Catholic News 2

Los Angeles, Calif., Jan 25, 2016 / 04:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The dignity of every human life was the focus of a major pro-life event in Los Angeles on Saturday. More than 15,000 people joined speakers, religious leaders and entertainers to encourage outreach to those in need.

“OneLife LA means sharing the love of God with others – especially those who are poor and forgotten, and those who are alone and excluded,” Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles said Jan. 23. “With God’s love – there are no boundaries, no borders, no barriers. Let’s keep building our friendships and together let us build a Los Angeles that welcomes life and serves life and celebrates life.”

“No one should go unnoticed or unloved in our society! No one should feel excluded or like they are a burden or an inconvenience. Wherever dignity is denied, wherever people are in slavery – that’s where we need to be.”

OneLife LA organizers said the event aims to promote “a culture of life” that values every human person, especially those who are marginalized. The Jan. 23 event followed the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that mandated legal abortion across the U.S.

The event began at La Placita Olvera, a historic Los Angeles parish. Participants then walked as a group to Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles, where they listened to speakers and entertainers in front of City Hall.

Speakers included Charles Blake, the presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ and a leading African-American Christian.

“Let us as the people of God, as people of good will, as those who love babies, rejoice in the children that God has blessed us with. Let us stand for justice for the unborn. Let us proclaim that all babies deserve the right to life,” the Pentecostal leader said.

He cited embryology and developmental biology as proof that human embryos are human persons. He said his community feels a special responsibility to speak out against the injustice of abortion because of its roots in the black Christian experience and tradition.

“No human being at any stage of development may legitimately be killed because he or she is regarded as inconvenient or burdensome,” Blake said.

Bishop Gerald Barnes of the Diocese of San Bernardino also spoke.

Other speakers included actress Patricia Heaton, cancer patient advocate James J. Hanson, pro-life advocate Karyme Lozano of the Vida Initiative, and retired Los Angeles school teacher Millicent “Mama” Hill.

Lianna Rebolledo, founder of the anti-domestic violence group Loving Life, emceed the event with actor Danny Jacobs. Musical performers included pop star Alexander Acha and the group Trio Ellas.

More than 20 community partners attended the event. They encouraged people to volunteer for community activities such as feeding the homeless, finding families for foster children, supporting pregnant women, and visiting the elderly. Other partners worked against human trafficking and solicited donations of hair to create hairpieces for children who suffer medical hair loss.

The founding organizations of OneLife LA include the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Office of Life, Justice and Peace.

After the event, Archbishop Gomez celebrated a requiem Mass for the unborn at Los Angeles’ Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

He contrasted the joy of the OneLife LA procession with the weeping and mourning for victims of abortion.

“There is a darker, quieter beauty to our liturgy tonight, as tonight we mourn the lives that will never be – because of abortion,” he said in his evening homily.

“Tonight we mourn but our mourning is full of hope,” the archbishop said. “My brothers and sisters, we can never allow ourselves to give in – to sadness or bitterness or anger. Because we trust in the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation. We know that our sorrow will be turned to joy.”

“We need to restore the sense of mercy in our own lives and in our society. Mercy for those who make mistakes. Mercy for those who are inconvenient and unexpected. Mercy for those who impose a burden on our way of life.”

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Houston, Texas, Jan 25, 2016 / 04:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Houston grand jury on Monday indicted the leaders behind the undercover videos which exposed Planned Parenthood’s role in offering fetal tissue for compensation. The grand jury had been investigating alleged misconduct by Planned Parenthood.

David Daleiden, project lead at the Center for Medical Progress, and fellow worker Sandra Merritt were indicted Jan. 25 on a second-degree felony charge of “tampering with a governmental record.”

Daleiden was also indicted for a misdemeanor charge of “purchase and sale of human organs,” according to Brian M. Rosenthal of the Houston Chronicle.

Back in August, the Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson had announced a criminal investigation into Planned Parenthood after a video released by the Center for Medical Progress showed the director of research for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, based in Houston, discussing how abortion procedures could be altered to better obtain “intact” fetal tissue for harvesters.

Daleiden and Merritt had posed as representatives of a biologics company, meeting with Farrell to discuss possible transactions of fetal tissue.

According to her July 29 testimony before the Texas Senate, former Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast clinic director Abby Johnson claimed that the clinic made up to $120,000 per month off of fetal tissue transactions.

On Monday, however, the grand jury announced that instead of indicting Planned Parenthood, they were indicting Daleiden and Merritt.

Anderson announced that “we must go where the evidence leads us,” according to the Houston Chronicle.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced afterward that the indictment would not alter the state’s investigation into Planned Parenthood.

Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), a former nurse, called it “a sad day in America when those who harvest the body parts of aborted babies escape consequences for their actions, while the courageous truth-tellers who expose their misdeeds are handed down a politically motivated indictment instead.”

Last summer, the Center for Medical Progress released a series of undercover video interviews with Planned Parenthood officials as an exposé of the role the organization and its affiliates played in the transfer of fetal tissue to harvesters for compensation.

Federal law generally prohibits the sale of fetal tissue, but allows for “reasonable” compensation for the donation of tissue from aborted babies for research. This compensation would cover expenses like operating and transportation costs. The compensation cannot be for “valuable consideration.”

Planned Parenthood has maintained that its affiliates have acted within the law. The Center for Medical Progress has claimed that the organization broke the law by earning unlawful profits from the transactions.

Both House and Senate committees have launched investigations into the organization for wrongdoing, and the House has created a special investigative committee for that purpose, but no evidence has yet been publicized confirming the accusations.

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 WASHINGTON-Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York called on everyone "concerned about the tragedy of abortion" to recommit to a "vision of life and love, a vision that excludes no one" on January 14. His statement marks the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Cardinal Dolan chairs the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"Most Americans oppose a policy allowing legal abortion for virtually any reason - though many still do not realize that this is what the Supreme Court gave us," wrote Cardinal Dolan. "Most want to protect unborn children at later stages of pregnancy, to regulate or limit the practice of abortion, and to stop the use of taxpayer dollars for the destruction of unborn children. Yet many who support important goals of the pro-life movement do not identify as 'pro-life,' a fact which should lead us to examine how we present our pro-life vision to others."

"Even as Americans remain troubled by abortion," wrote Cardinal Dolan, a powerful and well-funded lobby holds "that abortion must be celebrated as a positive good for women and society, and those who cannot in conscience provide it are to be condemned for practicing substandard medicine and waging a 'war on women'." He said this trend was seen recently when President Obama and other Democratic leaders prevented passage of the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act, "a modest measure to provide for effective enforcement" of conscience laws.

"While this is disturbing," said Cardinal Dolan, "it is also an opportunity." Pro-life Americans should reach out to "the great majority of Americans" who are "open to hearing a message of reverence for life." He added that "we who present the pro-life message must always strive to be better messengers. A cause that teaches the inexpressibly great value of each and every human being cannot show disdain or disrespect for any fellow human being." He encouraged Catholics to take part, through prayer and action, in the upcoming "9 Days for Life" campaign, January 16-24. More information on the campaign is available online: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxJwfcefUiU

He also cited the Year of Mercy called by Pope Francis as a time for women and men to find healing through the Church's Project Rachel post-abortion ministry.

The full text of Cardinal Dolan's message is available online.
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Keywords: Roe v. Wade, anniversary, Pro-Life, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, 9 Days for Life, USCCB, U.S. bishops, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Year of Mercy, Project Rachel, Pope Francis
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