By Kathleen Sweeney
Outreach Department
"We [promoters of abortion] would never have gotten away with what we did if you [clergy] had been united, purposeful, and strong."
Bernard Nathanson, ex-abortionist, now pro-life, in talk to priests, 1990
Pro-life ministry among Catholic priests is receiving tremendous encouragement and support from Priests for Life. Founded seven years ago to train and motivate the clergy to be more effectively pro-life, the organization is now experiencing rapid growth.
Fr. Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life, announced July 16 that two more full-time priests are joining its staff, boosting the total staff to four priests and two lay people. Fr. Pavone has stressed, "It is a priest who best understands another priest, and can most effectively encourage him to preach, teach, counsel, and organize the faithful to advance the pro-life cause."
Fr. Pavone had meetings in Washington, D.C., in July with National Right to Life President Wanda Franz, Ph.D.; Darla St. Martin, NRLC associate executive director; Ernest Ohlhoff, NRLC director of outreach; and Olivia Gans, director of American Victims of Abortion. At the meeting, Fr. Pavone introduced the two new priests: Fr. Denis G. Wilde of Villanova, Pennsylvania, and Fr. Peter West of Newark, New Jersey (see below). NRLC and Priests for Life hope to work closely on a variety of programs and projects in the future.
Fr. Pavone is currently serving as an official of the Pontifical Council of the Family in the Vatican as well as continuing as international director of Priests for Life. He is making a summer tour through the United States for pro-life events in 14 states.
Now that Fr. Wilde and Fr. West are joining Fr. Richard Hogan and Fr. Pavone on the Priests for Life staff, "this will literally double our effectiveness," Fr. Pavone told NRL News. "For the last several years, Fr. Richard Hogan of St. Paul-Minneapolis and I have been averaging three pro-life trips per week. We have preached against abortion in every one of the 50 states, and have personally reached an estimated 500,000 people with our message. We will now be able to do twice as much!"
"This is an incredible day for our association," Fr. Pavone continued. "We are very grateful to Archbishop Theodore McCarrick of Newark and the Very Reverend John Deegan, Prior Provincial of the Augustinian Order, St. Thomas of Villanova, for releasing these two priests to us at a time when priests are in such demand."
Fr. Pavone added, "It is gratifying to know that Priests for Life enjoys such tremendous support among the bishops of the United States. Since we began our mission seven years ago, we have very consciously avoided building a separate structure apart from the Church; rather, we have endeavored at all times to work within the structure of the Catholic Church, in total union and cooperation with the Bishops, and to assist their diocesan pro-life offices to infuse the structure which already exists with ever greater pro-life fervor, energy, and effectiveness."
At the June National Right to Life Convention, Dr. Wanda Franz read a letter of greeting from Fr. Pavone in which he spoke encouraging words to the attendees: "As you can see in your own work," Fr. Pavone wrote, "read in statistical polls, and hear from the various workshops and presentations during these days, there is movement in America toward a reaffirmation of life! This movement, of course, takes place in the midst of many disturbing signs and much struggle. Yet that in itself is a sign that it is authentic movement and not an illusion."
Fr. Pavone went on to mention the importance of the work of NRLC and other pro-lifers as an inspiration to pro-life workers in other countries, many of whom he encounters in his work at the Vatican. "I am able to share with them the strategies and resources that have been developed, and assist them to adapt these to their own circumstances," he said. "You, in other words, share credit for the pro-life progress in these other nations!"
Priests for Life has recently published a statement entitled "Choices in Christ," which challenges the notion that church communities and individual Christians can be 'pro-choice' and still remain faithful to their calling. "From the beginning of the abortion battle," Fr. Pavone commented, "the pro-abortion forces, knowing the Catholic Church is a great obstacle, have attempted to silence and intimidate the clergy on this issue, and to say that a pro-choice position is consistent with the Gospel. It is time for them to realize that that game is over."
Fr. Peter West
Fr. Peter J. West began his ministry with Priests for Life on April 1, 1998. He has been a pro-life activist since 1986. He earned an M.A. degree in theology from Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, in 1991. Fr. West was the founder and director of Amicus, a successful Catholic young adult group for men and women in their 20s and 30s. He also has experience working with youth as a teacher and a youth group leader. In his pastoral ministry, he has preached frequently on the topic of abortion. He has been able to dissuade women from having abortions, and has helped women who have had abortions to find healing and peace. As a new addition to the staff of Priests for Life, he has begun to travel the country to spread the Gospel of Life. He will be speaking to groups of both priests and laity carrying out the mission for Priests for Life.
Fr. Denis Wilde
Fr. Denis G. Wilde, O.S.A., is a member of the Augustinian order and has served on the faculty of Villanova University from 1977 to 1998. A Long Island native, Fr. Wilde is an accomplished pianist and enjoys presenting concerts for pro-life organizations. He received his Ph.D. in music from The Catholic University of America and has been professionally engaged as choral director both at Villanova and as guest director of other college chorales both here and abroad. Father feels a unique interest in integrating music and pro-life ministry, believing the heart is moved through beauty in life. Fr. Wilde has been actively involved in pro-life interests since before Roe v. Wade. He has spoken at a number of pro-life civic and religious functions in the Boston and Philadelphia areas. Recently he has been involved with Rachel's Vineyard retreats for those enduring post-abortion syndrome. This year, he was given permission by his superiors to serve full-time in the ministry of Priests for Life.
Fr. Richard Hogan
Fr. Richard Hogan is from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he graduated from the College of St. Thomas. As a young graduate, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study history in Munich, Germany; he subsequently obtained a Ph.D. in medieval history at the University of Minnesota. Before completing his doctorate, he decided to enter the priesthood, was accepted at St. Paul Seminary, and ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in 1981. Fr. Hogan spent several years in parishes of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. He was particularly interested in the writings and teachings of Pope John Paul II, and wrote two books on the topic, together with Fr. John LeVoir, entitled Covenant and Faith for Today. Fr. Hogan was also one of the editors of a Catholic religion textbook series called the Image of God Series, based on the theology of Pope John Paul II. In 1995, Fr. Hogan began his work as associate director of Priests for Life with permission of the Archbis-hop of St. Paul. He views his work on Pope John Paul II as very important to the pro-life work he is doing for Priests for Life.
Fr. Frank Pavone
Fr. Frank A. Pavone, an official of the Pontifical Council for the Family in Vatican City and international director of Priests for Life, coordinates pro-life activities throughout the world. Active in the pro-life movement since 1976, Fr. Pavone has preached and taught in all 50 states, as well as in Washington, D.C., where he addressed members of the House of Representatives' pro-life caucus. Fr. Pavone earned the M.Div. and M.A. degrees in theology and was ordained as a priest of the Archdiocese of New York by John Cardinal O'Connor in 1988. Five years later, he became the full-time national director of Priests for Life. Fr. Pavone conducts seminars on pro-life strategy for the clergy and other active pro-life leaders, and is a regular speaker at pro-life gatherings around the world. At the invitation of Mother Teresa, he addressed the clergy of India on abortion and the sanctity of human life. In the U.S., Fr. Pavone has produced many television and radio programs on abortion and other life issues. He has an ongoing series on the world's largest religious cable network, EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), which is broadcast into 55 million American homes. His articles on pro-life topics are widely published. He currently resides at the Vatican but makes frequent trips to the United States.