Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? Dear Pro-Life Advocates, The theme at Oregon Catholic Conference's Advocacy Day was "A Place at the Table." Having advocates for the unborn invited would be considered a sequel to "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" It's pretty obvious that the unborn haven't been a priority and this year there are six bills protecting them and their mothers that will be ignored, with one exception. A letter from the OCC was given for HB 2020 the Unborn Victims of Violence Act aka Laci and Connor Peterson's Law in a show of support, but only if the death penalty is kept from being applied for the second murder, if applicable. The reason for not even giving a letter in support of the other bills was because they might not be successful. I pointed out that they had worked for eight years for a State Earned Income Tax Credit and aren't the twelve thousand plus unborn Oregonian lives taken each year by abortion worth their effort. No response. On the bright side, there were at least thirty unborn advocates, many that had never been to an Advocacy Day. This showing demonstrated to the Bishops and the Conference that the unborn deserve a voice and a "Place at the Table". The Conference invited a busload of Sisters from a Seattle Peace and Justice committee otherwise, we would have filled up most of their seats. The Oregon Catholic Conference works very closely with the Justice and Peace Ministry of the Archdiocese. They both work very closely with the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. On March 19th there is a Peace Together Reflection Day at the University of Portland. Their keynote speaker, Dr. Diana Hayes, has this to say about pro-life advocates: "I find it very ironic that the very people who are "pro life" (in terms of before the fetus becomes a human child outside of the womb) are the very ones who are so pro-capital punishment and so pro throwing-the-book at children. But they do nothing with these children from the day they're born until something happens. Especially if they're born into poverty (which too many of our children today are being born into, because of the over-stressed lives of their parents) we simply ignore all of that. We ignore the reasons for perhaps why they're acting out in such violent ways -and just kill them too. So they murder and we murder. That's my take on the whole thing --and neither action is legitimate or moral." This is just a taste of what's in store for us at the Day of Reflection. The Justice and Peace Committee has an on-line survey http://www.archdpdx.org/news&events/survey-2005.html and this will dictate the direction our parishes will go. How can the Church in Oregon breathe with one lung? How can we make decisions as a Church that costs everyone in the pews money, yet are vilified and kept from participating in the process. Their vision cannot be 20/20 without us. The abortion issue grounds people. It is the foundational issue of the Life Issues. Life Issues are NOT all the same. We can make a difference for the Catholic Church in Oregon. It is already beginning. God Bless, Carolyn Wendell “We shall be called to account not only for every idle word, but also for every idle silence.” St. Ambrose V.O.C.A.L. Voice of Catholics Advocating Life PO Box 458 Sublimity, OR 97385