March 2015 Newsletter

Catholics in the State of New York, particularly those in our Diocese, should be very alarmed by
movements promoting assisted suicide legislation. As we are doing now with the Education Investment Tax Credit and have done in the past about important issues regarding life, we must work together to
educate, inform and encourage our people to engage actively in pushing back any legislation which compromises the gift of life.

While we do not expect this issue to come to the forefront until after the budget is settled, it is important to raise awareness and encourage appropriate action now.

First, I ask each of you to reach out to all in your parish and entity encouraging their active involvement in this issue. I have enclosed a brief list of “talking points” that can serve as a good basis for an e-mail or notice from you to your parishioners, employees, etc. In your writing, please encourage parishioners to visit www.catholicendoflife.org as solid information and resources can be found here. We also need Catholics throughout the Diocese to contact the Governor’s office and the Long Island delegation of assembly members and senators. This is easily done through the Catholic Action Network at www.nyscatholic.org. The Respect Life Office has provided additional resources to assist you.
Second, please utilize the enclosed ads, or some version of them, in your parish bulletin, parish website, entity website or in any upcoming e-mail communication. Three versions of the ad have been attached for your convenience. These are general and can be placed in the bulletin any time in the next few weeks. We must make sure this information is extended as far and wide as possible in the upcoming days. We will provide additional resources in the weeks ahead.

Read or download full letter

TAKE ACTION NOW at the NYSCC Catholic Action Network to oppose assisted suicide legislation in New York State.

A Well-Earned Rest 

By Deirdre A. McQuade

En Español

Those of us who seek to build a culture of life stand on the shoulders of gentle giants.  They are ordinary people who-even before Roe v. Wade made abortion on demand legal-responded with extraordinary generosity to defend our most defenseless brothers and sisters.

John (“Jack”) C. Willke, M.D., was one of those giants.  He passed away on February 20, 2015, at the age of 89, having lost his wife of nearly 65 years, Barbara, two years ago.  They raised their family of six children in Ohio, and have 22 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

An inseparable team, Jack and Barbara worked with urgency for over 40 years to show the wonder of human life developing in the womb and to tell the truth about the brutality of abortion.  Dr. Willke retired from his family practice to do full-time pro-life work in 1988.  Barbara also had a medical background, having been a nurse.  Their educational resources, speaking engagements, and media appearances raised public awareness and cultivated a whole generation to fight abortion.  Their reach also extended internationally.  They spoke jointly in 64 countries; and The Handbook on Abortion (just one of twelve books they authored) was translated into over thirty languages, selling approximately 1.5 million copies worldwide.

In 1997, just two years after St. John Paul II’s beautiful encyclical, Evangelium Vitae(“The Gospel of Life”), the Willkes co-authored Why Can’t We Love Them Both. It fostered a more charitable tone in pro-life work. They wrote: “Why can’t we all stand with the pregnant woman? Why can’t we tell her that we share the agony of her decision? That we really know of no ‘convenience’ abortions? Why can’t we tell her that we stand with her, not against her? … In the coming years, the hallmark of the pro-life movement at least, should not be just to save the baby, but to love them both.”

Today, their gentle, non-judgmental approach extends to all who have been involved in abortion.  Coupled with God’s unlimited mercy, it invites women and men alike to seek integrated healing of body, mind, and soul. Read More

Pope Francis To the Pontifical Academy for Life:

Vatican City, 5 March 2015 (VIS) – “Palliative care expresses the typically human attitude of caring for each other, especially for those who suffer. It is the demonstration that the human person always remains precious, even when elderly or afflicted by illness. Indeed, the person is in any circumstance valuable to himself and to others, and loved by God. Therefore, when life becomes very fragile and the end of earthly life comes close, we feel the responsibility to look after and accompany the person in the best way possible”, said the Pope this morning, as he received in audience the members of the Pontifical Academy for Life, on the occasion of their general assembly on the theme “Assisting the elderly and palliative care”.

“The biblical commandment to honour our parents reminds us in a broader sense of our duty to honour all elderly people. God links a dual promise to this commandment: ‘so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the Lord your God is giving you’. Obedience to this commandment ensures not only the gift of the land, but above all the possibility of making use of it. … The precept reveals to us the fundamental pedagogic relationship between parents and children, between the elderly and the young, with reference to the stewardship and transmission of religious teaching and wisdom to future generations. Honour this teaching, and those who transmit it are a source of life and blessing. On the contrary, the Bible severely admonishes those who neglect or mistreat their parents”.

“The Word of God is always living and we can see clearly how the commandment proves to be relevant to contemporary society, in which the logic of utility often takes precedence over that of solidarity and gratuitousness, even within families”, he continued. “‘To honour’ may be translated as the duty to have extreme respect and take care of those who, on account of their physical or social condition, could be left – or made – to die. Medicine has a special role within society as testimony to the honour due to an elderly person and to every human being. Evidence and efficiency cannot be the only criteria governing the work of doctors, and nor can the rules of healthcare systems and economic profit. A State cannot expect to profit from medicine”. Read More