National pro-life speaker promotes culture of life

By KARA KOCZUR, Globe staff reporter
June 12, 2008

Catholics have a responsibility to do whatever they can to build a culture of life, said Father Peter West of Priests for Life.

"Jesus healed life, restored life and died so we may have everlasting life," Father West said during his homily June 6 at Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City. "So everything we do must be in service of life."

Father West spoke in the Diocese of Sioux City June 6-8. A member of Priests for Life, Father West travels throughout the country speaking about pro-life issues, especially abortion and euthanasia.

Originally ordained for the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., Father West was released in 1998 by the archbishop to serve full-time with Priests for Life, a national organization founded to help clergy be "united, purposeful and strong in defense of human life."

"Jesus himself was an embryo, a fetus," Father West told those gathered for Mass Friday evening. "He gave value to all human life."

Following Mass at the Cathedral, around 100 people gathered to hear about the priest's ministry and to find out what they can do to help spread the pro-life message.

Over 48 million abortions have been performed since the ruling of Roe v. Wade in 1973, Father West said. Today, one in five pregnancies ends in abortion. According to statistics from the local Siouxland Right to Life, there have been 85 abortions in Sioux City in the first three months of 2008.

"It's happening here," he said. "Even in conservative Iowa it happens."

Father West suggested some practical ways to help build a culture of life. Catholics must educate themselves and others about abortion laws, types of abortions and the stages of development of human life. Wearing the "Precious Feet" pin, which shows an unborn baby's feet at 10 weeks after conception, is another way to promote life.

Boycotting pro-abortion organizations or companies that donate to them, he added, is also a way to combat a culture of death.

While all these things are good and helpful, Father West said prayer, especially the rosary, is the best thing people can do to fight abortion.

"It's a crisis with a spiritual root," he said. "Prayer is the most powerful and effective thing we can do to end abortion."

Father West also devoted attention to political responsibility regarding life issues. The church teaches, he said, that voting is not only a right, but a Catholic's obligation.

"We have the duty to use our vote to advance the cause of life, especially the cause of God's children who are unborn or disabled," Father West said.

Reversing Roe v. Wade, he added, is not about imposing Catholic doctrine on others, but about standing up for basic human rights.

"We're not talking about something that can only be known by faith, like our belief in the real presence of the Trinity," he said. "We're talking about the right to life. This can be known by reason. We can demonstrate through science that life begins at the moment of conception."

Catholics need to be concerned about issues such as peace, poverty, the economy and healthcare, Father West noted. However, quoting a document released by the U.S. bishops, he said these issues aren't the same as the direct taking of an innocent human life. Therefore, the right to life must be defended with "maximum determination."

"Without a right to life, what good is a right to healthcare?" Father West asked.

Friday evening's presentation was very informational, said Jean Zenk of St. Mary's Alton.

"I was amazed by his comment about the number of soldiers killed and the number of aborted children - that the number of aborted children outnumbered the soldiers," she said.

At one point during the evening, Father West had displayed a chart showing that more lives have been lost in one year of abortion compared to American lives lost in all military wars together - from the Revolutionary War to Iraq.

Father West also encouraged older people to become more involved with the pro-life movement, which Mary Wente appreciated.

"Sometimes I think we sit back and don't take part, but there's always something we can do," said Wente, a member of the Cathedral.

One of those things, she said, is to "pray, pray, pray." Wente, who belongs to Birthright, added that she "feels more vigor" being at the crisis pregnancy center every week.

"I think this will give me a new incentive to be there and to think I might be able to just save one life," she said.

Saturday morning Father West celebrated Mass at Trinity Heights and then joined about 100 people gathered at Planned Parenthood in Sioux City to pray the rosary.

It was Rosalie Full's first time praying in front of an abortion clinic.

"We're praying for hopefully the salvation of the souls of children and that people will have a conversion of heart," said Full, 20, of St. Mary's Alton.

The prayers were also that people would have a greater understanding of the importance of life and live it in their daily lives, she added.

Along with the morning's activities, Full had attended the presentation the night before and said that listening to Father West helped her understand the facts of abortion, as well as how important and powerful it is to pray.

"[It] has helped me understand how important it is to have a close relationship to Jesus and a closeness to Mary," Full said.

Father West then traveled to Algona, where he spoke to about 30 people from the Kossuth County Right to Life. In the evening he spoke to 30 members of the Knights of Columbus, Holy Name, Catholic Daughters of America and Rosary Society in Whittemore. The priest then spoke June 8 at Songfest in West Bend, as well as to six area priests, deacons, religious and school administrators.

Father West also spoke at the weekend Masses at St. Michael's in Whittemore and St. Joseph's Bode.

Rebecca Montag, who helped schedule the events in the Algona and Whittemore areas, was able to attend all of Father West's presentations near her. The points he made were excellent, she said.

One point that struck Montag, was that in a ranking of the 50 states, with the most pro-life ones at the top and the least pro-life at the bottom, Iowa ranks 43. The ranking is put out by Americans United for Life and considers criteria such as abortion regulations, bioethics, end of life issues and healthcare rights of conscience.

"To me that speaks volumes about what Iowa has stooped to," she said. "The 'Midwest values' that people think of in the Midwest are being lost when we get a rating of 43 on life issues."

It was important to bring Father West to her area, Montag said, so that people could learn the truth about abortion. However, for Montag the low turnout means there's still work to be done.

"I would say that our attendance for the events we had scheduled was extremely low and that suggests a deep need to reach out to people about the truths of abortion, contraception [and] stem-cell research," she said. "These are moral issues that the church teaches very clearly on. These are issues that are dramatically affecting our culture."

Yet, Montag is still encouraged by what Father West is doing and saying and said she believes everyone must do their part in fighting abortion.

"We need to pray more for the end of abortion and we need to actively work at it too," she said. "The way we vote has to be for life!"