Back - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - Next

Priest to launch anti-euthanasia group

The Rev. Frank Pavone plans to begin a society of priests devoted to fighting against euthanasia and abortion.

By BOBBY ROSS JR.
The Associated Press

DALLAS, April 1 -- A priest who comforted Terri Schiavo's parents and siblings says he's starting the Roman Catholic Church's first society of priests devoted exclusively to "the Gospel of Life," fighting against euthanasia and abortion.

The Diocese of Amarillo will provide a vacant Catholic high school and dormitory to house the male-only Missionaries of the Gospel of Life, the society founded by the Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life.

"I have long been convinced that God is raising up numerous disciples ready to devote their entire lives to ending the tragedy of abortion, which the bishops have identified as the 'fundamental human rights issue of the day,'" Pavone said in a statement. "I have no doubt that we will see a tremendous and immediate response to this initiative."

Long an outspoken anti-abortion activist, Pavone served in recent days as a spiritual adviser to Bob and Mary Schindler, whose severely brain-damaged daughter died Thursday, 13 days after the feeding tube that had sustained her for 15 years was removed.

Pavone later described her death as "a killing," a sentiment also expressed by Focus on the Family head James Dobson, who said the judges who refused to intervene in Schiavo's care were guilty "of the cold-blooded, cold-hearted extermination of an innocent human life."

The Colorado-based religious group had sided with Terri Schiavo's parents in the court case and is vowing to push for stricter legal standards on denying life-sustaining measures to ailing patients.

The new Catholic society's plans call for its priests and seminarians to take on political as well as religious roles, from conducting voter-registration drives and lobbying elected officials to developing strategies for anti-abortion groups.

Amarillo Bishop John W. Yanta, a Priests for Life advisory board member since 1998, said the society will find a welcoming environment in conservative Amarillo.

"It's just a part of the culture here to be pro-life," he said. "Anybody who would be pro-abortion in politics here would be dead in the water, as they say."

But a top official with Planned Parenthood of Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle called the society's arrival "very frightening." In a statement, Planned Parenthood expressed concerns that the society could attract extremists who might resort to violence to further the anti-abortion cause.

Panhandle Planned Parenthood executive director Claudia Stravato said Yanta has focused on only one issue - abortion - since he arrived in Amarillo, and has organized demonstrations outside Planned Parenthood.

Yanta said the society has the Vatican's blessing. "I think this pretty much reflects the mind of Pope John Paul II because we have a culture of death all over the world," he told The Associated Press on Thursday.

In 1991, the late Cardinal John O'Connor of New York started a similar religious society for women, the Sisters of Life, "for the protection and enhancement of the sacredness of every human life," according to its Web site. O'Connor envisioned a separate society for men, a dream being fulfilled by Pavone, who was ordained by O'Connor in 1988, Yanta said.

Story Produced by: Brian Clay

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6