By Mary Caton-Rosser
Catholic Herald correspondent
Conference keys on links among life issues
LADYSMITH -- How can we protect human beings from the many assaults against them? How can we respect and defend everyone's life and persuade others to do the same? Mary Meehan discussed these questions in her keynote address at the fourth annual diocesan Respect Life Conference on April 13 at the Rusk County Community Library.
Meehan, who has won national awards for her investigative reporting on eugenics and population control, told the story of Allison Davis, once a strong pro-choice advocate who became one of the first well-known pro-life advocates for the handicapped.
"A change of hearts and minds can help us find alternatives to violence," Meehan said. "We need to recapture a sense of the joy of life in our culture." Meehan also spoke about the effects of violence and killing in various forms including abortion, euthanasia, war, abuse, dismemberment and the death penalty. She pointed out that there are psychological links among types of killing, and the traumatic fallout often includes nightmares, depression, alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide.
She emphasized that the pro-life movement should work harder on discrimination against the poor, handicapped and minorities in the eugenics movement. The "power elite" of large corporations, foundations, Ivy League institutions, the State Department and CIA, Meehan said, still holds a large degree of control over the pro-choice movement. These are the agencies that need to be lobbied on respect for life issues.
In a time of worldwide war, Meehan noted that people need to call for just war standards or become pacifists. She added that the use of DNA testing in criminal cases has begun to help prove the innocence of some people in prisons and on death row.
Maryann Luplow, a volunteer at Ladysmith-based CareNet pregnancy resource center, said the conference appealed to all denominations. "It is important for an ecumenical group to participate and help carry on the pro-life movement," said Luplow, a member of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Tony.
"This conference helps to give us all direction to bring about our goals." Luplow added that although reversing the Roe vs. Wade decision is a long way off, "We are beginning to stem the tide, at least somewhat, through our perseverance."
"We are building a culture of life," said Alice Martin, diocesan Respect Life director, adding that the fellowship at the conference was especially important for people living in isolated, rural areas. She said prayer is a vital ingredient of the overall pro-life plan, noting that parishes have access to pro-life petitions and bulletin inserts on human life issues. Parishes are being encouraged to sponsor paraliturgical programs, and private prayer and fasting programs as part of respect for life activities.
Mary Holmes, Respect Life Assistant Director, said, "It's really a privilege to gather with all these people here, and share our insights on this topic. We are honing our appreciation for the sanctity of life, and learning how it relates to every aspect of our lives."
Meehan and Holmes facilitated workshops on dealing with the media and working with new technologies. A third workshop, "Implementing the Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities," encouraged conference participants to network and connect with local chapters of pro-life organizations, and followed the outline of the official pastoral plan that Bishop Raphael Fliss presented at the conference in the morning.
"The Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities, a Campaign in Support of Life," is a statement recently updated and published by the U.S. Catholic Bishops. The document was first presented in 1975 as a three-prong approach to defend human life through education, pastoral care and public policy, and updated in 1985. Last fall the Committee for Pro-Life Activities once again updated the document, and submitted it to the full body of the bishops for approval.
Issues Fliss discussed included stem cell research, cloning, capital punishment and abortion. "The bishops' plan is in support of life," he said. "It's meant to unite, restore respect and gain legal protection for life, and help us become people of life and for life. It's what our Holy Father asks."
Fliss said new additions to the document include the promotion of prayer and educational awareness around respect life issues. He added that Catholics encouraged to participate include religious and laypeople, campus ministries, health care organizations, and especially parents. "Through family discussion, and by example and guidance, children will learn. The beginning of all good education comes through parents," he said.
In conclusion, Fliss read a summary of the bishops' report which stated, "We hold in high esteem all who proclaim and serve the Gospel of life. Through their peaceful activism, education, prayer, and service, they witness to God's truth and embody our Lord's command to love one another as he loves us."
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2002