CL Acts: March for Life Events

        Consistent Life had a contingent at the March for Life.  Four Board members were present - Bill Samuel, Tony Masalonis, Rob Arner and Richard Stith (who got permission from Fr. Frank Pavone to hold the “Pro-Life, Pro-Peace” yellow sign prominently in front of the Supreme Court steps in the midst of all the “I regret my abortion” signs). Others who helped hold our banner or their own signs and/or pass out literature included Rosemarie Stith, John Whitehead, and folks from Dorothy Day Catholic Worker (a member group). We connected with a number of others at the March who had consistent life ethic signs but had not previously heard of CL, some of whom joined our contingent for varying periods of time. We got a number of thumbs up and positive statements about our banner.
        After the March, about ten people came for a post-March gathering, including one person who we'd just met at the March. Participants were from DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Indiana. We talked about how to network locally for consistent life ethic education and activities, and shared ideas about what CL could do nationally. Those who could stay went out to dinner together.
       

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CL Participates: March for Life Conferences
 
        Rosemarie and Richard Stith met with Democrats for Life of America, a CL member group, before the March to share ideas. 
        Tony Masalonis attended the Students for Life of America conference, the world's largest pro-life conference with 1,800 attendees.  Member groups Feminists for Life and Secular ProLife had tables, as did Priests for Life who have a new pamphlet containing a strong statement in support of the CLE.  One speaker quoted Richard Stith in a positive light but also implicitly denounced the CLE as a distraction.  There is work to be done.  A speaker from the Whole Life movement discussed the link between abortion and global poverty and got a good reception.
        CL had inserts with a FAQ and listing of our resources in the packets for that Students for Life conference as well as their separate rally; we also had the insert at the Cardinal O’Connor Conference.
  

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Delving Deeper – Mary Meehan’s Latest
 

        Long-time CL supporter and writer Mary Meehan recently published a piece on suicide prevention, "Outfoxing the Grim Reaper,"in Human Life Review. It describes promising work in this area and suggests how individuals can help friends or family members who are inclined toward suicide. (Mary is grateful to Consistent Life's Rachel MacNair with her expertise in psychology for reviewing the manuscript before publication.)
        Also on Mary's website is a recent piece called "Antiwar Conservatives Make a Strong Case,"covering people such as Ron Paul, Justin Raimondo, Bill Kauffman, and Andrew Bacevich. This essay describes points generally expected of conservatives (such as concern about wild spending), as well as some they share with folks on the left (for example, concern about major assaults on civil liberties in wartime).
 

 

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Quotation of the Week
John M. Perkins & Charles Marsh
Welcoming Justice: God's Movement Toward Beloved Community, 2009  
 
       “Family values and social justice aren’t separate issues. The health of the community depends on the health of the family and the health of the family depends on the justice of the community.”