Our Lady, St David and St Andrew Enter Local Election Campaigns

On Thursday 7th of May there will be elections to the Scottish Parliament and to the Welsh Senedd, as well as local council elections across England. We should of course do what we can to find out where all of our local candidates stand on the issue of abortion and then vote accordingly. If you are voting in Scotland you should see details here

However, as candidates are often very busy in the lead up to an election, it can sometimes be very hard to find out where they stand on abortion. I have just been reading the sequel to 'From Christendom to Apostolic Mission' by Mgr James Shea, "The Religion of the Day" where he said, “One act of self-denial for the sake of the Gospel, one single heartfelt prayer or act of charity toward those we are called to love, will have more power in advancing the cause of Christ than months of angry listening to podcasts, or hours of sparring on social media, or years of stirring up those around us with the latest evil reports from news articles. The devil is dismayed by humility, devastated by charity, and terrified by the Cross. But when he sees Christians trying to press the works of the flesh – greed, anger, calumny, and power politics – into the service of the Spirit, he only laughs.”

From this, it is clear that while engaging with candidates in an election is important, prayer is far more important. As we have just over nine days left until the election, we all have time to say one or more of the following prayers each day as a novena for these elections. We can pray that they bring about what God wants and not what man wants. If you are reading this when there are less than nine days left to go to the elections, please still say one or more of these prayers each day. You are, of course, most welcome to continue to say these prayers every day for the rest of your life. You can receive an Our Lady of Walsingham/Prayer for England Prayercard and others, from us here.

Prayer for England

O blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother, look down in mercy upon England thy "Dowry" and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee. By thee it was that Jesus our Saviour and our hope was given unto the world; and He has given thee to us that we might hope still more. Plead for us thy children, whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the Cross, O sorrowful Mother. Intercede for our separated brethren, that with us in the one true fold they may be united to the supreme Shepherd, the Vicar of thy Son. Pray for us all, dear Mother, that by faith fruitful in good works we may all deserve to see and praise God, together with thee, in our heavenly home.

Amen.

Prayer for Wales

O Almighty God, Who in Thine infinite goodness has sent Thine only-begotten Son into this world to open once more the gates of heaven, and to teach us how to know, love and serve Thee, have mercy on Thy people Who dwell in Wales. Grant to them the precious gift of faith, and unite them in the one true Church founded by Thy Divine Son; that, acknowledging her authority and obeying her voice, they may serve Thee, love Thee, and worship Thee as Thou desirest in this world, and obtain for themselves everlasting happiness in the world to come. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for Wales.

Saint David, pray for Wales.

Saint Winefride, pray for Wales.

                                Prayer for Scotland

O Blessed St Andrew, Frist-called and Fisher of Men, of old thou didst summon into the presence of the Saviour thy brother St Peter; obtain now we beseech thee, by thy powerful intercession for the people of Scotland that they might recognise in his successor the Vicar of Christ, and so enter into the vision of Him who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, One God for ever and ever, Amen.

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Why do MPs want Catholics arrested for praying silently?

Why do MPs want Catholics arrested for praying silently outside abortion centres? 

Most MPs who voted for this extraordinary piece of legislation have done so because they believe the propaganda of the abortionists "Back Off!" campaign. This campaign supported by most of the mainstream Media, both in print and broadcast, has given a very negative false impression of Pro-Life vigils and MPs believing these lies have voted, in large numbers to ban our charitable work. In fact more Conservative MPs voted for the Labour amendment to the Public Order Bill, -which introduces a national buffer zone - than voted against it. Labour MPs who are worried about other aspects of the Public Order Bill have put these worries to one side and voted for it anyway to ensure that our vigils are banned! This unity amongst MPs from opposing parties is most striking and reminds me of a part in The Lord of the Rings, where Frodo and Sam, having entered Mordor, hear two orcs arguing and fighting amongst themselves. Sam says to Frodo that if we just left our enemies to themselves they would kill each other off. But Frodo points out, that had the Orcs discovered the two Hobbits they would have put their squabbling to one side and would have had a united determination to kill them, to destroy what is good in this world. I can only look at Conservative, Labour, Plaid Cymru, SNP and Liberal Democrat MPs and see those two orcs squabbling, until they were united in their attempt to destroy what is good. We are the Hobbits.

But I'm sad to say that some politicians are so blinded by their hate for the good and charitable works that we do that they are prepared to lie or can no longer see the truth when it is there for them to see. Before the first buffer zone was introduced by Ealing Council one of the councillors came to the abortion centre in Mattock Lane to witness for herself the terrible horrendous demonstrations being carried out there by Pro-Lifers. When she arrived on the scene she turned to a woman standing in the street and asked her politely, if she knew where the Pro-Life demonstration was, the woman told her that she and the one other person standing there were the pro-life vigil. The counsellor had not even noticed them because they had such a peaceful, prayerful presence. Then back in the council chamber she was able to tell the other councillors that she herself had been to witness the pro-life vigil and was terrified and she could only imagine what it would be like for a pregnant woman going to the centre for an abortion!

Fortunately, it is not for me to judge which politicians voted for this ban in good faith and which did not, I will leave that to God.

We know that evil likes to work in darkness and in hiding, and the abortion providers do not really want people to see anything that they do. If you look at the Good Counsel Network’s blog post for Friday the 22nd of March 2013 you will see that we were in the middle of a 40 Days for Life campaign outside the abortion centre in Ealing. Five ambulances came there in just a month. Safe, Legal Abortion?

Abortion Providers are always striving to portray Pro-lifers as liars, especially when we talk about the risks of abortion. marie stopes International, that bastion of honesty and integrity, takes it upon themselves to take our leaflets from women as they enter their centres.

Yet, as the many ambulances called to Marie abortion centres show, abortion is far from the safe, simple procedure with no after-affects that these groups pretend it is. Since BPAS and marie stopes deny almost every complication of abortion, it is hard to believe that the women who were taken away in these ambulances were forewarned that this was a possible outcome.

Many times, our volunteers have helped sick and faint girls to their feet outside the abortion centre when they were vomiting or bleeding heavily and struggling with pain as they came out after their abortions.

There were 29 women who kept their babies during that 40 Days for Life campaign from just the vigils at Whitfield Street and Ealing.

As always, we ensured that any women entering the abortion centre were NOT captured in any of the pictures taken. However the abortion centre would rather that we were not there, as thousands of people were made aware of the number of ambulances arriving at this abortion centre. Moving us 150 yards away at some abortion centres would mean that we would be incapable of seeing any ambulances arriving or leaving and that the fiction that abortion is safe will be allowed to continue.

For years we have had listen to lies from the media, politicians and abortion providers claiming that Pro-Lifers film clients going into abortion centres. Just last week we had Rupa Huq MP, claiming in Parliament that we live-stream from outside abortion centres. The Guardian have repeated all those claims time and time again. Yet no images of women entering or leaving abortion centres which have been taken by pro-lifers have ever appeared on social media or in the public domain. This is because pro-lifers DON'T photograph or film women entering abortion centres. We are there to offer help to pregnant Mums, it is unlikely that the hundreds of women that stop to talk to us would do so if we were filming. 

Rupa Huq MP said on National television that, no one should ever protest outside an abortion centre. Yes, that's her fifth from the left, protesting outside the Ealing abortion centre the very next day, with her pro-abortion supporters.

Back in 2017, the Guardian, who claim to be supporting women, published a photo of two women leaving the abortion centre in Ealing. A 'pro-choice feminist' group calling itself Sister Supporter have also put up an image of another women attending this abortion centre. The Guardian only removed their photo after complaints from dozens of Pro-Lifers.

So once again it is clear that the Pro-Lifers are there to help and respect women and the abortion campaigners are not.

Before the first buffer zone came in, in Ealing we reported 2,674 reasons why BPAS and Marie Stopes need buffer zones.  2,257 less abortions in Ealing and Twickenham Abortion Centres during 2016 than in 2015. As well as abortions in Birmingham having dropped by 417.

Making a total reduction of 2,674 abortions, just from these 3 abortion centres.
And it's still true to say:

Wherever there is a full-time prayerful presence at an abortion centre, with real help available, abortion figures drop. This is why abortion providers like Marie Stopes and BPAS want buffer zones

According to department of health statistics,

Marie Stopes Ealing performed 7,459 of abortions in 2015

Marie Stopes Ealing performed 6,484 abortions in 2016
That's a drop of 13%

BPAS Twickenham performed 7,325 abortions in 2015

BPAS Twickenham performed 6043 abortions 2016.
That's a drop of 17.5%

Every life is infinitely precious. Don't let them make us back off! Allow women real options!
Anyone in business can tell you that a drop of between 13 and 17.5% in your income could easily see a company go out of business.

For many years pro-lifers had spent a couple of hours on Saturday mornings praying outside abortion centres across this country. In September 2010 40 Days for Life started in London, outside Marie Stopes abortion centre in Whitfield Street. Pro-lifers were now there 12 hours a day 7-days a week, we were shining a light in the darkness. After this daily prayer vigils were taken up by the Good Counsel Network. 40 Days for Life campaigns spread across London and across the country. Hundreds of pro-lifers were spending thousands of hours outside abortion centres. The number of abortions were dropping, the number of women receiving help was increasing all of this shows the logical reasons why the pro-abortion lobby wanted to ban us. But now we come on to the spiritual side of things.

Many of the women who changed their minds on the doorsteps of an abortion centre have told us that they had prayed for a sign from God and arriving at the abortion centre to find a small group of people, sometimes only one or two, praying, they took to be their sign from God. One mother who kept her baby had told God, having just been to Church on her way to the abortion centre, that she needed a sign and if it was not a big sign she would not be sure that it was a sign from Him and that she would not accept it. She arrived at Bedford Square abortion centre in London and found twenty Pro-Lifers praying there with a Priest and Bishop Bernard Longley, now Archbishop of Birmingham. She recognised that the Bishop’s presence was her sign and kept her baby.

The fact that silent prayer by one individual outside an abortion centre, prayer in their own mind is going to be made illegal is a clear sign that this battle is spiritual. There is no practical reason why the MPs would vote to ban silent prayer by one person within 150 metres of an abortion centre. The proof of this is quite simple, step out of your front door walk 149 metres without turning back to look at your front door say quietly in your head 'God please let abortion end' and then look back to your door, see how far away you are. Anybody going into your front door would not know you were standing 149 yards away praying. There is no practical reason to ban prayer, the only reason to ban such prayer there, is because abortion providers and their supporters know better than we know it, that it is effective. How consciously or subconsciously the abortionists and their friends are aware of this I do not know, but I know that this is a spiritual battle.

The battle for respect for life from conception continues in the UK. Once again we have to find new ways to move forward. and we are working on that, but in the meanwhile, we cannot and do not accept a ban on silent prayer and offers of help. We need to stand up and fight this with all our might. We also need to actually attend the existing vigils while its legal to do so. No buffer zone is more effective than apathy and fear keeping us away from vigils. Please come to the peaceful pro-life vigils while it is still legal to do so. Please come to Brixton 40 Days for Life between now and 2nd April.

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Note; It was only after giving this talk on 16th March, that I noticed the Tweet pictured below, and thus found that I had quoted a part of The Lord of the Rings on the anniversary of that event taking place, as this Twitter account posts things on the dates that they took place!

You Wouldn’t Even Ask….Candidates to Vote for General Election 2019

If a candidate who supported terrorism asked for your vote, would you say, "I disagree with you on terrorism, but where do you stand on other issues?

"I doubt it.

In fact, if a terrorism sympathiser presented him/herself for your vote, you would immediately know that such a position disqualifies the candidate for public office -- no matter how good he or she may be on other issues. The horror of terrorism dwarfs whatever good might be found in the candidate's plan for housing, education, or health care. Regarding those plans, you wouldn't even ask.

So why do so many people say, "This candidate favours legal abortion. I disagree. But I'm voting for this person because she has good ideas about health care (or some other issue).

"Such a position makes no sense whatsoever, unless one is completely blind to the violence of abortion. That, of course, is the problem. But we need only see what abortion looks like, or read descriptions from the abortionists themselves, and the evidence is clear. (USA Today refused to sell me space for an ad that quoted abortionists describing their work because the readers would be traumatised just by the words!)

Abortion is no less violent than terrorism. Any candidate who says abortion should be kept legal disqualifies him/herself from public service. We need look no further, we need pay no attention to what that candidate says on other issues. Support for abortion is enough for us to decide not to vote for such a person.

Pope John Paul II put it this way: "Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination" (Christifideles Laici, 1988).

False and illusory. Those are strong and clear words that call for our further reflection.

"I stand for adequate and comprehensive health care." So far, so good. But as soon as you say that a procedure that tears the arms off of little babies is part of "health care," then your understanding of the term "health care" is obviously quite different from the actual meaning of the words. In short, you lose credibility. Your claim to health care is "illusory." It sounds good, but is in fact destructive, because it masks an act of violence.

"My plan for adequate housing will succeed." Fine. But what are houses for, if not for people to live in them? If you allow the killing of the children who would otherwise live in those houses, how am I supposed to get excited by your housing project?

It's easy to get confused by all the arguments in an election year. But if you start by asking where candidates stand on abortion, you can eliminate a lot of other questions you needn't even ask.
By Fr. Frank Pavone

For more election related articles and information, visit www.priestsforlife.org/elections (US)

So it is no good just voting for this Party or that, you need to ask all your local Candidates where they stand on abortion and how they will vote if elected.
See how your MP has voted on Life Issues in the past and how your other local candidates would vote if elected; https://www.spuc.org.uk/ (UK)

Who Can Catholics And Other Pro-Lifers Vote For?

There is a lot of mixed opinion about what we should consider before deciding who to vote for. But I believe that if we looked at any mass killing of human beings other than abortion where hundreds of thousands of lives were being taken every year, such as in Nazi Germany for example, no-one (retrospectively at least) would say "We can't just vote on that one issue"!*@ Until abortion is ended, no other issue can compare with the huge and wholesale slaughter that deprives my unborn neighbour of his right to life, her right to own property, his right to work, her right to be educated, his right to have food on her table, his right to freedom. All rights are pointless if we do not have a right to be born! Fr Frank Pavone illustrates this perfectly in the following article, from his website, which is so good I am including it in this blog in full.
If we don't believe abortion is a big enough issue to be worth casting our vote on, how on earth do we imagine that any parliamentary candidate is going to? Read on...

by Clare McCullough

The following article was taken from the Priests for Life website www.priestsforlife.org

You Wouldn’t Even Ask….
By Fr. Frank Pavone

If a candidate who supported terrorism asked for your vote, would you say, "I disagree with you on terrorism, but where do you stand on other issues?

"I doubt it.

In fact, if a terrorism sympathizer presented him/herself for your vote, you would immediately know that such a position disqualifies the candidate for public office -- no matter how good he or she may be on other issues. The horror of terrorism dwarfs whatever good might be found in the candidate's plan for housing, education, or health care. Regarding those plans, you wouldn't even ask.

So why do so many people say, "This candidate favors legal abortion. I disagree. But I'm voting for this person because she has good ideas about health care (or some other issue).

"Such a position makes no sense whatsoever, unless one is completely blind to the violence of abortion. That, of course, is the problem. But we need only see what abortion looks like, or read descriptions from the abortionists themselves, and the evidence is clear. (USA Today refused to sell me space for an ad that quoted abortionists describing their work because the readers would be traumatized just by the words!)

Abortion is no less violent than terrorism. Any candidate who says abortion should be kept legal disqualifies him/herself from public service. We need look no further, we need pay no attention to what that candidate says on other issues. Support for abortion is enough for us to decide not to vote for such a person.

Pope John Paul II put it this way: "Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination" (Christifideles Laici, 1988).

False and illusory. Those are strong and clear words that call for our further reflection.

"I stand for adequate and comprehensive health care." So far, so good. But as soon as you say that a procedure that tears the arms off of little babies is part of "health care," then your understanding of the term "health care" is obviously quite different from the actual meaning of the words. In short, you lose credibility. Your claim to health care is "illusory." It sounds good, but is in fact destructive, because it masks an act of violence.

"My plan for adequate housing will succeed." Fine. But what are houses for, if not for people to live in them? If you allow the killing of the children who would otherwise live in those houses, how am I supposed to get excited by your housing project?

It's easy to get confused by all the arguments in an election year. But if you start by asking where candidates stand on abortion, you can eliminate a lot of other questions you needn't even ask.

For more election related articles and information, visit www.priestsforlife.org/elections (US)

See how your MP has voted on Life Issues in the past and how your other local candidates would vote if elected;
https://www.spuc.org.uk/campaigns/general_election_2015/ (UK)

 

So it is no good just voting for this Party or that, you need to ask all your local Candidates where they stand on abortion and how they will vote if elected.