Nigerian Bishop Tells of Church 'Slaughter​' in Adamawa

From: BBC

A senior cleric has spoken of how suspected Islamist militants "slaughtered" some 30 churchgoers in north-eastern Nigeria on Sunday. The Bishop of Yola told the BBC the insurgents had locked the church and "cut people's throats" in Waga Chakawa village, Adamawa state.

On the same day, militants also attacked Kawuri village in neighboring Borno state, killing 52 people. Both assaults were blamed on the Islamist Boko Haram group. The organization - whose name means "Western education is forbidden" - is especially active in the north-east of the country. Boko Haram wants to impose a severe form of Islamic law, and...

See more:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25927205

See related story:

http://www.catholicregister.org/news/international/item/17567-bishop-calls-on-nigerian-president-to-give-military-support-to-find-militants

Miraculous statue and messages of Our Lady of Good Success in Quito, Ecuador

The Pope’s “infallibility will be declared a dogma of Faith by the same Pope chosen to proclaim the dogma of the mystery of my Immaculate Conception. He will be persecuted and imprisoned in the Vatican through the usurpation of the Pontifical States and through the malice, envy, and avarice of an earthly monarch.”

                                                +++

“Unbridled passions will give way to a total corruption of customs because Satan will reign through the Masonic sects, targeting the children in particular to insure general corruption. Unhappy, the children of those times! Seldom will they receive the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. As for the sacrament of Penance, they will confess only while attending Catholic schools, which the devil will do his utmost to destroy by means of persons in authority.

- See more at:

http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/Articles/our-ladys-prophecies-for-our-times.html#sthash.9GnIr9Y5.dpuf

Enthusiastic Crowd at the 2014 Walk for Life in California

Swarms of energetic pro-life advocates trooped to San Francisco’s Civic Center right across the City Hall on January 25, 2014 to mark the Tenth annual Walk for Life.

In stark contrast to the icy and frigid cold weather braved by their East Coast counterparts, the largest-ever crowd of between sixty and seventy thousand gathered marched along Market Street on a surprisingly warm and bright sunny day. At one point, the marchers covered a mile-and-a-half long stretch of Market Street which cuts through San Francisco’s main business district.

The walk was preceded by a series of speakers which was led the city’s preeminent Catholic prelate, Archbishop Joseph Salvatore Cordileone.

American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Properyt (TFP) and America Needs Fatima volunteers made their presence felt with its signature towering red standard and capes as well as banners that conveyed a staunch and firm prolife message. TFP members and supporters also distributed a well-received flyer which promoted a culture of purity as a key solution to the sin of abortion.

TFP Members with Archbishop Joseph Salvatore Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

Just moments prior to the start of the walk, TFP members greeted Archbishop Cordileone, Bishop Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Orange, Calif. and Priest for Life national director, Fr. Frank Pavone.

A small band of counter-protesters brandishing their pro-abortion placards showed up along the sidewalk but with little effect on the advancing throng of marchers whose cries of “Prolife! Prolife!” rang through the air and drowned out the insignificant opposition.

Rule of Honor vs. Rule of Money

The flower market by Victor Gabriel Gilbert

The rule of honor is a fitting response to the rule of money because it defines a lifestyle that naturally leads men to esteem and seek after those things that are excellent. It introduces into the market square a set of values that includes quality, beauty, goodness, and charity. This rule is open to the calming influence of the cardinal virtues, which inject balance and psychological well-being into society and economy.

Painting by Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky

So powerful is this rule that we can observe that when honor is spread throughout all levels of society, the rule of money loses its attraction. Certain professions, for example, are sustained much more by true honor than money, as can be seen in the university professor or military officer. When honor reigns, money’s influence wanes, institutions are zealous of their reputation, families uphold their names, and culture flourishes.

 

John Horvat, Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go (York, Penn.: York Press, 2013), 266.

Prayer to Saint John Bosco

Saint John Bosco, father and teacher of the young, in need of special help, I appeal with confidence to you, for I require not only spiritual graces, but also temporal ones, and particularly...

(Mention intentions here)

May you, who on earth had such great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary Help of Christians, and who always had compassion for those who were suffering, obtain from Jesus and His Heavenly Mother the grace I now request, and also a sincere resignation to the Will of God. Saint John Bosco, pray for us! (Recite the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be)

When Saints formed children - See more at:

http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/Articles/novena-to-st-john-bosco.html#sthash.KNp4BMcU.dpuf

A Smoking Hypocrisy

by Gary J. Isbell

The Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service, Luther L. Terry, M.D., released the first report from the Surgeon General's Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health on January 11, 1964.

This warning kick started an unprecedented and successful antismoking campaign for public health, and it was accomplished in spite of the addictive nature of tobacco and the powerful industry that promoted its use.

Ironically 50 years later, while we still see the condemnation of cigarette smoking, we have witnessed the legalizing of marijuana for recreational use in 2 states and for “medical” use in another 16. All of this is happening while marijuana continues to be illegal under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) 21 U.S.C. § 811, and our federal government does nothing to enforce the law.

Even President Obama has weighed in stating that marijuana smoking is no different than cigarettes or more dangerous than alcohol.^[1] A statement that is direct conflict with the research and official positions of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (NDCP). As a matter of fact, the NDCP statements^[2] on the whitehouse.gov website counter the president’s remarks on all accounts. This is not a debate that should be decided by opinion but rather scientific evidence. So why condemn tobacco but allow marijuana?

Please read more here:

http://www.tfp.org/tfp-home/news-commentary/a-smoking-hypocrisy.html

The world is watching: foreign visitors say U.S. March for Life has a global impact

by Ben Johnson

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 27, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Although snowy conditions and bone-chilling temperatures prevented many Americans from traveling to the March for Life in Washington last week, delegations from around the globe marched in the streets of a foreign capital to learn U.S. tactics and to show our lawmakers that the world stands united for life.

VIDEO -- Why we are winning

Representatives from France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, and Lithuania were among those who told LifeSiteNews that the annual march influences people around the world.

“We are very thrilled to march here with you all,” said Silvio Dalla Valle of the Italian pro-life group Voglio Vivere (“I Want to Live”). “We need to learn from you.”

“In Italy we have an abortion law that was approved in the '70s by a Christian Democrat government,” he told LifeSiteNews.com. Abortion is legal through the first trimester in the overwhelmingly Catholic nation. “We have to fight both the mentality and the law in parliament,” he said. “It's going to be a long battle, but we'll win.”

Perhaps the most visible visitors came from neighboring Canada. The Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) organized a protest outside the Canadian Embassy in Washington, which lies along the route of the annual March. Thousands of Americans showed their support, chanting and giving high-fives to the 15 volunteers assembled on the street. “Americans, the U.S., they influence Canada,” CLC Youth Coordinator Alissa Golob said at Tuesday's Law of Life Summit. “There are so many pundits out there who say that Canadians know more about American politics than Canadian politics.”

That's why she wants Americans to encourage their neighbor to the north, where the country's Parliament has rejected dozens of attempts in the last two decades to enact even limited protections for unborn children.

“We need support. We need your influence,” Golob said. “We are paying attention. Big Brother may be watching you, and so are we.”

Mantas Kunciaitis, a 22-year-old native of Lithuania, said he came to Washington for just the opposite reason: In a time when Supreme Court justices use foreign law to define the U.S. Constitution, he hopes to show a united global front in defense of the unborn.

The young man, who is studying law at London's University of Greenwich, said he and others came to “express our solidarity. People should look how many people are here today and involved.”

“It's a good thing to show politicians, not only in America but in other countries as well,” he told LifeSiteNews.

He added, “If we organize a march in Lithuania, perhaps some Americans could join us, as well.”

One thing everyone could agree on was the encouraging demographics of the March for Life itself.

“The most important thing here is that the pro-life movement is winning the battle with the younger generation,” Dalla Valle said. “Here, you see hundreds of thousands of young people fighting for life. But the anti-life groups are getting older and they are not getting the younger generation. That is the most important thing I see here.”

“I'm really shocked, in a good sense, at how many young people are here,” Kunciaitis told LifeSiteNews.

As in years past, activists from the French organization Droit de Naitre (“Right to be Born”) – as well as activists from Belgium and The Netherlands – were present.

The representatives were brought to the United States by the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property. The evening after the march, they gathered for an event at TFP's Washington bureau, emceed by Mario Navarro da Costa. The keynote speaker was John Horvat II, the author of Return to Order.

Of the Shortness of This Life -- Behold! Eternity is thy dwelling-place: eternity is thy country: eternity is thy lasting home.

There all, the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the well formed and the misshapen, shall be without distinction, except such a one as arises from virtue. Yet a little time, My Child, and thou also shalt be there.

1.) The Voice of Jesus.

My Child,what is the life of man upon earth? A vapor, which appears, for a little time, then vanishes away, and leaves not even a vestige behind.

Ever since thou wast born, thou hast not ceased to hasten on to death; neither is it in thy power to stay thy steps.

7.) The Voice of the Disciple

O my Savior! How wretchedly have I lived! Instead of virtues and merits, I have gathered wood, and straw, and stubble, to feed the fire, and burn myself in the life to come. … full article.

(an 8 minute read…enjoy!)

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be our hearts’ desire!

…You can also get “The Voice of Jesus…Voice of the Disciple”, you might like to get “Stories of Mary – Stories of the Rosary”…every alternating week.

Read a sample.

If You Want True Marriage To Survive For Your Children…

…then please become a rally captain in the

St. Joseph Crusade for Traditional Marriage.

You are invited to be a Rally Captain in the St. Joseph Crusade for Traditional Marriage, which is scheduled for Saturday, March 22, 2014, at noon local time.

You.  Yes, you! 

Because our political and church leaders are proving themselves unable or unwilling to stop the stunning advances of the homosexual revolution.

• Homosexual “marriage” is already legal in 18 states 
• Young children are forced to learn about homosexuality in public schools
• Clergy almost never preach against the sin of homosexuality from the pulpit
• Homosexuals serve openly in the military

So:

It’s time for the common person, for the God fearing American, to stand up and take the traditional marriage message to the man in the street!

Today, you are invited to join a huge grassroots crusade to directly impact the broader culture of America in favor of God’s marriage and against the sin of homosexuality.

Become a Rally Captain

WHEN: Saturday, March 22, at noon local time

HOW:  each rally captain and his or her group will hold a banner and a “HONK for traditional marriage” sign in a public and visible place.  

It’s that simple. 

Preferably at a very busy traffic intersection, where the greatest number of people can see you in the shortest amount of time. 

You will receive in the mail a free banner that says “God’s Marriage = 1 Man & 1 Woman.”  We’ll also send along some free handouts that you can use during your rally.

And you can make signs that say:

“HONK for traditional marriage!”

These signs are easy to make and are VERY effective.

Become a Rally Captain

My TFP-America Needs Fatima colleagues and I have done hundreds of traditional marriage rallies in cities all across America with excellent results.   

But we cannot reach the entire country by ourselves.  We need you to help us reach each and every city in America.

Every American, at this very instant, is deciding for or against God.

To be for God’s marriage (1 man + 1 woman) is to be for God.  To be for homosexual “marriage” is to be against God.   

There’s no third position.

The legalization of homosexual “marriage” in 18 states is a wake up call for every American who cherishes God’s marriage.

So please give prayerful and serious consideration to becoming a Rally Captain in the Saint Joseph Crusade for Traditional Marriage.  

Become a Rally Captain

For inspiration and know-how, see this exciting video of a previous public crusade for traditional marriage:   

What New Yorkers Really Think About Same-Sex “Marriage”

To get more information and advice, please call (866) 584-6012.

Taking a Principled, not a Personal Stand, On Homosexuality & Homosexual “Marriage”: we have no intention to defame or disparage anyone. We are not moved by personal hatred against any individual. In intellectually opposing individuals or organizations promoting the homosexual agenda, our only intent is the defense of traditional marriage, the family, and the precious remnants of Christian civilization. As practicing Catholics,…[ read full message]

Catholic school reaffirms its Catholic identity amidst homosexual ‘marriage’ flap

by Thaddeus Baklinski

Ben Johnson contributed to this report.

SAMMAMISH, WA, January 24, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The ongoing controversy surrounding homosexual teachers at a Seattle-area Catholic school has reached a climax on one point: The school will not rehire a vice principal who “married” his boyfriend.

Eastside Catholic School's Board of Trustees stood by its decision to fire Mark Zmuda at a parents meeting on Thursday night.

“The Board stated that Mr. Zmuda has acknowledged he was aware of Catholic doctrine and further knew he was not in full compliance with his employment agreement,” the school said in a statement. “Eastside Catholic will remain a Catholic school and will support the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

The imbroglio had taken a new turn with the resignation of its president and CEO, Sister Mary Tracy, earlier in the week.

“Sister Mary came to this decision after much prayer and reflection,” said a statement sent Tuesday to the Eastside Catholic community, according to a Seattle Times report.

“For Sister Mary it was a difficult but necessary decision so that a new leader can be brought in to ensure the entire Eastside Catholic community is on a positive path forward,” the statement read.

The controversy erupted when the vice-principal of the school Mark Zmuda reached an agreement with Tracy to resign after it came to light that he violated his hiring contract by entering into a same-sex “marriage.”

An open letter from the school's trustees stated that, "During a meeting between Sr. Mary, Mr. Zmuda and our attorney, it was agreed that Mr. Zmuda would resign as Vice Principal for violating his signed agreement to abide by Catholic Church teachings as spelled out in the ECS Employee Handbook."

The handbook states that ECS “is a Catholic school, and our faculty and staff must accurately and faithfully teach and express Catholic Church teachings and values at all times. Further, the public behaviors of our faculty and staff must at all times be consistent with the values and teachings of the Catholic Church.”

The trustees' letter noted that each administrator is asked to sign the ECS Employee Handbook, and that a handbook signed by Zmuda is on file.

“When Mr. Zmuda married his same‐sex partner, the school administration was left with no acceptable alternative that would allow him to remain eligible for employment at Eastside Catholic School,” stated trustees. “Mr. Zmuda agreed that he would resign from Eastside Catholic School, effective December 20 [2013].”

Following the tendering of his resignation, Zmuda changed the story by saying that he had been fired rather than agreeing to resign.

In an interview recorded alongside “husband” Dana Jergens inside Good Samaritan Episcopal Church, Zmuda said, “To set the record straight, I was terminated."

In a letter to the school community dated December 20, Sister Mary reiterated that, "although he was disappointed, we reached an understanding that the correct action was for him to submit his resignation," adding that she "then met with Archbishop Peter Sartain to inform him of the situation and of my decision and he agreed with the decision."

In the letter, Sister Mary said she regretted "confusion on this matter…created by statements or media reports."

However, the confusion and controversy multiplied when it was reported that the school administration was allowing drama coach Stephanie Merrow to keep her part-time job after she publicly announced she was lesbian and engaged to “marry” her partner.

Students at the school told King5 News that Sister Mary is sympathetic to Merrow and that she allowed them to quote her on social media as saying: “I look forward to the day where no individual loses their job because they married a person of the same sex.”

January 25 -- Conversion of Saint Paul and the Conversion of America

As Saint Paul was struck off his horse, he was shaken by the turn of events when Our Lord asked him the question “Why persecutest thou Me?” In other words, open your eyes! Examine your conscience! Realize the fact that you are doing something which, if you make an upright examination of conscience, you will find that it is wrong.

Our Lord’s question was reminiscent of one Our Lord Himself asked the man who hit Him during His Passion: “If I have spoken evil, give testimony of the evil; but if well, why strikest thou Me?”

In fact, Saint Paul gave no answer to Him because he had none to give. He simply responded: “Who art Thou, Lord?” And he said “Lord” right away because he sensed Who it really was. Our Lord answered: “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.”

By saying “Whom thou persecutest,” Our Lord made clear Who He is. He was telling Saint Paul: See Who I am. See Who you are persecuting, and therefore measure how hideous your crime is.

After this, Our Lord adds a somewhat mysterious statement: “It is hard for thee to kick against the goad.” The goad is the wind. He was saying that it is hard to oppose the wind. In this case, the wind is the blowing wind of grace that for a while had been calling Paul to conversion, but he resisted it. The context at least leads to this hypothesis.

Saint Paul answered in his own radical way. He wasted no time. He saw that he was wrong and placed himself at the service of God. He asked: “Lord, what wilt Thou have me do?” The Acts of the Apostles say that he was trembling and astonished as he asked the question. In other words, the blow had hit home. He was disoriented and afraid. He was shaken as he went through a short ordeal of a few minutes which completely changed him and shook his soul. Our Lord then said to him: “Arise, and go into the city, and there it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

Statue of Saint Paul,
Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome

Why did Our Lord not tell him what to do right away? The whole dialogue took place while Saint Paul was blinded and prostrated on the ground. He was told to arise and go to the city and find out what he must do. In other words, he must receive Our Lord’s orders slowly, subjecting himself with humility like a child who takes orders from his superior.

Our Lord was telling him: Go, therefore, groping and advancing step by step, to find out what I want, because I am your Lord and command you as a servant, who is under his Lord’s orders and can do nothing else.

Thus, Saint Paul did not know what God wanted of him. He did not even know if God might want him to remain blind for his whole life. He, the great Paul, the excellent and illustrious Pharisee, was now going to enter the city of Damascus like a child, led by the hand. In other words, it was the complete breakdown of his pride. The text of the Acts ends thus: “But they leading him by the hands, brought him to Damascus.”

In other words, he entered Damascus as a blind man. There he would be blind for a few days, until the scales would fall from his eyes.

                                                    ***

(Note: America today needs to be knocked off its horse and to have a deep conversion to the Catholic Faith.  Otherwise, we will continue to suffer and decline as a nation.)

The main portion of this piece was taken from an informal lecture Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira gave on January 24, 1966. It has been translated and adapted for publication without his revision. –Ed.

Order Your FREE St. Joan “Culture of Purity” Package

And Help Inspire A New Generation
Of Authentic Pro-Life Men And Women
Who Practice The Angelic Virtue Of Purity.

The St. Joan “Culture of Purity” package
•    8x10 color photo of St. Joan of Arc
•    a copy of her life story, adapted from a lecture given in Paris on May 10, 2001, by Georges Bordonove, a distinguished historian and member of the prestigious Academie Française. The talk was sponsored by the French Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property.
•    and 24 quotes about purity. It’s all at NO COST TO YOU

For the 41st time, TFP / America Needs Fatima was at the 41st National March For Life in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, January 22nd, 2014.

And we always write a short, thought provoking message, print about 30,000 copies of it, and then all of our TFP members and ANF supporters pass them out to the hundreds of thousands that come to The March.

This year it occurred to us to ask a very pertinent question and to offer a guaranteed solution:

Without promoting the practice of the virtue of purity, can we really expect to stop abortion?

It’s true that pro-lifers are winning some very encouraging victories over the Culture of Death. However, these victories will only be lasting to the degree that we are able to project a Culture of Purity among the younger generation.

And to project a Culture of Purity, we must draw youngsters away from vice by showing them a superior, more beautiful and far more rewarding and more fulfilling life—the life of purity.

But we must offer them a fitting role model who they can look up to. A dynamic, beautiful young maiden who was also a saint, a victorious commander of armies, the savior of France: St. Joan of Arc.

Order here.

Saint Joan of Arc: Patroness for the Culture of Purity
Yes, St. Joan is the perfect Patroness for the Culture of Purity. She lived 600 years ago. But over the centuries, her heroic life shines with ever greater brilliance, inspiring new books, movies and theater plays.

Saint Joan of Arc: The Little Flower’s Hero
Such was the spotless purity of her life that, at her sham trial, not even her enemies dared to attack it. This heroic purity completely captivated St. Therese of Lisieux’s admiration and imitation.

If St. Joan inspires secular writers to author new books, poems, and movies – why can’t she also inspire a whole new generation of young people to embrace a Culture of Purity? And gain new pro-life victories?

INSPIRE Your Children and Grandchildren To PURITY
Fight the impure and contraceptive mentality.
Proudly participate in the Culture of Purity.

No-Cost Offer: The St. Joan “Culture of Purity” Package
•    8x10 color photo of St. Joan of Arc
•    a copy of her life story, adapted from a lecture given in Paris on May 10, 2001, by Georges Bordonove, a distinguished historian and member of the prestigious Academie Française. The talk was sponsored by the French Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property.
•    and 24 quotes about purity. It’s all at NO COST TO YOU

See more at:

http://www.americaneedsfatima.org/freebie-st-joan-culture-of-purity-package-share.html#sthash.ve0J1wt5.dpuf

Impressive March for Life 2014: Why We are Winning & Abortion is Losing

By John Ritchie

With great determination the youthful multitude – estimated at 500,000 strong – marched up Constitution Avenue in the heart of Washington, D.C. today, January 22.

This annual March for Life marked the forty-first anniversary of Roe v Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that paved the way for 56 million surgical abortions in America.  Since its legal inception, the sin of abortion has inflicted nothing but massive wounds on the family and society: missing generations of children, lost motherhood, dishonored fatherhood, shattered homes, depression, never-ending regret and moral decay, not to mention those "houses of horror" run by the ungodly likes of Kermit Gosnell.

Planned Parenthood is Worried

But the Culture of Death is losing ground.   According to a study by Operation Rescue, a record number of 87 abortion clinics have closed down in 2013.  Another telling survey published by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute has tracked over 200 legislative losses for the abortion industry over the last three years.  In fact, more abortion restrictions were passed by state legislatures in 2011-2013 than in the previous ten years combined.

That is why Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, speaking of recent legislation restricting abortions in Texas, voiced her concern to The New York Times on January 3: “Any one of the restrictions passed in the last several years would be bad, but taken together, we are witnessing a catastrophe for Texas women,” she said.

Those who make a living by denying unborn children the right to survive beyond their mother's womb are on the defensive.  Ilyse Hogue, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, recently confessed:  "...we play a lot of defense. After all, the fundamental right to choose is enshrined in the Constitution, and our opponents are constantly developing innovative new strategies to chip away at that right. But a permanent defensive posture is a losing strategy. You win some battles, you lose others, but you’re only ever ceding ground."

Pro-Life Innovation

While pro-lifers literally covered Capitol Hill, dozens of smaller marches were held at regional or state levels.  This type of innovation is what NARAL doesn't want.  The Walk for Life in San Francisco (of all places) is a good example of the vitality and dynamism of the pro-life movement.  It just keeps growing.  Last year 55,000 attended.  And when this march first started in 2005, the president of Golden Gate Planned Parenthood, Dian Harrison, was a bit stunned:  "We couldn't believe that they had the nerve to come to San Francisco."

God bless that nerve.  The more the better. 

That same noble resolve to defend the unborn, employing every peaceful and legal means, was written on the faces of the many marchers today as they braved the bone-chilling frost.  Bishops and priests, veteran activists, seasoned side-walk counselors, pro-life leaders, dedicated prayer warriors, college and high school students, Knights of Columbus, parish groups that traveled on buses through the night – everyone was there to fight the scourge of abortion and make reparation to God.

As the impressive demonstration made its way up Capitol Hill to the steps of the Supreme Court, members of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP) marched with their trademark red standards, and the ever-upbeat marching band, complete with brass, bagpipes and drums to encourage the crowd.  TFP volunteers in ceremonial habit also formed an honor guard which carried a beautiful statue of Our Lady of Fatima. 

In recent years, America has been exporting pro-family know-how to other countries like France where similar rallies are organized on an annual basis.  In fact, international delegations of TFP-related organizations from France, Italy, Lithuania and the Netherlands also joined the march.

Young Activists on the Rise

TFP Student Action volunteers shared a flier with fellow pro-lifers, focusing on the virtue of purity as the antidote to abortion.  "Pro-lifers are winning some very encouraging victories over the Culture of Death," the handout reads.  "These victories will only be lasting to the degree that we are able to promote a Culture of Purity among the younger generation."  The flier illustrates the message with a stunning photo of Saint Joan of Arc on horseback in shinning armor.

Young pro-life leaders were well represented at the march.  "Students are more committed than ever to abolishing abortion," said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, a group that has formed nearly 800 pro-life clubs in 49 states.  "Our full-time team is overwhelmed with constant requests for support and training. This is a good thing – it shows us that there are thousands of young people out there willing to do whatever they can to restore justice."

"I see our movement ending legal abortion in our generation," Hawkins told TFP Student Action.  "I think surgical abortions will be a thing of the past, and those of us in the movement will be fighting to ban drugs that induce chemical abortions such as RU-486, Ella, and Plan B," she said.  "Now is the time to focus on talking about the legal personhood of the child during his or her first three months."

Pro-Life is Pro-Marriage
Children and marriage are inseparable.  However, the same Sexual Revolution that claims the unborn child is not a human person is now claiming that marriage is not between one man and one woman.  On all sides, God's marriage, rooted in natural law itself, is under severe attack, threatened with radical redefinition by those who call for "tolerance." 

The sacred institution of marriage is facing its Roe v Wade moment.  For that reason more and more pro-lifers are expanding their work to include the defense of marriage.  The struggle for the unborn and the defense of true marriage form part of the same spiritual crusade.  If the unborn child doesn't open his eyes to find a committed mother and father, how will the family survive?  How will society endure?

That crusading spirit of Saint Joan of Arc, filled with Faith and virtue, is what will give us the means to face these multiple challenges and drive us forward for new pro-family victories in 2014. 

Saint Joan of Arc, pray for us!
Click here to help us win the culture war for marriage and the unborn by subscribing to TFP Student Action's weekly action-packed email alert.