"We are the Sheep...
Where are the Shepherds?"

When it comes to their publications, editors are not unlike parents. Just as moms and dads try hard not to invest more of themselves in any one child or love one of their kids more than another, editors attempt to treat each issue equally, to play no favorites. At a minimum, that means every time we go to press we want to be able to look in the mirror and honestly say to ourselves we put as much into its production as we could, thereby maximizing the chances that the edition will be the best it could possibly be.

However, at the risk of sounding like an overbearing parent, there are times when we believe that one of our editorial progeny has shone. This special January 22 Commemorative Issue, " We Are the Sheep...Where Are the Shepherds?", I feel, qualifies.

There are contributors to this issue, I am delighted to say, whom I have pursued to write for NRL News for years and years. In demand, they are the real deal, bringing to the table experience, insight, and love for mothers and unborn babies, expressed with a flair that captivates readers. Writing for this edition are women and men whose unflagging determination and fierce resolve have replenished the energy banks of tens of thousands of pro-lifers.

That such talent is all found in one edition is largely the work of NRLC Director of Outreach Ernie Ohlhoff. At great sacrifice, Mr. Ohlhoff put in an enormous number of hours, many of them during the Christmas holidays. My sincere thanks.

Why a special issue devoted to religious outreach? Simply because, although the clergy already constitute one of the children's biggest assets, there remains so much unrealized potential within their ranks. Question: how do we get from here to there? How do we realize these dividends?With patient, loving prodding from people like you. How does this commemorative issue help you?

What we've attempted to do is threefold: (1) assure skeptical clergy that when they speak out on abortion, the congregation's response will be overwhelmingly positive; (2) offer concrete examples to illustrate how a church or synagogue can be the bearer of good news year round both to women and their unborn babies and to the wider community; and (3) convey to clergy and laypeople alike the moral imperative to not allow pro- abortionists within congregations (or a minister's own apprehensiveness) to shush pastoral voices. Frankly, the consciences of too many clergy are bound in chains, forged in misinformation and tempered by caution.

Unshackling pastors, priests, and rabbis to do what they do best is absolutely pivotal to the long-term success of the battle to restore legal protection to unborn babies.

These men and women have devoted their entire adult lives to illuminating the consciences of their congregants. For pro- lifers, this is particularly important in two respects.

First, in our better moments, most of us want to heed what Lincoln described as the better angels of our nature. Unfortunately, we have perfected the art of temporizing; we'll listen... later. Ministers and rabbis have the moral authority to challenge us to put away childish things, to unstop our ears and to look at ourselves and our nation through grown-up eyes. If/when one does that, the fate of unborn babies takes on a new urgency.

Second, rabbis and pastors can be of enormous help to aborted women who desperately need to heal the holes in their hearts. Spiritual balm can help mend the wounds which for many women can be as raw 20 years after the death of their unborn babies as the day they lamentably submitted to the abortionist.

The Judeo-Christian ethic, much maligned, but more needed than ever, will always be the pro-abortionist's primary opponent. How could it be otherwise when believers know that God is the Author of life, and therefore (as theologian Elizabeth Achtemeier writes in her contribution to the essays that make up The Right Choice), we "are not free to rob God of what belongs to him." That child, like all the rest of us, is made in the image of God. Believers know to whom we are ultimately responsible for our attitude and our conduct.

As pro-lifers we must always live a life that is faithfully to the principle that truly we are our brother's keeper. When we do, "the problem of the pregnant fifteen-year-old in our midst," in Achtemeier's words, will no longer be "simply her problem" but will become "our problem - - the congregation's problem."

Please come away from reading this issue with a renewed commitment to be a blessing to your pastors and rabbis. My guess is that it will not be until long after the fact that many will come to appreciate that they needed you to open their eyes, shore up their courage, and teach them how crucial they are to replacing the Culture of Death with the Culture of Life.

Thank you for all you are doing.

dha