It is an honor to serve as your new Culture of Life Director. Contemplating the nine years of service of Dominic Ielati, our former Director, both humbles and inspires me. Please join me in thanking Brother Dominic, who, happily, will continue making entries in his pro-life blog for our Council.
I’d like to begin my first online report with an especially powerful quote from Archbishop Chaput’s homily at close of Fortnight for Freedom: “We live in a time that calls for sentinels and public witness. Every Christian in every era faces the same task. But you and I are responsible for this moment. Today. Now. We need to ‘speak out,’ not only for religious liberty and the ideals of the nation we love, but for the sacredness of life and the dignity of the human person – in other words, for the truth of what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God.” It is in the spirit of these words that I wish to conduct my directorship.
Sadly, August began in the aftermath of a pro-life tragedy. On the morning of July 20, 2012, Thomas Aquinas College student Andrew Moore was struck and killed by a passing vehicle while participating in the Crossroads Pro-Life Walk Across America. Andrew was killed while praying along the roadside in Indiana. He was from the Bay Area. Please remember this pro-life hero and pray for his family and friends.
Simultaneously and incredibly, a different Andrew Moore in Dallas, Texas, also appeared in pro-life news. On July 13, this Andrew Moore was questioned by two FBI agents for over an hour in his home about his pro-life activities. Even though he was never charged with a crime, the agents insinuated that a felony conviction would lead to his deportation back to New Zealand and separation from his wife and baby son. On July 25, the Life Legal Defense Foundation sent a letter to the FBI protesting its “gestapo tactics” and warning of a lawsuit if the illegal harassment of Mr. Moore did not stop.
On a lighter note, I’d like to close by reminding my brother Knights of 40 Days for Life, which will begin in October. This peaceful sidewalk prayer vigil held outside of local abortion businesses has been graced by Bishop Soto, and all Knights are encouraged to participate. As October draws nearer, more details will follow.
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“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..” – Constitution of the United States of America, Amendment 1 (part of the “Bill of Rights”)
Bill James
Culture of Life Director
prolife(at)kofc953(dot)org