa):"The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between."

The sessions at the Conference that will be given by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk will be geared toward our attendees and will provide not just information, but truth regarding the buzz around stem cell research and reproductive technologies.. Truth is sadly lacking in the information the culture at large provides to young people, because the intrinsic dignity of the human person is denied due to legal shenanigans that have rendered the pre-born in this country an unprotected class of human being. If we can't go out armed with truth, how can we be a force for good or change or anything that God has put us here on earth to do. The Conference also includes Mass and a Holy Hour with an opportunity for confession, so as far as a retreat opportunity is concerned, you have the whole package ... Mass alone makes it a retreat par excellence.

Talk to your pastor or your DRE or the person in charge of your Confirmation class. We would love to have you attend the Conference, and there are opportunities for group rates and scholarships. It promises to be a day that will assist you in being the kind of Christian who can speak the truth in love. See you on October 16th!

Sponsor an Ad or Sentiment in Our Conference Booklet!

2010-07-13T19:10:00.004-04:00

Once again we are publishing our Conference Booklet and are looking for parishes, businesses, civic groups and the like to sponsor an ad or sentiment. We have choices for any budget, and your kind donations help to offset scholarships to the Conference. Plus, any money left over will go toward one of our many life-affirming projects. In the past, we've raised money for the St. Gerard Center Ultrasound Fund, the elderly and infirm Felician Sisters, disabled and elderly veterans in the community in need of groceries or small construction projects (wheelchair ramps and accessible bathrooms), and recently many Y-Lifers worked in conjunction with the St. Therese Respect Life Group of St. Therese Parish in Granby, CT to raise over $2000 for Northern Connecticut Catholic Prison Ministry run by Fr. Bruno.

Click on the form for donating. It's linked to this post, AND appears in the sidebar of this blog under Forms for 2010 Conference. Also, do not hesitate to email us at:

ylifeprovita@gmail.com

with any questions, concerns, glitches, comments or glowing praise. We would love to hear from you and if you can .... please sponsor an ad or sentiment! God will not be outdone in generosity and will bless you abundantly.

Remember ... the Conference is October 16, 2010. All the information you need is here (or you can click on Conference Flyer under Forms for 2010 Conference on the sidebar.

Thanks, Louis R., for getting all the forms up for us!

INSTALLMENT 5 (Last Installment): Why the Supreme Court Decision in Roe Versus Wade Was Legally Incorrect and Unconstitutional

2010-07-12T09:57:00.003-04:00

If you have not read the earlier installments, here's Installment 1, here's Installment 2 , here's Installment 3 and here is Installment 4.

INSTALLMENT 5

Throughout the years, many court decisions have held that the 14^th Amendment contains a right to privacy by an individual over his or her actions, though it is disputed just how far this extends. In Roe versus Wade, the Supreme Court held that this right to privacy was broad enough to encompass a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy if she so chose. However, in all the cases the Court cited as evidence of this right, only a few came close to having anything to do with abortion and it becomes obvious, with only a little explanation, that they were a bad fit for the 1973 case. Most were cases completely unrelated to abortion and involved phone taps, the right of parents to direct the education of their children, minors selling goods, and other things that only established the existence of a right to privacy, but proved nothing about the right to the termination of a pregnancy being contained therein. However, while the Court failed to convincingly prove its position, there is definite evidence that an unborn child’s right to life had recognized preference over the right to privacy. In the Union Pacific Railway Company v. Botsford case (1891), the question at hand was whether a court could “order a woman suing a railway company for injuries she suffered to submit to a surgical examination”. The Court held that such an intrusion of privacy was forbidden, except “to ascertain whether a woman convicted of a capital crime was quick with child…in order to guard against the taking of the life of an unborn child for the crime of the mother”^. In conclusion, the Court ignored the clear evidence of the right of a child to life, and was forced, because of lack of proof for its position, to present information that was not even related to the point it was trying to make.

Despite all the blunders of the Court legally and Constitutionally in Roe versus Wade, perhaps the worst was the complete lack of discussion in the critical area of natural law and what it says about abortion. Natural law is an essential basis when dealing with any issue of morality, for it is defined by the Catholic Encyclopedia as, “the rule of conduct which is prescribed to us by the Creator". In other words, every man’s soul has been endowed with an intrinsic knowledge of what is morally right and wrong according to the eternal laws of God, so one can intuitively know what is just. If the Court had looked at natural law, it would have understood that abortion and its decision were violating several important principles. To begin with, natural law teaches that one does not take the life of another living human being. Although the Court believed that life did not truly begin until birth, they were still toying, however, with the “potentiality” of life before birth and according to St. Thomas Aquinas, “if a man could be probably alive or probably dead, you can’t take the chance of burying him unless he is certainly dead. This meant that since it was questionable as to when life began, therefore the Court could not legalize the killing of the unborn because there was potential human life. In addition to this, natural law holds that one does not interrupt a normal function of life, pregnancy, except for an extremely serious reason. That an unborn child can be killed simply because it may not be wanted is obviously not a serious enough reason to make abortion in accord with the natural law.

Truly, it is highly evident that the Supreme Court was not legally correct or in accord with the intentions of the Constitution in its ruling of Roe versus Wade. Because the Court did not rule from a neutral position, but twisted facts out of context, was selective with the evidence, ignored key points of view, and knowingly evaded the clear truth, it rendered its judgment subject to intense criticism. Had the Court honestly, critically, and thoroughly examined all sides of the issue, its decision would have been much different than it was. Sadly, for some, the Supreme Court’s monumental decision on that fateful day in 1973 will be seen as the indisputable law of the land, but it is hoped that these articles (based on a paper I wrote for a class) have placed doubt in some minds as to the legality and fairness of the trial that the most vulnerable citizens of the United States of America received. ---- Timothy J.

INSTALLMENT 4: Why the Supreme Court Decision in Roe Versus Wade Was Legally Incorrect and Unconstitutional

2010-07-12T09:12:00.007-04:00

FINALLY ... Installment 4 of Tim J.'s article on the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. If you have not read the earlier installments, here's Installment 1, here's Installment 2 and here is Installment 3. Prepare to be edified!

INSTALLMENT 4:

After blatantly skipping over the framers’ intent, the Supreme Court investigated the issue of whether the unborn were considered people according to the use of the word ‘person” in the Constitution, and ultimately decided that they were not. Because “the Constitution does not define “person” in so many words”, the Court was forced to piece together a definition based on the many uses of the word throughout the document, a process that was doomed to failure since the Court had not bothered to discover what the original intent of the framers was. In searching for the word “person”, the Court found most of the uses of the word in the qualifications for holding a public office, and concluded that since these uses applied only after birth, the unborn were not people according to the Constitution. Although these qualifications for public office would ban the unborn, they also would deny any born person who could not meet the requirements for age, residency, and citizenship. Surely, the Court would not withdraw the rights of personhood from any citizen simply for not meeting these qualifications, but yet this was exactly what the Supreme Court did in the case of the unborn. By holding that the unborn were not people under the Constitution, the Court went against what John Marshall, a previous Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, had ruled in Gibbons versus Ogden in 1824, which was that “the terms in the Constitution must be interpreted expansively, not restrictively”. Thus, it is only too clear that the Court’s laughable approach to the Constitutional issue of personhood was indicative of the fact that the Court had already made its decision regardless of the evidence.

When the Supreme Court examined the Constitution, it focused largely on the 14^th Amendment, which has a clause that states, “…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or happiness without the due process of law.” After little deliberation, the Court took the position that the 14^th Amendment banned the unborn child from the rights enjoyed under this amendment by people already born. However, this stance was based only on a selective collection of previous court decisions and the Court’s own judgment, not on the all-important intent of the framers of the 14^th Amendment. Around the time of the drafting of the amendment in 1868, there were several influential facts and court cases that suggest that the unborn was indeed intended to have rights. For instance, in the 1860’s, five U.S. territories enacted anti-abortion laws. Since these territories were not yet states, Congress needed to approve these laws, and so, in order for them to pass, many of the Congressmen who would eventually write the 14^th Amendment must have voted in their favor. Also, in 1873, just five years after the enactment of the 14^th Amendment, the District of Columbia recognized abortion as illegal. Again, one can see that Congress must have had a pro-life mentality, for it had full jurisdiction in the area of the District of Columbia’s criminal law. Thus, it is apparent that the Court was incorrect in their claim that the 14^th Amendment barred the unborn from the basic human right to life, when the prevailing attitude of even the country’s political leaders in the 1860’s can be reasonably ascertained to have been for extending rights to a fetus.

Our Conference OCT 16th - Y-LIFE and Holy Apostles Life League

2010-04-27T23:20:00.004-04:00

Email ylifeprovita@gmail.com for more details ...

Happy, Glorious, Blessed Easter, Everyone!

2010-04-05T19:03:00.000-04:00

We have the next installment to Tim's article on the injustice and wrongness of Roe versus Wade, which we will post this week, but we want to wish everyone a most glorious Eastertide! (Is it us, or did Lent seem kind of long this year ...) Oh well, Happy Easter and don't forget, Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday. If anyone from St. Therese parish in Granby is reading this, don't forget to return your baby bottles from the baby bottle fundraiser for St. Gerard's Center this weekend.

The Annunciation - Major Feast Day, Especially for the Newly-Conceived

2010-03-25T10:14:00.002-04:00

Today is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, and we have posted this beautiful painting by the artist John Collier. This day is the Feast Day for all pregnant mothers, newly conceived babies AND babies in the womb at any stage of development. Remember, after the Annunciation, Mary went to see her older cousin, Elizabeth, who was about six months pregnant, and St. John the Baptist "leapt" in Elizabeth's womb at the arrival of Mary, carrying the Savior of the World in-utero as the tiniest of pre-born babies.

Pray especially hard this day for abortion-minded women and their babies, who are at terrible risk And celebrate, too, because this is also the Feast of the Incarnation, when the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us ... as a child in the womb.

PRO-LIFE YOUTH CONFERENCE THIS WEEKEND!!!

2010-03-24T11:53:00.004-04:00

Some of us are going to this:

Youth 4 Life Conference

March 27, 2010

St. Michael Center, Baltic, CT

4-8 p.m.

The Academy of the Holy Family’s Teens of Pro-Life Club (TOP-Life Club) and the Connecticut Right to Life Corporation are sponsoring the new and improved 2nd annual Youth 4 Life pro-life conference on Saturday, March 27, 2010, from 4-8 pm at the Academy of the Holy Family's St. Michael Center on School Hill Road in Baltic. In a new format, there will be live testimonies, breakout sessions, live band, film presentation, Mass and confession, music and pizza & …!

Meal is included. Requested donation is $10. Register by mailed form or by calling 860-822-8241. Questions? Ask for Sr. Marie-André or e-mail:

prolifespanish@ahfbaltic.org

Bring your friends and come enjoy one of the biggest pro-life youth events in Eastern Connecticut!

Picketing and Breakfast Meeting

2010-03-20T11:40:00.005-04:00

This morning we picketed in front of Hartford Gyn from 7 a.m. until 8:20 or so. It's always really sad, especially when the mother does not want to go while her boyfriend or mother or aunt or gym teacher or whatever has her by the elbow. Today we had what appeared the opposite ... the boyfriend wanted to stay and talk with the sidewalk counselor. We prayed (because that's the best way to witness while the sidewalk counselor does his or her thing.)

After, we went to Ashley's for breakfast and had a meeting, because a lot of members showed up to picket today. We'll be posting about upcoming events and projects when we get the notes sorted out ... more on the tag sale, the Conference and a possible celebration for St. Gerard's to celebrate the arrival of the ultrasound! And bake sales. Actually, the only baked stuff we have ever sold has been at tag sales and bazaars. The humble bake sale can make a lot of money for the effort.

It's really gorgeous here in Connecticut today ... really sad to think that some of those mothers will remember an early spring day as the day their baby died. Or maybe they'll be like some of the speakers we've had ... not really remembering at all, but sort of having this overwhelming sadness that no one ever talks about. And maybe some of them won't have an abortion today. Please God.

You Can Now Follow Us on Twitter AND Conference is October 16th!

2010-03-18T15:00:00.003-04:00

We stuck a Twitter button on the blog, so while we're waiting for Tim to continue his Roe v. Wade series, we want to let you know the Conference is a go Saturday, October 16th at Holy Apostles in Cromwell, CT and we have Fr. Tad! Mark your calendars. Nunc.

INSTALLMENT 3: Why the Supreme Court Decision in Roe Versus Wade was Legally Incorrect and Unconstitutional

2010-02-20T11:05:00.009-05:00

If you haven't read Installment No. 1, please click here

If you haven't read Installment No. 2, please click here

Please find below the third part of an article written by Timothy J. Once again, the stars stand for footnotes, which will be put into the series as Tim gets them sent to us. Read on:

As the Supreme Court was inaccurate and biased with its interpretation of English common law, it also did not obtain the correct view of early American law. According to the official case document, most restrictive abortion legislation began appearing after the Civil War and was only for the purpose of protecting the interests and health of the mother. For evidence of the first claim, the Court mentioned Eugene Quay, who had written an appendix of all the abortion legislation passed before 1960. Interestingly enough, the very proof that the Courts recommended for their position was the thing that disproved their assertion, as Quay had on record that thirty-one of the states had laws punishing abortive practices before the Civil War even started.* This was not the scarce minority of laws that the Court had claimed existed prior to 1860. With regard to the second claim, that the laws enacted were solely for the protection of the woman, this too is easily refuted by the fact that the evidence the Court cited works against such claims. For example, one of the cases the Court used was an 1858 New Jersey case, State v. Murphy, which has a passage that reads “the procuring of an abortion, or an attempt to procure an abortion, with the assent of the woman, was not an indictable offense, as it affected her, but only as it affected the life of the fetus”.* This passage clearly demonstrates that the protection of the mother was not the only legitimate interest at stake, but, yet, this was the case the Court cited as evidence that American law of the 18th century did not protect the interests of the unborn child. One must therefore conclude that the Court purposely flipped critical information on early American law and relied on a mass of legal language to keep the real truth from emerging.

By now, one should see how the Court knowingly went against the evidence of established historical and legal precedent, but it can also be ascertained that the Court went against the intentions of the United States Constitution as well. In its examination of the Constitution as a whole, the Court did not once touch upon the critical area of the original intent of the framers of the Constitution, thus making its judgment legally incorrect. If the Supreme Court had been looking to resolve Roe versus Wade in the most accurate manner possible, then it most definitely would have looked into the framers’ intent, for there is no better way of discerning how the Constitution should be interpreted. Accordingly, there were several indications about what abortion mentalities were accepted around the time of the drafting of the Constitution. First of all, two previously cited sources have held that Blackstone and his pro-life principles were well known and accepted by the American people, including the framers of the Constitution.* Also, by looking in a popular dictionary of the times, a fetus was described as a child, who was in turn described as a living person.* Finally, Thomas Jefferson, who was one of the leading politicians of his day, wrote a letter praising the man who had drafted a model penal code for Louisiana that included a prohibition of abortion. There was no record of Jefferson abstaining from expressing his approval of any part of the code and the fact that this statute became so popular was evidence that the majority of the informed public agreed with it.* Thus, at the time of the framing of the Constitution, it can be ascertained, with a high degree of certainty, that many Americans, including the original drafters, would not have had an abortion mentality.

INSTALLMENT 2: Why the Supreme Court Decision in Roe Versus Wade was Legally Incorrect and Unconstitutional

2010-01-19T11:37:00.008-05:00

If you haven't read Installment No. 1, please click here.
Please find below the second part of an article written by Timothy J. Once again, the stars stand for footnotes, which will be put into the series as Tim gets them sent to us. Read on:

Installment No. 2:

In addition to this argument, the Court misinterpreted the words of Plato and Aristotle to mean that they supported abortion, when in reality they did not. While the Court cited several examples to prove their point, all of them are subject to a good degree of skepticism. In one of the most interesting ones, Plato spoke about ways to regulate the population and mentioned everything from encouraging temporary abstinence to sending out colonies. The court maintained that this was one of the proofs that Plato supported abortion, but the fact is that abortion was not mentioned even implicitly in this passage.* Clearly, the Court’s opinion of abortion in ancient Greece and Rome was unsound and ethically questionable. After such an obvious misrepresentation of the actual historical records in just the first section of its investigation, one begins to wonder if the Court was merely ignorant, or if there were ulterior motives.

In the area of common law, which can be explained as the collective decision and belief of previous judicial bodies, the Supreme Court concluded that it was “doubtful”* that the killing of a “quick” fetus was ever held as a crime. To support this position, the Supreme Court relied heavily on the testimony of Cyril Means*, a pro-abortion supporter from the 1950’s and 60’s. By placing so much confidence on an abortion advocate without balancing the opposite viewpoint, the Court violated the neutral position that it is supposed to assume in resolving any case. This would explain why the Court’s historical probe was so weak, for in an effort to support a position that it knew went against historical fact, it was selective with the evidence and distorted facts to make it appear that its arguments were supported.

As the common law principles of the United States came largely from England, it is essential to look at that country’s view of the issue as it pertains to the unborn. James F. Stephen has written a thorough account of English criminal law in which he notes that even before the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066, abortion was held as a crime.* In addition, there are written statements from four of the best English authorities on common law, Bracton, Fleta, Coke, and Blackstone, that abortion was a serious crime. Although the Court acknowledged the comments of Bracton and Fleta condemning abortion, it seemed to regard them as unimportant and continued to rely singularly on the work of Means. With Coke, who said that abortion was a “great misprision, but no murder”, the Court took the modern understanding of this phrase, which is that “misprision” can be translated to mean “misdemeanor”.* However, Blackstone, whose name was synonymous with law in the mid 18th century*, took a different approach and said that “misprision” could be translated to mean a grave offense that was not punishable by death, but was nonetheless very serious.* Furthermore, Blackstone also commented that, “One who is in the womb is already born, whenever a question arises for its benefit.”* This quote from such an influential person in common law history proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that English common law held that the unborn were persons and protected them accordingly.

INSTALLMENT 1: Why the Supreme Court Decision in Roe Versus Wade was Legally Incorrect and Unconstitutional

2010-01-14T13:10:00.009-05:00

Please find below the first part in an article written by Timothy J. You will find this timely, since many of us are all headed to D.C. for the March for Life on January 22. Here's your history lesson, so you can go armed with all the information you could possibly need to defend the pro-life position. The stars stand for footnotes, which will be put into the series as Tim gets them sent to us. Thanks, Tim! Fantastic job on this series. Without further ado ...

Installment No. 1:

Regardless of what side one takes on the issue of abortion, it is obvious that the decision made by the Supreme Court on January 22, 1973 in the case of Roe versus Wade, which legalized abortion during all three trimesters of pregnancy, was of historic proportions. As notable as this case was, it is now quite clear that Roe versus Wade was fatally flawed, being both legally incorrect* and unconstitutional in a myriad of ways. Although the justices who presided over the case were able to conceal their biased reasoning to the untrained eyes and ears of the general public, further research reveals gaping holes in their assertions and the proof they cited as evidence of these. Thus, the aim of this research report will be to expose the main areas of Roe versus Wade’s problems and ultimately provide reasons why this case was neither legally correct nor in accord with the Constitution of this great land.

The Supreme Court’s investigation into Roe versus Wade started by looking at the history of abortion in ancient times. After only a brief investigation, the Court concluded that “ancient religion did not bar abortion”*. However, the Supreme Court looked mostly at Greek and Roman history for evidence of the acceptance of this practice. Yet, abortion concerned more than just the Greeks and Romans and interestingly enough, the first legal evidence of abortion appeared much further back in history than these civilizations with a reference in the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, which appeared in about 1728 B.C. This reference spoke of the penalties pertaining to a person who “unintentionally but culpably caused a woman to miscarry”.* Thus, the first ever-recorded reference to abortion does not infer its approval, but rather the penalties for such an act. It must be further noted that substantial evidence exists that many other ancient civilizations, besides the Babylonians, clearly had an anti-abortion mentality, among which were the Assyrians, Egyptians, Hittites, who had “notoriously low” sexual standards, and particularly the Jews, from whom evolved Christianity and many of its established principles in the Constitution.* Given the legal scope the Court was looking for in history, this information would have been fairly easy to find, but yet there was no mention of any of it in the Court’s examination. From these facts, one can see that the Court’s research of abortion throughout history was glaringly incomplete and that its findings did not reflect the established standard in ancient times of many cultures.

With regard to the Greeks and Romans, the Supreme Court took the position that abortion in Greco-Roman times was “resorted to without scruple”.* However, abortion was not so commonplace that society was silent on the issue. Many of the most eminent and influential people in Greece and Rome made very clear statements against abortion, among whom were: Soranus, Seneca, Rufus, and Ovid, the poet, who wrote that “the first one who thought of detaching from her womb the fetus forming in it deserved to die by her own weapons”.* If some of the most famous people in Greece and Rome spoke out against abortion, it can be safely reasoned that abortion was not resorted to with as little scruple as the Court declared, for history continuously shows that the common people invariably follow the ideology of those who hold power and prestige.

Y-LIFE Meeting Sunday, January 17th

2010-01-11T20:38:00.002-05:00

Ella B. writes:

Hi Everyone,
We will be having a Y-LIFE meeting at 4:00 on Sunday, January 17th at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. We will be discussing the March for Life as well as our upcoming conference. Please let me know if you plan on attending the meeting.
With love for life,
Ella
ylifeprovita@gmail.com

National Night of Prayer for Life

2009-12-07T04:53:00.006-05:00

Mrs. B sent this to the parents in the St. Therese parish, but some of the older members of Y-LIFE might be able to participate, or you can tell your parents about it:

It was on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception that Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and the unborn, first appeared to St. Juan Diego. The National Night of Prayer bridges these two feasts to honor our Blessed Mother and to pray for the protection of all human life. Please consider joining the St. Therese Respect Life Group in our parish chapel from 9p.m. on December 8th and continuing through to1a.m. December 9th. During the Hour of Unity (12p.m.-1a.m. EST) we will be united with churches across the country in prayer to end abortion and in reparation for all sins against the Gospel of Life. Please spread the word about this opportunity and plan to spend at least a short time with us.

St. Therese Church

120 West Granby Road

Granby, CT

The chapel is in the parish hall behind the church.

If you have any questions feel free to respond to this email or check out:

NationalNightofPrayerforLife.org

Last Month to Sign Petition for the Unborn Child and the Family

2009-12-04T23:40:00.002-05:00

Sorry it has been so long since we've posted to this blog. It's been very busy with the Christmas Bazaar, a small craft fair and the Family Institute of Connecticut's 20th Anniversary Banquet. A bunch of us went, and the keynote speaker was Austin Ruse of C-FAM at the United Nations. C-FAM is the only pro-life, pro-family NGO at the UN and we need to get this link to everyone who reads this blog: Petition for the Unborn Child and the Family. Please, please take a little time and fill this out. It's super quick, and they need to get a million signatures in a couple weeks. They have over 300,000 more signatures to obtain, but if everyone makes an effort, we can do it. What a nice birthday gift for the Infant Savior. A huge thank-you to Joseph H. of iFIC, (FIC Youth Wing) for getting this to us!

Mr. Ruse is the president of C-FAM, and is an amazing speaker. He was clear and presented to us the impact a few people can have ... for the bad. He was speaking of a treaty called the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which is overseen by a committee of private citizens, answerable to no one but themselves, who quietly and relentlessly use deceit and raw power to promote "reproductive freedom" as a human right for women. Columbia is one country which has caved to the deceit ... this committee advised them that they are non-compliant with international law regarding reproductive freedom, so Columbia, based on this lie, changed their laws restricting abortion. This is just one example. Go here to read more about this frightening strategy.

Okay, the blog is back on. Blessed First Week of Advent to all, and we won't be strangers anymore! One of our bloggers, Timothy J., is going to be posting a paper he wrote in installments, so keep an eye out for that.

St. Gerard's Center Ultrasound Project - Coming Into the Home Stretch!

2009-11-05T08:44:00.007-05:00

Here are a couple of links to an interview that Jim Vicevich did on "Sound Off Connecticut" on 1080 WTIC AM radio. Mr. Vicevich interviewed Dr. Theresa Krankowski of St. Gerard's Center for Life and Mike Klinger of the Knights of Columbus about this project for which Y-LIFE has

raised over $11,000. We are so happy about this - it will be a year in January when our parent advisors ran into Dr. Theresa at the Mass honoring the conversion of St. Paul at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hartford. At the time we were raising money for a pro-life billboard along I-91 when we realized that what Dr. Theresa was proposing is actually a living bill-board that shows the beautiful baby to the person the message must reach -- the baby's mother. The picture at left is of a 12-week-old unborn baby. At our next Y-LIFE meeting, we voted and the money we had already collected got re-purposed and the fundraising started in earnest.

Dr. Theresa still needs money for operating expenses, so if you have a stamp, an envelope and a checkbook, please send a check payable to St. Gerard's Center for Life to:

St. Gerard's Center for Life

433 Silas Dean Hwy., 1st floor

Wethersfield, CT 06109

Donations to St. Gerard's are tax deductible. Here are the links to the interview on 'TIC ... enjoy!

Jim Vicevich interview with Dr. Theresa and Mike Klinger of the Knights of Columbus, Part One

Jim Vicevich interview with Dr. Theresa and Mike Klinger of the Knights of Columbus, Part Two

Next year's Conference ... early stages

2009-10-27T08:10:00.003-04:00

Ella B. writes:

Fellow Y-Lifers and Friends,

We had an awesome Y-LIFE meeting Sunday. Seminarian Scott McKee was our special guest. We discussed the Y-LIFE conference and how we can improve it for next year. We are hoping to get Father Tad Pacholczyk from the National Catholic Bioethics Center to be the keynote speaker at the next conference. It is tentatively scheduled for September 2010.

Some Y-LIFE members are going to pray in front of the abortion mill in Hartford this Tuesday (Oct. 27) from 6-7am. Anyone interested in joining us is welcome.

The Y-LIFE Christmas Bazaar on November 13th and 14th will take the place of the mid-November Y-LIFE meeting. Anyone interested in making anything for the Bazaar or who would like to volunteer, please contact us:

ylifeprovita@gmail.com

This event takes place in the St Therese Church parish hall, 120 West Granby Road in Granby, CT. The proceed this year will go to benefit the American Legion Welfare Fund for the Shannon-Shattuck Post 182. This fund enables the Legion to help elderly disabled vets with home heating oil, food and small construction projects like wheelchair ramps.

Y-LIFE Now to Meet Twice a Month ...

2009-10-23T07:19:00.008-04:00

Ella B. writes:

Fellow Y-Lifers and Friends,

We had our monthly Y-LIFE meeting on October 11. It was decided that we will now meet twice a month. We will have a meeting every last Sunday at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. The location of the additional meeting will probably be mid-month at a Y-LIFE member's home. This Sunday, October 25, is the last Sunday of the month. We will have the Y-LIFE meeting at Holy Apostles College at 4:00 pm in St Peter's Hall. We always welcome new members!

If you plan to attend this meeting, please respond to this e-mail:

ylifeprovita@gmail.com

In place of the mid-November meeting we will be having our 2nd Annual Christmas Bazaar. This year it benefits the Shannon-Shattuck Post 182 American Legion Welfare Fund to assist disabled vets with things like heating oil and small construction projects such as wheelchair ramps. The Bazaar will be held right after Veteran's Day on Nov. 13th and 14th at St.Therese Church. If you want more info or would like to volunteer a couple of hours, let me know. We could use your help!

Monthly Y-LIFE Meeting at Holy Apostles .... YOU are welcome!

2009-10-06T17:05:00.006-04:00

Y-LIFE Pro-Life Youth Group Meeting

4:00 PM, Sunday, October 11, 2009
St. Peter's Hall
Holy Apostles College and Seminary
Cromwell, Connecticut

We will be discussing the Conference, and how we could have improved it. We will also do some planning for our upcoming Christmas Bazaar. We always welcome new membership and ideas. We also welcome anyone wanting to start a group of their own who would like to come and see how ours works. For more information, email us at:

ylifeprovita@gmail.com

or call 860.844.8483 or 860.738.4371.

1st Annual Y-LIFE Pro-Life Youth Conference - One for the Books!

2009-10-03T08:53:00.083-04:00

First a HUGE thank-you to Father Mosey and everyone at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. The seminarians are so humble and no one will take credit for anything. They all declare, “It’s a group effort.” We would, however, like to extend a special thank you to the Holy Apostles Life League (HALL), especially the terrific trio Scott McKee, Deacon John Trambley and Tim O’Hagen. Way back in the early spring they came up to Enfield to one of our meetings, and the next thing we knew, the Conference was shaping up into a reality. For pre-Conference funding, we owe a big thank you to those who placed ads in our program booklet (see sidebar) ... there were not many of you, but what was lacking in quantity was more than made up for in quality. Thank you, thank you!

In addition, we want to thank Fr. Greg Galvin, the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Norwich, for celebrating Mass and Fr. Sam Fuller, from St. Pius X in Middletown, for concelebrating. The Mass was really beautiful, the homily was more than edifying and in keeping with just about every issue covered in the day’s sessions (and those seminarians and students at Holy Apostles sure can chant! To have the ancient music of the Church washing over us was so haunting, a reminder that we are, after all, pilgrims …)

The pizza from No Anchovies in Cromwell for lunch was very good (Thank you, Connecticut Right to Life, for shelling out for the pizza!) and Holy Apostles supplied a salad bar and drinks. The food service and maintenance workers at Holy Apostles were just as nice as they could be, beyond kind to us! Usually when an institution gets a large influx of strangers in for the day, the staff can be a bit crabby. Not these folks … they could not have done enough for us. During lunch, we heard from our own Ella Beckman, who gave a short talk on Y-LIFE, Mary Lou Peters who spoke about the 40 Days for Life, Bill O'Brien from Connecticut Right to Life Corporation, Jeremiah Rankin, Executive Director of iFIC, the youth wing of the Family Institute of Connecticut, Chris D'Amore, representing St. Gerard's Center for Life and Brother Michael, speaking on behalf of Holy Apostles LIfe League, particularly those who pray at Hartford Gyn on Saturdays and then come back to Holy Apostles for a Holy Hour. Thank you to all of you for taking time out of your day to come and talk to us. It is really amazing how much good is going on in the pro-life movement on so many levels, and how many chances there are for involvement.

Next, we want to thank our speakers. Please see their links on the sidebar. Sean Forrest livened up the Conference participants and gave us a lot to think about going into the break-out sessions. Sister Nancy Piecewicz’s presentation on Euthanasia was excellent, full of history and chilling statistics that either held us captivated or had us busily scrawling notes. Her love and respect for the elderly she works with was palpable, making this talk more than poignant. Mike Barnett of ALL was inspiring and practical at the same time and had young people streaming out of his session brimming over with ideas on how to either start or jumpstart a youth or campus pro-life group. Deacon John Trambley armed the attendees at his session with the truth about stem-cell research, so when the inevitable know-it-all says the equally inevitable, “The Church is against stem cell research,” those who attended Deacon John’s session will not be standing there befuddled and unable to correct the present outbreak of “soundbiteitis,” which is rife and cannot be cured by coughing into your elbow. The second breakout session included talks by attorneys Brian Hoeing and Cal Anderson on how abortion is the civil rights issue of our day, essentially clearing away the defensive posture that many pro-lifers take when pro-abortion folk get in their faces about “a woman’s right to choose” … abortion is no less than the marginalization of a whole class of human beings in order to deny them their rights, and it doesn’t end with the preborn … the slippery slope is fast becoming a rocky abyss, if it hasn’t already. Fr. Reggie Norman took the hard truth about abortion in the black community and laid it out for a mostly white audience, and it brought up the uncomfortable reality that a lot of goodhearted people are clueless about how to reach women who are convinced that they cannot trust anyone: persons, organizations or institutions. The fact that there are 3000 black children in the system here in Connecticut waiting for adoption is pretty scandalous, and his talk gave us a lot to think about. His solution: “You have to see Christ in everyone. No matter what.” He also told us to keep praying outside the abortion mills and to give, when asked, a reason for the hope in us. And for heaven’s sake … learn the Bible! Many black people come from a strong Bible tradition and don’t suffer Bible dummies gladly. And finally, Nicole Peck and the Missionaries for Life brought home the fact that this culture with abortion on demand and all the things that lead up to abortion is bad for women, bad for men and bad for children. Women are no longer willing to shut up and get on with their lives, acting like abortion is like any other medical procedure. A lot of women are coming to realize that a lifestyle that requires killing their unborn children for its existence was never good for women, and ends up destroying love which ruins the surrounding culture.

The day ended with a Holy Hour which included the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and an opportunity for the attendees to go to Confession.

Y-Life would also like to thank all the attendees … giving up a gorgeous last Saturday in September to participate in the Conference was a sacrifice in and of itself. We hope you took away a lot of useful information and comfort in knowing that there are many people out there working to end the culture of death and bring forth that culture of life and love that our suffering world yearns for. Attendees included young people and youth or campus group advisors from: the University of Hartford Catholic Campus Ministry, Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford, St. Augustine Church in North Branford, Magdalen College in Warner, New Hampshire, St. Pius X Church in Middletown, Mercy High School in Middletown, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury, St. Therese Church in Granby, The Academy of the Holy Family in Baltic, St. Francis of Assisi in Naugatuck, the Connecticut Right to Life Corportation and of course, Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell.

Last, but in no way, shape or form, least, we would like to thank Our Blessed Mother who did not "leave us unaided." Thank you, Mother Mary, for your prayers on our behalf.

To end this pretty long posting, we are going to steal a quote from the foundress of the Sisters of Charity (these are the Sisters who run the Academy of the Holy Family), Mother Marie Alma, because it applies to our excellent presenters and speakers:

"We have no time to lose because today is shaping tomorrow and our most precious heritage is our youth and - you know the promise: 'those who instruct others unto justice will shine as stars for all eternity.' (Dan 12:3)"

Please send feedback to our email address:

ylifeprovita@gmail.com

or comment on the blog itself. Comments do not show up right away, but they get published after we view them. We censor only obscenities and ad hominem attacks, everything else gets published.

May God, the Author of LIFE keep us all, and God willing, we'll see you all again at the 2nd Annual Y-LIFE Pro-Life Youth Conference in 2010 (if not before during the 40 Days for Life, the CRLC banquet Oct.24, the Janet Smith talk Nov. 21, praying out in front of one of the abortion mills all year long, or one of the many other pro-life activities going on in our sad, blue state)!

CONFERENCE on SATURDAY ... PART II

2009-09-23T00:09:00.005-04:00

Well, we certainly can't forget our celebrant for Mass, Father Greg Galvin. Father Galvin is the Vocations Director for the Diocese of Norwich and has a terrific story of how he came to realize his vocation. Perhaps he'll work it into his homily ... hint hint.

Our second break-out session will feature three more great presenters. Our strategy as a group is to divide up and get members to all three sessions and then compare notes. Some of the saints have actually done bi-location (St. Padre Pio, for instance), but tri-location? Hmmm. So here are the choices for break-out session II:

Fr. Reggie Norman will be addressing the topic of Black Genocide. It's a harsh reality, but one that pro-lifers have been trying to point out for years. Fr. Norman will be putting the issue in terms that cannot be misunderstood or twisted as he has seen the devastation of abortion in the African American community.

Break-out session II has another fascinating choice: Two Lawyers Explain How Abortion is the Civil Rights Issue of Our Day. The two lawyers are Brian Hoeing (pictured) and Calum Anderson. They will be bringing all the legal reasoning and resources they can muster to show how denying the unborn the right to their very lives is an abuse of power that will eventually spill over to threaten the lives of those already born, the so-called "inconvenient" among us. History shows us over and over and over again that this situation has one outcome, and it isn't good if it isn't changed.

The third choice for this session is Nicole Peck (pictured speaking on the State Capitol steps in Hartford) with Missionaries for Life on Abortion: The Personal and Medical Perspectives. Nicole brings a message of hope and grace, besides letting us know that abortion is not the so-called option society and some health class curriculum would have us believe.

So there you have it. Don't forget, we are having a pizza lunch at noon, bankrolled by Connecticut Right to Life Corporation. Thank you, CRLC! And last, but by no means least, is the Holy Hour and Closing from 4 p.m to 5 p.m., with an opportunity for Confession.

See you on Saturday!

CONFERENCE on SATURDAY ....

2009-09-21T08:53:00.007-04:00

It's hard to believe that after months of preparation, the September 26th Conference is only a few days away. We are incredibly indebted to Holy Apostles College and Seminary and the Holy Apostles Life League (HALL) for partnering with us on this Conference ... without their help, the idea for the Conference would have remained just that ... an idea.

We are very excited about our speakers. Many of you have been to a Sean Forrest event, and those of you who haven't are in for a great time. To see what's new with Sean and all the great work he's doing, visit his website at http://www.mwts.org/mwts/Home.html.

Our speakers for the break-out sessions are also amazing ... too bad we can't hear them all, one after the other. But the issues they'll be helping us understand are the issues that will define our future and each of them is an expert on the topic they will be bringing to us. Today's blog entry features the choices you have for break-out Session 1 ...

Sister Nancy Marie Piecewicz of the Felician Sisters will be addressing the topic of Euthanasia, or so-called mercy-killing. Of lot of us, when we watch television or read certain writers, will be introduced to this issue as one where more and more people want the option to "check out" when they are not happy with their quality of life. Of course, the downside of the practice of euthanasia is never explored, and the nature of human suffering is completely swept under the carpet. Sr. Nancy works with the elderly and infirm, so she not only talks the talk, but walks the walk.

Mike Barnett from the American Life League (ALL) will be educating us about the job of getting a pro-life youth going, or growing in How to Grow Your Campus Pro-Life Group. His focus is on how to make this happen on a college campus, but the ideas and motivators he will be presenting to us can also apply to a pro-life youth group in your parish or school. Those of us in Y-LIFE are really excited, because we have used the "stumble-along" method, but God has put us in touch with some awesome people, especially the seminarians in the Holy Apostles Life League (HALL). Mike comes highly recommended to us, so we can't wait!

Deacon John Trambley, a seminarian at Holy Apostles and member of HALL will be covering the topic Stem Cell Research and Bioethics. Young people are bombarded with information from news outlets that the Catholic Church opposes stem cell research ... NOT TRUE. And John will get into the truth of the matter, showing us that this issue is much more complex than a news media soundbite. You will be very surprised by this talk if you think you know what the Church teaches based on what you have heard. Also, you will be amazed at the science of it all. Not bored. Amazed.

The program book we'll be handing out at the Conference will have the biographies of our speakers. There will also be blank pages for you to take notes if you want to! Some people do, and some don't.

Tomorrow's blog entry will have a brief description of break-out session 2, featuring Fr. Reggie Norman on Black Genocide, Brian Hoeing and Cal Anderson on Two Lawyers Explain How Abortion is the Civil Rights Issue of Our Day, and Nicole Peck of Missionaries for Life on Abortion: the Personal and Medical Perspective.

There is still room, so do not hesitate to email us at:

ylifeprovita@gmail.com

See you on Saturday!
Oh, and don't forget to pray a Memorare each day for the intention
of a successful (whatever God's idea of success might be ...) Conference.

Pray a "Memorare" for the success of the Conference ....

2009-09-11T09:19:00.012-04:00

Well, the Conference is only two weeks and a day away. Registrations are trickling in and we are hoping for a great event! The Break Out Sessions are first come, first served, so those of you who have already registered have your first choice locked in. Anyone needing registration forms or sponsorship forms, email us at:

ylifeprovita@gmail.com

We had this idea that if everyone would pray a Memorare each day for the intention that the Conference would be God's success and not ours, then how can we fail? The next few months are key for the pro-life movement here in Connecticut. 40 Days for Life are coming up, and we are fervently hoping the Conference will inspire a lot of people to support the 40 Days. So many babies are saved during this time, so many mothers are helped, so many people reach out to help ... a Culture of Life reveals itself as a real possibility for our suffering world.

It helps to remember that this month is also the month of Our Lady of Sorrows, especially on this 8th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Her intercession on behalf of anyone who suffers from grief or loss of any kind is loving and powerful.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

Y-Lifers with "Bella" Movie Star, Eduardo Verastegui

2009-09-08T08:06:00.009-04:00

Well, we finally have pictures to post from the Eduardo Verastegui event some of us attended on August 11 at Eastern Connecticut State University, thanks to the wonderful Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church. At right is Annie F. with Eduardo and below is Beth I. with Eduardo. Mr. Verastegui is an amazingly good sport, sitting for well over an hour to sign autographs and pose for pictures. His "keep-an-eye-on-the-movie-star" team were getting kind of antsy, but he stayed until the last person went through the room where he was. Thank you, Eduardo!

The event itself was wonderful and so much fun. Sean Forrest, who is the keynote speaker for our Conference on September 26, kicked off the evening, and we were really amazed at his talent and loved the message he had to give ... the thing that came through the most was joyfulness in serving others and that life is what it's all built on.

So, it was a pretty late evening, but so worth the trip to Willimantic and the late hour. It's great to know that there are some really brave celebrities out there. Being in Hollywood and being for abortion is not brave. That is being conformed to a peer group. Being in Hollywood and standing up for the unborn is brave. Eduardo Verastegui is a brave and generous man, and we hope he comes back to Connecticut again!

P.S. --- Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother!

Y-LIFE Meeting Sunday, August 30th ....

2009-08-29T23:29:00.007-04:00

It's the last meeting before the Conference! We are meeting in the Board Room at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut at 4:00 pm. We would love to have you join us. Our members range in age from 14 to 25, and we are all students. Youth Group advisors are welcome, as well. For more information about this meeting, email us at
:

YLIFEProVita@gmail.com

before 2:30 pm on Sunday. You can also email us at the above address to get the registration form and/or the sponsorship form. Get your registrations in soon ... space is limited!

Who said this?

2009-08-26T12:12:00.006-04:00

"While the deep concern of a woman bearing an unwanted child merits consideration and sympathy, it is my personal feeling that the legalization of abortion on demand is not in accordance with the value which our civilization places on human life. Wanted or unwanted, I believe that human life, even at its earliest stages, has certain rights which must be recognized -- the right to be born, the right to love, the right to grow old. When history looks back at this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family, and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception."

You will be very, very surprised. Since this person died August 25, we need to pray for the repose of his immortal soul. The words you see above are not the principles he ended up living by, but their truth is as fresh today as when he wrote them in 1971.

Today's Featured Campus Pro-Life Group

2009-08-25T23:53:00.009-04:00

What campus pro-life group has this logo? Some hints: It isn't a dog paw, a bear paw, a tiger paw or a paw paw (since that is actually a piece of fruit.) It's a lion paw! And it isn't just any lion paw, but a Nittany Mountain Lion paw.

This is the last paragraph of this campus pro-life group's mission statement: "We are here to help. Our mission is to serve. And we will, one day, bring every person to realization of the truth that every human life is precious, to be treasured and held dear from the moment of conception to natural death."

Click here for the answer.

The next posting to this blog will be a report on the Eduardo Verastegui visit by a Y-Lifer (whichever Y-LIFE member gets the posting done first!)

Scary Science

2009-08-11T12:35:00.011-04:00

Annie F. writes: “I read a very intriguing CNS article on stem cell research in the August 2009 Catholic Transcript (the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Hartford.) It documents yet more proof that embryonic stem cells, derived from creating a new human being and killing him or her to get the stem cells or taking a little human being who has been kept in storage because of parental abandonment or disinterest, and killing him or her to get the stem cells is completely and totally unnecessary to further the science on therapeutic use. According to the associate director of the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, skin cells have been found to have the full range of uses that embryonic stem cells are proposed for. There is the worry that even skin cells (a kind of IPS or Adult Stem Cell) have the potential for damage if researchers become crazy enough to try to put them in a human embryo which will lead to the change of that particular human being’s genetic make-up, affecting future generations related to that child. I was happy about the article, though, because it gives pro-lifers more proof against the practice of experimenting with embryonic stem cells.

The fact that some researchers have an incessant urge to “play-around” with human embryos is frightening. Scientists, with the research on IPSs, have found a way that does no harm and is not an ethical problem and the Dr. Frankensteins among them managed to figure out a way to do harm and create an ethical problem. The genetic change-ups resulting from this kind of experimentation, could be devastating. It seems almost as if some scientists are trying to COMPLETELY “perfect” human beings. The whole scenario reminds me of the Superman Act where Adolf Hitler tried to develop a perfect, powerful human race. Today’s researchers with the same intention are a huge step ahead of where Hitler managed to get with his insanity. Like Hitler’s victims, the human beings they intend to use have NO voice or legal rights. But unlike Hitler’s victims, today’s human victims will have their very physiological substance changed if they survive.

Not only should we monitor and protest against scientists using this amazing new discovery for evil, but we should pray for their conversion with all of our hearts. We need to be looking out for our unborn brothers and sisters.

Today's Featured Campus Pro-Life Group

2009-08-10T21:57:00.011-04:00

What university has a pro-life group whose motto is:
"Condiscipulorum Absentium Gratia"
which translated from the Latin means
"for the sake of our missing classmates"?
Their motto is a reminder of the many lives lost to abortion every day, some of whom would have been at this particular university had they been allowed to live.

The answer is here. Don't be surprised, pro-lifers really are everywhere.

Y-LIFE publishing program book for Youth Conference

2009-08-09T22:24:00.032-04:00

If anyone out there would like to help sponsor the Y-LIFE Pro-Life Youth Conference, we will be publishing 200 copies of a 5½” x 8½” program booklet for the Conference. The Conference program and biographies of our speakers will be spread over the whole booklet to ensure that all our supporters will have their sentiments read. We can reduce or enlarge anything you send us (without stretching or widening) to fit the space.

Contact YLIFEProVita@gmail.com for more information.

Anything left over after Conference expenses will go to St. Gerard's Center for Life for their ultrasound machine fund.

Who’s going to see Eduardo Verástegui on TUESDAY, August 11th?

2009-08-08T22:31:00.015-04:00

Well, we are, of course! The event is sponsored by The Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church.

First Annual Y-LIFE Pro-Life Youth Conference

2009-08-07T07:32:00.038-04:00

Y-LIFE, in conjunction with Holy Apostles Life League, is putting on the first annual

Y-LIFE Pro-Life Youth Conference

Saturday,
September 26, 2009

with Sean Forrest as keynote speaker. The cost is $15 per person for the whole day, and that includes a pizza lunch. If, however, cost is a problem, please contact us at the email address below and put "Conference Scholarship" in the subject line. Also, seminarians and religious attend for free, but we would like you to send in a registration form to help with the scheduling. The Conference is geared towards high school and college students and will be held at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut. To get the registration form and/or to get more info regarding the Conference, email us at:

YLIFEProVita@gmail.com

Conference Schedule:
10:15 a.m.— 10:45 a.m.
Registration Check-In

11:00 a.m.— Mass
Fr. Greg Galvin, celebrant

Noon — Pizza Lunch

1:00 p.m.—2:00 p.m.
Keynote Speaker— Sean Forrest

2:15 p.m.—3:00 p.m. - Break Out Session I
choice of:
• Sr. Nancy Marie Piecewicz— Euthanasia
• Mike Barnett of American Life League—How to Grow Your Campus Pro-Life Group
• Deacon John Trambley — Stem Cell Research & Bioethics

3:15 p.m.—4:00 p.m. - Break Out Session II
choice of:
• Fr. Reggie Norman — Black Genocide
• Brian Hoeing & Cal Anderson —
Two Lawyers Explain How Abortion is the Civil Rights Issue of Our Day
• Missionaries for Life— Abortion: The Personal and Medical Perspective

4:00 p.m.—5:00 p.m.
Holy Hour (including opportunity for Confession) & Closing

What is Y-LIFE?

2009-08-06T23:34:00.001-04:00

Y-LIFE (Youth for Life) is a recently organized student pro-life group in northwestern & north central Connecticut. As a group it seeks to foster respect for life from conception until natural death. The only way to accomplish this is to change hearts and minds with the best tool available — truth.

Many people today don’t seem to realize that, as a country, we have lost respect for human life in its most vulnerable stages. The elderly are being neglected in nursing homes and the unborn are being killed mostly because they represent an “inconvenience” to their mothers and fathers. Many young people are seeing the selfishness and chaos the current attitude is causing.

As teenagers and young adults, Y-LIFE wants to work toward restoring a culture of life where material things are NOT more important than people, and where the value of a person depends on his or her innate dignity, rather than on whether he or she is ”convenient.”

This year’s major project, in addition to the Conference, has been to raise $16,000 toward an ultrasound machine for St. Gerard’s Center for Life in Hartford, Connecticut. $12,000 has been raised as of June, 2009.