Many prolifers are embarrassed when fellow prolifers behave as if abortion is truly murder. And then there are those who behave and speak clearly on behalf of our unborn brothers and sisters:
Below is the text of Bishop Bruskewitz’s letter to Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkins.
April 3, 2009
The Reverend John Jenkins, C.S.C
President, University of Notre Dame
400 Main Building
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Reverend and dear Father Jenkins,
Permit me to add my name as well to the long list of Bishops of the Catholic Church who are utterly appalled at your dedication to immorality and wrong-doing represented by your support for the obscenity called “The Vagina Monologues” and your absolute indifference to the murderous abortion program and beliefs of this President of the United States.
The fact that you have some sort of past connection with the State of Nebraska makes it all the more painful that the Catholic people here have to see your betrayal of the moral teachings of the Catholic Church.
I can assure you of my prayers for your conversion, and for the conversion of your formerly Catholic University. I am,
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus,
The Most Reverend Fabian W. Bruskewitz
Bishop of Lincoln
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The great bishop assures Father Jenkins of his prayers "for your conversion, and for the conversion of your formerly Catholic University." Is such a conversion possible and if so how can it be brought about?
The path to such a conversion may be spelled out in the compelling autobiography of Dr. Bernard Nathanson, The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind - published by Regnery Publishing, 1996.
In his powerful book review of this autobiography, Father John McCloskey writes as follows:
However, he (Nathanson) ends the book on a note of hope in Christ's mercy, forgiveness, and offer of salvation. As is often the case in a story of conversion, it is the prayers and personal example of so many of his pro-life friends and coworkers that over time melt down the resistance of a hardened atheistic sinner so that he can see that there might be room in God's heart even for the likes of him. Speaking of the witness of pro-lifers at a demonstration at an abortion clinic: "They prayed, they supported, and encouraged each other, they sang hymns of joy, and they constantly reminded each other of the absolute prohibition against violence. They prayed for the unborn babies, for the confused and pregnant women, and for the doctors and nurses in the clinic. They even prayed for the police and media who were covering the event. And I wondered: how can these people give of themselves for a constituency that is (and always will be) mute, invisible, and unable to thank them?" With respect to the confrontation between idealism and hardened cynicism, the description of such demonstrations could remind us of early accounts of the Christian martyrs in the Colosseum of Rome facing the lions.
Witnessing these pro-life demonstrators who were willing to go to jail and suffer bankruptcy for their belief made such a powerful impression on Nathanson that "for the first time in my entire adult life, I began seriously to entertain the notion of God, a God who problematically had led me through the proverbial circles of hell, only to show me the way to redemption and mercy through His Grace. The thought violated every eighteenth century certainty that I had cherished; it instantly converted my past into a vile bog of sin and evil; it indicted me and convicted me of high crimes against those who loved me, and against those whom I did not even know, and simultaneously–miraculously–it held out a shimmering sliver of hope to me, in the growing belief that Someone had died for my sins and my evil two millennia ago."
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If years ago prolifers had bestowed awards and praise upon the then abortionist Nathanson, it is not likely that Nathanson would have converted to the pro-life cause and ultimately to Catholicism. More likely, Nathanson would have thought to himself, "these folks say abortion is the killing of unborn children, but they sure don't act that way." Indeed, it was the willingness to go to jail and suffer bankruptcy; it was prolifers behaving as if abortion was truly murder; it was individuals making huge sacrifices for the least of our brothers; it was all these things (not dialouge) that changed the heart and mind of Dr. Nathanson.
We have a tremendous opportunity over the next few weeks to make a clear and bold statement concerning the sanctity of human life. It is not just another issue on which respectable people can disagree. We must stand up boldy, courageously, and loudly, and tell Notre Dame and Obama, "we will no longer stand by quietly and let the least of our brothers be slaughtered." Thirty-one bishops have found their voice and spoken out against the Notre Dame invitation. If you have been on the sidelines, it is time join the battle. Abortion is murder - act like it. Do something.
"When the time comes, as it surely will, when we face that awesome moment, the final judgment, I've often thought, as Fulton Sheen wrote, that it is a terrible moment of loneliness. You have no advocates, you are there alone standing before God -- and a terror will rip your soul like nothing you can imagine. But I really think that those in the pro-life movement will not be alone. I think there'll be a chorus of voices that have never been heard in this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world -- and they will plead for everyone who has been in this movement. They will say to God, 'Spare him, because he loved us!'"
Congressman Henry Hyde
Catholicity Wall to Wall Notre Dame Scandal Coverage
Notre Dame Scandal Petition
Contact Fr. Jenkins: Call him at 574.631.5000, fax him at 574.631.2770, write a personal email mailto:president@nd.edu?subject=Notre%20Dame%20Scandal%20, or mail your letter to 317 Main Building, Notre Dame, IN 465564.
Pray for Our Lady's intercession that Notre Dame, who is named after our Lady, will stay true to their Catholic heritage and identity.
The Cardinal Newman Society
http://www.ndresponse.com/
Lifesite News
BTW, Keep your eye on Bishop Jenky who serves as a Fellow and Trustee of the University of Notre Dame. Look for him to make a very strong comment on this fiasco shortly after Easter. Keep this couragous bishop in your prayers.
The Truth About Margaret Sanger
"I accepted an invitation to talk to the women's branch of the Ku Klux Klan...I saw through the door dim figures parading with banners and illuminated crosses...I was escorted to the platform, was introduced, and began to speak...In the end, through simple illustrations I believed I had accomplished my purpose. A dozen invitations to speak to similar groups were proffered." (Margaret Sanger: An Autobiography, P.366)
