Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Oh what a beautiful day and all that jazz!

I just got home from a really enjoyable outing with our son and his wife and their two little tykes. John and Chantel thought they would try their hand in growing some tomatoes this spring so we drove to Laport Gardens in Cumberland to get some plants. It was so quiet compared to what it usually is like there at this time of year. I guess waiting til the middle of the week rather than going on the Sunday afternoon of the long weekend was a good plan. After picking up a few assorted plants we took a drive up Trim road to investigate a really neat playground that our daughter Debbie took her kids to a few times last year. I happened to tag along on one occasion and was quite impressed by this playground and picnic area which is located at the intersection of Trim and Millennium Drive. We didn't stay because it had been raining but it is certainly worth a trip back.

Afterwards, we drove to Place D'Orleans for lunch and then I took Baillee our three year old grand daughter to the playground beside the food court while John Chantel and Emilee ( 10 months) went shopping. Bailee enjoyed herself sooooooo much and so did I. Watching her play is such a delightful experience. At one point a little boy, perhaps a few months younger than she, lost his shoe on the slide. Baillee immediately retrieved it and returned it to his foot. A little while later I saw her hug a little kid who was crying and take the hand of another one who needed help manoeuvering one of the climbers. What a delightful little girl.

When her parents and little sister returned it was time to leave. Now that part was not exactly to Bailee's liking; however Chantel did manage to convince her it was time to go, without too many tears being shed.

We left the shopping Center to the beautiful sunshine outside. Ahh, what a great day and all that jazz!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Annual March for Life, Thursday March 14, 2009

My sister Pat and I met our friend Jennifer at Saint Patrick Basilica for the Mass at 10:00.

The celebrant was Bishop Plouffe of Sault Saint Marie. He gave a terrific homily. He said being pro life is not just a cause, it is a calling. We are men and women who are called to be artisans of a culture of life. We know in our hearts that human life is to be respected because it is sacred, because we are made in God's likeness. It is not mere religious opinion. Upholding the right to life is speaking up for a basic fundamental human right. We are called to give our lives so others may live, not counting the cost and not afraid to acknowledge the truth. Our vocation is love and it is by our love that we will win the hearts of others and the world will come to know the truth.

There were many other priests concelebrating mass including pastor Monsignor Martineau and assistant pastor Lindsay Harrison. Among the visiting priests was Father Anthony Hannon, the spiritual director of the legion of Mary in Ontario.

After mass, the three of us had lunch at 240 Sparks Street before proceeding to Parliament Hill. The rain had started and continued til about 3:00PM We listened to the uplifting speeches of the MPs before heading over to the eternal flame at 1:00 Pm to meet with the Priests for Life. We met a few French speaking people from St. Hyacinthe. My French is not very good but I did manage to carry on a sort of conversation with them as well as take a few pictures of them sitting in front of the flame before the battery died on my camera.

Then I ran into Deacon Lee Winchester and around the same time I saw Father Tom Lynch who is the director of Priests for Life and Fathers Larry McCormick and Paul Burchat also of Priests for Life. We joined with the priests for the March. The rain grew heavier and the wind was very strong at times but it did not deter the more than ten thousand peaceful and joyful participants in this annual event. And there were so many youth! I think this is what give me so much hope each year. Every year there are more and more of our young people.

Along the way we met many of our Bishops and it was just so wonderful to see so many of them this year. After silently and prayerfully passing the abortion clinic at 65 Bank Street we returned to Parliament Hill to hear the poignant speeches of the many women and men of Silent no More. It was three o'clock the hour of mercy and the rain had stopped.

After that the three of us met Barb our other sister who works in the West Block and we all headed out for dinner at Darcy Mcgee's a good old irish Pub on Elgin Street. It was a great day and we had lot's to talk about

To see some of the photos and links to news stories please visit my website March for Life 2009

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Violation of Freedom of Speech and Media Bias

For those of you who know me I think you know that one of my biggest pet peeves is the bias of our main stream media outlets. Well , because the Annual March for Life is coming up in a couple of days I thought it would be a good time to resurrect an article I wrote three years ago which I sent to approximately a dozen mainstream Canadian newspapers including The Ottawa Citizen and the Ottawa Sun. All of them ignored the article.

To the Editor

A few weeks ago I had a short discussion with a dinner guest re. Carleton University’s decision to ban pro-life groups on campus. The person believed that this was probably not a bad idea "because we are dealing with some very violent people here." I continued the conversation in an attempt to explain that to be Pro Life is to have the firm belief that all human life from the moment of conception until natural death is sacred and must be protected. Violent acts are contrary to what it is to be pro-life. Later on that evening I pondered this discussion.. False and biased news reports, will obviously result in conclusions that are inaccurate. Misuse of language can certainly taint one’s thinking. If one believes that human life is sacred and must be protected, we are often referred to as being "anti-choice," which in itself has a negative connotation. Sometimes we are called rabid anti-choicers, anti woman, fascists, bigots, etc.

I have never seen a pro-life person who wasn’t peaceful and joyful too for that matter.. We advocate for the most vulnerable human beings; those that society regards as disposable. It is the hope that we are saving lives that sustains our efforts and gives us peace and joy.

Incidentally, I do believe in choice. I call it free will. But some choices are immoral, like a man’s choice to rape a woman, or a parent’s choice to sexually abuse a child, or a thief’s choice to rob a bank. So, I’m "anti-choice" on rape, sexual abuse and bank robbery. How come no one complains about that?

I have attended The National March for Life on Parliament Hill each Spring for many years and the participants are always peaceful. Last year we were blessed to have many members of Silent No More: women who deeply regretted their decision to have an abortion. Each one of them said that if they had known the truth, they would never have had the abortion. http://www.canadasilentnomore.com/

After the speeches on the Hill, the crowd of 5,000 walked peacefully past Henry Morgantaler’s abortion clinic on Bank Street

The Life Chain is an Annual Pro-Life Event and it is always peaceful. One hour on a Sunday afternoon, we silently stand at different major intersections throughout Canada, holding signs such as Abortion hurts women, Abortion kills babies, Choose Adoption, Choose Life etc.

Dr. Angela Lanfranchi gave an excellent presentation on the abortion -breast cancer link, here in Ottawa last year. Dr. Lanfranchi is one of the co-founders of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute and a member of Physicians for Life. Her presentation was ignored by our local media. Don’t women have a right to know the facts?
http://www.physiciansforlife.ca/html/life/abortion/

Bobby Schindler’s compelling and eloquent talk at Saint Paul's University here in Ottawa last spring, on the last days and the agonizing death of his sister Teri Schiavo’s had no local coverage either.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/9/22/165543.shtml
http://www.blogsforterri.com/archives/2006/03/bobby_schindler_6.php

And what about the high statistics of depression, suicide, drug use and even murder associated with women who have had abortions? You won’t read about that in your local newspaper.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jan/07011007.html

The site of The 2005 National Pro-Life Conference in Montreal had to be changed at the last minute because of threats to Saint Joseph’s Oratory. Demonstrators against the Conference handed out condoms to passers-by labeled the body of Christ. They held a sign that said If only Mary ( the mother of Jesus ) had known about abortion. Protesters also pummeled one officer to the ground. For more information on this event
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/nov/05111704.html
For some more examples of pro-abortion violence
http://abortionviolence.com/0.HTM#SECT1
http://abortionviolence.com/QB.HTM
http://www.rightgrrl.com/99grrls/May/Sass/violence.html
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jan/07011007.html

We are one of the few countries without an abortion law and we have no protection for unborn victims of violence either. When Edmonton Woman Olivia Talbot, who was six months pregnant, was shot in the abdomen last year, two lives were lost, but many other lives were shattered. The man responsible was only charged with the murder of Olivia and not her son baby Lane. MP Leon Benoit’s Private Member’s Bill which would protect unborn victim’s of violence was deemed unconstitutional by then Justice Minister Vic Toeus . You would think there would be a public outcry but there wasn’t.
It seems that every time someone questions the high number of abortions or publicly states that they believe that life is sacred, there is an uproar by feminist "pro choice" groups who will cry foul, that someone even dares to have an opinion other than theirs. What are they afraid of anyways? It is a sad reflection on our supposedly tolerant society to see the discouragement of open honest and intellectual discussion in the very place that it is needed the most ( Universities) When the Truth is suppressed it follows that justice will be too.



footnote: eventually Catholic Insight did publish a portion of this article as a letter to the editor