BEHIND THESE SEEMINGLY INNOCENT DOORS, FOUL MURDER IS BOTH PLANNED AND CARRIED OUT. HERE IN A LEAFY, PLEASANT SQUARE IN THE CENTRE OF LONDON, BABIES ARE BEING SLAIN ON A DAILY BASIS.
ONLY 50 PER CENT OF THE PATIENTS WHO
ENTER HERE WILL COME OUT ALIVE!
My wife and I joined the 40 Days for Life vigil outside the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) offices (26 Bedford Square) last Friday. They cannot even come clean with their name; it's not pregnancy advice, it's abortion advice, how to get rid of the infant in your womb.
There were not many of us. A total of six volunteers, including ourselves, came and went within the space of two hours. The organisation is in dire need of more cover from more volunteers so please, even if you only have 30 minutes to spare, sign on here and call by. It is always an unnerving experience standing up in public and proclaiming your beliefs. Praying the rosary and other prayers out loud for all to see and gawp at calls on our convictions. But, of course, that is part of the point, it is the Sacrament of Confirmation kicking in and giving us the moral courage to do such things and it is also seeing the courage of the 40 Days 'formal' volunteers and those from the Good Counsel Network that is so very inspirational. These people do this routinely but, I suspect, with the same difficulties that we 'informal' volunteers suffer.
Some 10 or 12 women entered the abortuary, none accompanied by husbands or boyfriends. A similar number of males came and went independently. Some took the leaflets offered by the volunteer at the door, others politely demurred. Meanwhile, we recited our decades, chanted our litanies and said the Angelus at 12 noon.
We left with a sense of relief (standing still on one spot for too long) and a modest sense of accomplishment; an ambition realised at last, a good cause supported.
There is a Brighton based secular group who also do excellent work. They are confrontational in terms of displaying graphic images, the jury appears out on this delicate issue - are shock tactics (realism) good or bad?
But they do appear to be ultra organised, here is a snippet from their update email service:
The abortion providers like to portray themselves as moderate, professional and caring organisations. We want their neighbours to see what "Reproductive Health" looks like. We will be taking large banners depicting the beauty of life and the brutality of abortion to their doors. We can't do that without your help.
We need:
Someone who can drive the team to London from the Brighton area (fuel/parking and congestion will be paid for)
Camera person
Banner holders
Counsellors
Post-abortive women
Donors to help pay for fuel/parking and congestion charge as well as other expenses!!
Please let us know as soon as possible if you are able to help.
Ends/................
This is not meant as a sniping comment, I am a believer in learning from the success of others. One thing is absolutely crystal clear.......MORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! There are 34 more days to go...please do it!
One last point, when doctors or nurses who carry out abortions are at dinner parties or other social events and their neighbour leans across to ask:
"What do you do for a living?"
How do they frame their answer?
ENTER HERE WILL COME OUT ALIVE!
My wife and I joined the 40 Days for Life vigil outside the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) offices (26 Bedford Square) last Friday. They cannot even come clean with their name; it's not pregnancy advice, it's abortion advice, how to get rid of the infant in your womb.
There were not many of us. A total of six volunteers, including ourselves, came and went within the space of two hours. The organisation is in dire need of more cover from more volunteers so please, even if you only have 30 minutes to spare, sign on here and call by. It is always an unnerving experience standing up in public and proclaiming your beliefs. Praying the rosary and other prayers out loud for all to see and gawp at calls on our convictions. But, of course, that is part of the point, it is the Sacrament of Confirmation kicking in and giving us the moral courage to do such things and it is also seeing the courage of the 40 Days 'formal' volunteers and those from the Good Counsel Network that is so very inspirational. These people do this routinely but, I suspect, with the same difficulties that we 'informal' volunteers suffer.
Some 10 or 12 women entered the abortuary, none accompanied by husbands or boyfriends. A similar number of males came and went independently. Some took the leaflets offered by the volunteer at the door, others politely demurred. Meanwhile, we recited our decades, chanted our litanies and said the Angelus at 12 noon.
We left with a sense of relief (standing still on one spot for too long) and a modest sense of accomplishment; an ambition realised at last, a good cause supported.
I could not help but feel, however, that more Catholics should be taking part. Is abortion now such a by word that the man or woman in the pew no longer recoil from it? Has the destruction of life in the womb become totally socially acceptable? Where are the priests, the Bishops, the nuns and the brothers? Well, to be fair, some were at the alternative vigil outside the Marie Stopes abortuary in nearby Whitfield Street.
I hesitate to offer criticism when such a good cause is the subject but, why have two sessions running at the same time? I am at a bit of a loss as to comprehending just who the varying Catholic/Christian pro life groups are. SPUC of course is well known but how do Mary Stops Abortion, The Good Counsel Network and The 40 Days for Life initiative relate to on another? Could they, perhaps, work together more closely?There is a Brighton based secular group who also do excellent work. They are confrontational in terms of displaying graphic images, the jury appears out on this delicate issue - are shock tactics (realism) good or bad?
But they do appear to be ultra organised, here is a snippet from their update email service:
We are planning to hold the first of our central London displays on Tuesday the 29th of March. (Timings to be confirmed)
The abortion providers like to portray themselves as moderate, professional and caring organisations. We want their neighbours to see what "Reproductive Health" looks like. We will be taking large banners depicting the beauty of life and the brutality of abortion to their doors. We can't do that without your help.
We need:
Someone who can drive the team to London from the Brighton area (fuel/parking and congestion will be paid for)
Camera person
Banner holders
Counsellors
Post-abortive women
Donors to help pay for fuel/parking and congestion charge as well as other expenses!!
Please let us know as soon as possible if you are able to help.
Ends/................
This is not meant as a sniping comment, I am a believer in learning from the success of others. One thing is absolutely crystal clear.......MORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! There are 34 more days to go...please do it!
One last point, when doctors or nurses who carry out abortions are at dinner parties or other social events and their neighbour leans across to ask:
"What do you do for a living?"
How do they frame their answer?
Praying for more volunteers and for an end to the evil of abortion.
ReplyDeleteGood Counsel, 40 Days for Life, and Helpers of God's Precious Infants, and SPUC do work very closely already, and aim to do so more and more. They share resources, contacts, advertising, training sessions, staff, prayer, and support for women. Maria Stops Abortion is the blog of Good Counsel.
ReplyDeleteThe aim is to have a constant vigil at every single abortuary, so having two running at the same time is a step in the right direction. There are also several others that run once a week in other parts of London.
Having more people sign-up is a must, but that doesn't mean having 20+ people at the vigil is the aim. A mum might see the group and actually rush into the abortuary quicker than if there were only 2 or 3 people across the road praying. This gives less chance for the counsellor to speak with her. It also means that rather than having a large group in one place, there is a few people at several abortuaries.
I hope you and your wife will be able to go again. I've been going since it started last year and is a very good work.
Apostolate - I appreciate that numbers are not the sum total but last Friday the "group" would have been down to one person if others had not stayed on for some considerable amount of extra time. For many reasons, I think such small numbers (less than three) should be avoided if possible.
ReplyDeleteDo you know if any attempt has been made to galvanise the seminaries (Allen Hall especially).
I am not denigrating the effort in any way, just keen to see it succeed.