Dear Friends:
Below you will find a statement, signed by approximately 50 national Catholic leaders, drawing special attention to the pro-life dimensions of the Feast of the Annunciation. Additional signers will be posted here.
God bless you!
Fr. Frank Pavone
Priests for Life
The Annunciation: A Feast of Life
Three national Catholic pro-life apostolates, Priests for Life, Human Life International, and the Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, have drafted the following statement and have invited other Catholic leaders to join them in giving special attention to the pro-life meaning of the Feast of the Annunciation. Note that for 2002, this feast is observed on Monday, April 8, since March 25 falls in Holy Week.
The Magisterium's most comprehensive statement on the sanctity of life, the encyclical Evangelium Vitae, was issued on March 25, 1995, the Solemnity of the Annunciation. This feast marks the moment at which the Incarnation took place. At Mary's “Fiat,” God began existing in a human nature – a human nature at the earliest stages of its development within Mary's body.
“Mary's consent at the Annunciation and her motherhood stand at the very beginning of the mystery of life which Christ came to bestow on humanity” (Evangelium Vitae, 102).
As Catholic leaders at a time when our society is beset with the evil of abortion, and when the human embryo is treated as a mere object for scientific research, we believe that the celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation is more important than ever. By celebrating this Feast with special solemnity, and by spending more time meditating on its doctrinal and spiritual lessons, the faithful can be even more solidly rooted in their pro-life convictions, and spurred on to effective action in defense of life. We pray that the pastors of the Church will lead their congregations in special pro-life observances on this Solemnity each year.
Fr. Frank Pavone
Co-Founder and Senior Advisor, Priests for Life
Fr. Tom Euteneuer
President, Human Life International
Dan Lynch
Director, Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Jesus King of All Nations Devotion
David G. Abele
Executive Director, National Association of Catholic Family Life
Ministers (NACFLM)
Tom Allen
President, Catholic Exchange.com
Raymond and Florence Brady
Our Lady of Victory Right to Life
Barbara Braun
Rockland County Catholic Coalition
Judie Brown
President, American Life League
Mary Kay Clark
Director, Seton Home Study School
Joseph W. Cunningham, Esq.
President, The Society of Blessed Gianna Beretta Molla
Bernard Dobranski
President and Dean, Ave Maria School of Law
Peter J. Droege
Director, Solidarity Institute
Pat Fagan
The Heritage Foundation
Kenneth M. Fisher
Founder and Chairman, Holy Innocents Reparation Committee
Timothy C. Flanagan
President, Catholic Leadership Institute
Ted Flynn
President, MaxKol
Brian Gail
President, Gailforce Communications
Michael Galloway
President, Catholic Online
Father James E. Goode, Jr.
President, National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life
E.F. Hansen, Jr.
Steering Committee, Catholic Leadership Conference
Fr. John F. Harvey, OSFS
Director, Courage
Nicholas J. Healy, Jr.
President, Ave Maria College
Thomas W. Hilgers, M.D.
Director, Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction
George Isajiw, M.D.
Vice President, World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations
John F. Kippley
Co-Founder, The Couple to Couple League
Mrs. Jack Koester
Effingham County Right to Life
Steve Koob
Director, One More Soul
Stephen M. Krason, JD, Ph.D.
President, Society of Catholic Social Scientists
Mary-Louise Kurey
Miss Wisconsin 1999, Author, National Chastity Speaker
Gregory Joseph Ladd
Director, The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation
Gregory P. Lloyd, M.A.
Executive Director, National Coalition of Clergy & Laity
Magaly Llaguno
Executive Director, Vida Humana International
Pat Lohman
Director, AAA Women for Choice Pro-Life Pregnancy Ctr.
Rev. C.J. McCloskey, III
Director, Catholic Information Center
Alan Napleton
President, Catholic Marketing Network
Timothy T. O'Donnell
President, Christendom College
Jean-Francois Orsini
President, St. Antoninus Institute
Frank A. Rauscher
President, The Aquinas Funds
Patrick J. Reilly
President, Cardinal Newman Society
Msgr. Philip J. Reilly
Helpers of God's Precious Infants
Thomas Rutkoski
Director, Gospa Missions
Robert J. Saxer, M.D.
President, Catholic Medical Association
Gerald Solitario
President, Catholics for the Unborn
Bryan S. Thatcher
Founder, Eucharistic Apostles of the Divine Mercy
Geri Urrutia
Director, Shield of Roses
Mo Woltering
Executive Director, Human Family Foundation
Stephen Wood
President, Family Life Center International
Kevin J. Wright
Catholic Travel Author
