Category Archives: Catholic

The Infertile Soul: Contraception’s Influence On Faith and Society

A Talk by Fr. Thomas Euteneuer

“Abortion is not the revolution; contraception is.”—-Fr. Thomas Euteneuer

CONTRACEPTION is a topic that is often overlooked or neglected in the pro-life movement.

What we sometimes forget or don’t realize is that abortion is not the revolution; it’s the fruit of the revolution.  The revolution is contraception.

In this talk, you’ll hear about the connection between birth control and abortion and the four stages of development through which birth control morphs into abortion.

(click here) Fr. Thomas Euteneuer:  The Infertile Soul: Contraception’s Influence On Faith & Society

LISTEN ONLINE or download to your MP3 player.  Also available at HLI to purchase on audio CD.  Approximately 1-1/2 hours.

Key Themes

Contraceptive revolution, coercive contraception, population control, contraception indoctrination, communist propaganda, abortion, conversion, the natural law.


Readers Respond to Contraception Controversy

j0423098 Our Position on Contraception, posted last week, which includes an Open Letter to Gayle Atteberry, director, Oregon Right To Life, drew a number of responses, pro and con.  Note:  Even though the readers who spoke out against our expose of ORTL’s silence on contraception, they DO AGREE with our position,  i.e., there is a connection between contraceptive usage and abortion rates.

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Thumbs Up

Dear Nina,

I want to congratulate you for taking this stand:  that of showing that there is a profound contradiction between working to stop abortion while keeping silent about contraceptives. A few years ago, one of my teenage children entered ORTL’s essay contest.  She wrote an essay on the topic of the connection between abortion and contraceptives but it was very poorly received.  I backed down of that battle then, thinking that maybe focusing on a single issue (abortion) would be more efficient, but I think differently now. The problem of turning a blind eye to contraceptives is that the connection between abortion and contraceptives is intrinsic, so to ignore the facts in this instance is suicidal for the cause of life. Thank you for standing up for the truth in this crucial matter, and may God and the Blessed Mother guide your steps and work in His service.

We have supported ORTL for some time but after reading what you wrote regarding their total silence on contraceptives, I am going to write to them about this and if they do not “ease” their policy, I will tell them I will have to refrain from supporting them at this time. I do not expect them to take up two causes here (namely to fight against abortion and contraceptives).  I can see how that may be trying to take too much at once. However, while not fighting against contraceptives per se, they can at least not be opposed to it and permit booths and essays on the topic; for there is an intrinsic connection between the two.—-Amelia Volz

Note to readers:  American Life League has ALWAYS

taken on both contraceptives and abortion.

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Dear Nina,

Just a quick note to thank you for sending this material.  I was confused about the positions of NRTL and ORTL on contraception.  I took a couple of days to read through your email and all of the links. Thank you for putting all of that together.  It was very well done. Thank you for clarifying things. It’s a shame, really, that there is division in the ranks of the right to life army. It needs prayer and educating action such as yours.

Thank you, also, for speaking for the unborn in your communications and decisions regarding the ProLife Action of Oregon’s position on contraception/abortion. I agree with you and support your position completely. I remember you and ProLife Action of Oregon daily in the Rosary.—-Name Withheld

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Nina,

If opposition to contraception is merely a “Catholic issue,” that would come as a surprise to the Hindu Mahatma Gandhi, the Jewish-born atheist Sigmund Freud, and the growing number of evangelical Protestants who have thrown their contraceptives in the toilet and followed the Bible’s teaching on life and its transmission.  If contraception is merely a Catholic issue, then so is abortion.  Incorrect.  The perennial teaching against contraception has to do with the demands of the natural law, which is binding on humanity, not just humans who happen to be Catholic.  Which is why Paul VI did not address Humanae Vitae to bishops only, nor even to Catholics only, but to “all men of good will.”—-Patrick Coffin, radio hoPatrick Coffin webst of Catholic Answers Live; and author of new book, Sex Au Naturel:  What It Is and Why It Is Good For Your Marriage.

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Thumbs Down

Those who wish to bring a stop to abortions have two choices:  work together or spend time working against each other.

I have no question whatsoever concerning the interlinking of artificial birth control and abortions.  And I may disagree with the unwillingness of Right to Life to address the issue, but I am not going to spend time trying to change their mind, nor am I going to stop supporting their work.

Entering into a pissing contest with them over the issue is non-productive.  If they don’t want you to have a booth there, then for God’s sake and the sake of the unborn, find a way to support them and move on.

I do not disagree with your position on artificial birth control.  But demanding moral purity of position is not going to get our (you, me, NRLC, the LDS Church, Muslims, and anyone and everyone else engaged in trying to limit and stop abortions) goals accomplished.

The internecine warfare didn’t start yesterday; you are not the first to enter into this fray.  And I seriously doubt you are going to win your argument.  Getting warfare going between the various groups who wish to bring a halt to killing our children is a subtle or not so subtle distraction from our common goal and looks like, smells like, and has every appearance of the work of Satan.

Spend your time productively.  Do something positive for Right to Life and move on.

I do not have a problem with you differing with Gayle on the approach to take about abortion, nor for that matter do I disagree with your approach to that issue.

What I am writing you about is the wisdom, or lack thereof, of taking your dispute with her public in the way that you have.  There was an interesting article in Our Sunday Visitor some time ago on this issue specifically – the internecine warfare that has been going on between different groups fighting abortion.  I suspect if you contacted the Visitor they could provide you with the article.  I would encourage you to do so.

Taking your dispute with Gayle public did no good for Right to Life; it did not and will not change their position; but it certainly can work to cause some of her support to fall off.  They do good work and they oppose abortion; they do not do it with the moral stance you and I both agree is important and is the truth; but that does not make them enemies.  Christ ate with sinners; we might do wisely to understand that if both Right to Life and you work for an end to abortion, both are working for a moral good, and to understand that we are required to work for the moral good, not to try to enforce moral purity in a way that can damage the work of others who also seek, albeit not perfectly, for the same moral good.

I admire your fire; I just disagreed with your first post.  I am not mad – or for that matter, angry.  I do think there is more than one way to achieve an objective.

He is risen!  May He guide both you and I to do His will.   Even if we might disagree as to how to go about it.  ;) —-Tim Moore

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Contraception—the Bitter Pill

Contraception—the Bitter Pill

by George Sim Johnston.  Crisis Magazine.  1996.

The Church’s insistence on the link between contraception and abortion occasionally gets support in surprising quarters. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey the U.S. Supreme Court, on its perennial search for the most plausible-sounding sophistries to uphold legalized abortion, stated:

For two decades of economic and social developments, people have organized intimate relationships and made choices that define their views of themselves and their places in society, in reliance on the availability of abortion in the event that contraception should fail.

In other words, we need abortion so that people can continue their contraceptive lifestyles.

Our Position on Contraception

Updated 9:03 a.m., 04/14/10

Why was Pro-Life Action of Oregon’s “Contraception” Material Banned from Oregon Right To Life’s Conference?

Our position, and that of Judie Brown, president, American Life League, on the connection between the use of abortion pills and the rate of abortion has been rejected by Gayle Atteberry, director, Oregon Right To Life.  But that position is also the party line of National Right To Life.

Atteberry banned our educational material on the contraception-abortion connection from the upcoming ORTL conference.  Rather than compromise our beliefs we won’t be participating in the conference.

Silence on birth control’s role in abortion rates will continue to mislead and misinform pro-lifers.  More babies will die.

BACKGROUND

Pro-Life Action of Oregon requested a table at the upcoming ORTL 2010 pro-life conference.  Atteberry asked to review our educational material (from American Life League) due to ORTL “policies” about ALL.

She banned them all.

Which material did she censor?  Anything about contraception!

  • Contraception and Abortion:  The Deadly Connection
  • Emergency Contraception
  • Birth Control Pills:  How They Work
  • Flawed Condoms

Each of these are available for viewing at the American Life League store.

Atteberry characterized these as “minutia.”

“As I see it, Judie Brown is focused on the minutia and ORTL does not agree with that.”

Updated 5:32 PDT 04-15-10 –
“Minutia?”!!!  According to the Guttmacher Institute, 54% of women who abort their babies were using The Pill or condoms during the month they became pregnant.  Of those, 76% were using The Pill — “inconsistently.”
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Open Letter to Gayle Atteberry, Oregon Right To Life
April 13, 2010 – Portland, Ore

Gayle, in light of your censoring American Life League (ALL) material which makes the connection between contraception and abortion — material I wanted to bring to the April Oregon Right To Life conference — Pro-Life Action of Oregon will not be participating.

Our Position On Contraception

We are  very grateful that you took the time to inform us of Oregon Right To Life’s policies which illustrate the philosophical and theological differences between National Right To Life / ORTL and Judie Brown/A.L.L.  You expressed being uncomfortable with Brown’s criticisms of NRLC.  Your characterization of her criticisms is as follows:

A.L.L. puts a great emphasis in opposing birth control. While it is true that some birth control methods are abortifacients, not all are. Judy Brown adamantly opposes the birth control pill. While sometimes the bc [birth control] pill acts as an abortifacient, it does not always work that way, and many pro-life doctors say there is no proof that it does.

It is obvious that your assessment of Judie’s opposition to The Pill is restricted to its abortifacient action.

We are  aware of its abortifacient action.  Yet, we are struck by your silence on its rate of failure which leads to “unplanned” pregnancies.

As a serious pro-life activist, we are  in total 100% agreement with Judie Brown.  The Pill increases abortion.

Continue reading →

Pro-Life Prayer Vigil at Planned Parenthood on MLK

Prayer Vigil at Planned Parenthood on MLK

(Portland, Ore)  March 19, 2010 (Pro-Life Action of Oregon) Over 60 pro-lifers gathered on Friday outside Planned Parenthood on MLK, Jr. Blvd. for a peaceful prayer vigil.  Organizer Tamra Johnson, Regional Coordinator of Silent No More Awareness Campaign, got the word out.  Tamra is also the coordinator for 40 Days for Life/Portland this year.  Among the churches represented were  Holy Rosary Church, St. Juan Diego, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Agatha, Our Lady of the Lake, St. Pius X, Christ The King, and Rock Point Church.

Tamra and Fr. John Kerns

Tamra, Fr. John Kerns

We were blessed to have Fr. John Kerns, pastor at St. Juan Diego Church, lead us in The Rosary, The Divine Mercy Chaplet, and songs!  Thank you father!!  It was a bittersweet afternoon.  Fellowship outside a place of death is usually like that.

Prayer Vigil at PP on MLK

Friday was an unseasonably warm and calm day in Portland, weather-wise.  However, the new building whips up bitter cold winds.  The building also casts a dark shadow on the boulevard in the afternoons.  It’s a very cold, uninviting environment altogether.

Inside the corner of this building at street level, preparations are being made for something that Planned Parenthood is being secretive about.  Pro-Life Action of Oregon is almost certain it will be a gathering place for sex “education” outreach to teens walking by.  You will see taped onto the windows the very same cutesy lips and flowers associated with Planned Parenthood’s depraved “Take Care Down There:  The Ins and Outs Of The Ins and Outs” sex training site for teens.  (Warning:   vulgar material.)   Outside the door are three-foot-tall bike racks in the shape of the male/female symbols.

We will keep you posted on the developments inside the corner.

Tri-Met has put a new bus stop on the corner.

Many, many cars drive by this place all day long.  As we prayed, drivers gave their thumbs up, honked in approval, waved:  this lifts our spirits.

But we need more people, especially black people, to join us.  One day a black man stopped his car and told us that he would join “if you take down those pictures” of mutilated aborted babies.  Yes, this is a problem we can discuss and deal with in the near future.

Catholic Identity Yanked from Hospital by Oregon Bishop

Bishop Robert Vasa is the Bishop of the Baker Diocese.  Two resources:

When Bishops Do The Right Thing by Rev. Thomas Euteneuer, President, Human Life International

The point of contention that the good bishop had with the St. Charles Hospital in Bend, OR was the hospital’s practice of surgical sterilization. Apparently the Board of Directors thought that the Church’s clear prohibition of this practice was, uh, optional. So after a fair and timely investigation, the bishop could not convince the hospital administration to change practices and simply yanked the Catholic name and insignia from the building with the exception of the cross on top to remind them of their failure to live up to the challenge of the Cross. Can’t you hear the bishop wince when the president of the healthcare chain, James Diegel, said that the hospital had “an obligation to provide comprehensive health care services to our patients while remaining true to our values of compassion and caring for all”? This sounds like slimy Planned Parenthood language if you ask me.

There are just a handful of bishops in the technologically-sophisticated western world, however, who exhibit the resolute moral courage that is required to remove the title of “Catholic” from an institution that is in rebellion against the authentic Faith; even fewer who have the guts to discipline a public figure who betrays the Faith in favor of his own leftist values. (Vice President Joe Biden, by the way, appeared in public on Wednesday with ashes on his forehead….) Yet, there is a growing trend in the United States toward greater episcopal strength and orthodoxy, and we have to applaud it when we see it because these bishops will be severely attacked and will need our support.

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL COMMENTARY.

Contact Bishop Robert Vasa – chancellor@dioceseofbaker.org

Hospital Decided It Could Not Meet The Catholic Standard by Bishop Robert Vasa, The Catholic Sentinel.

BEND — In the course of the past several weeks I have focused on what it means for individuals and institutions to be Catholic. I have done this, in part, because of a concern about Catholic colleges and hospitals in general but also, in part, because of very specific discussions I have been having with the administration of St. Charles Medical Center, a Catholic health care institution, in Bend. Over the course of the past several years I have struggled with the difficulty of trying to reconcile some practices ongoing at the medical center with clear Church teaching.

CLICK STORY TITLE to read full commentary.

Planned Parenthood Pushes Intensive Sex Education for Kids as Young as 10

Fox News 02/08/10

A new report by the International Planned Parenthood Federation is advocating that children as young as 10 be given extensive sex education, including an awareness of sex’s pleasures. The report, “Stand and Deliver,” charges that religious groups, specifically Catholics and Muslims, deny their young access to comprehensive sexual programs and education.

There is a link to the IPPF report “Stand and Deliver” here:

Planned Parenthood Pushes Intensive Sex Education for Kids as Young as 10 – FOXNews.com.

Updated 02/16/10

Fox News Video – Megan Kelly and Monica Crowley

Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic escort strikes protester Lila Rose

Pro-Life Action of Oregon wants to remind activists:  protesters must always have a video for self-protection.  We do not know whether Lila Rose videotaped this incident.

San Jose, Calif., Dec 19, 2009  (CNA) – Legal charges are pending against a male Planned Parenthood escort who struck pro-life activist Lila Rose on the hands on Thursday outside an abortion clinic. She warned that the surprising attack should not help create a “double standard” that hinders clinic protesters’ free speech rights.

Rose, the president of Live Action Films who has led undercover investigations into the abortion provider, was not injured in the attack.

Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic escort strikes protester Lila Rose

Pope Benedict Reframing Environment Issues to Include Humanity, Born and Unborn

Pope Benedict Reframing Environment Issues to Include Humanity, Born and Unborn.

The protection of the environment must be connected to the protection of human life, particularly the unborn, said Pope Benedict XVI today. In his annual address to the Vatican diplomatic corps, Pope Benedict XVI attempted to disassociate concerns for the environment from the anti-human population control ideologies that often characterise the environmentalist movement.

“If we wish to build true peace, how can we separate, or even set at odds, the protection of the environment and the protection of human life, including the life of the unborn?”

FULL STORY