(CNA).- The Institute for Family Policy said this week that abortion has reached such massive levels in Spain that it has become a true epidemic in the country.

According to the statistics analyzed by the IFP, more than 1.1 million abortions have taken place in Spain since the practice was legalized in 1985.

During the last ten years, abortions have almost doubled with an increase of 90.5 percent, making Spain the European country with the greatest increase in the number of abortions, followed by Belgium and Holland.

IFP president Eduardo Hertfelder said 97,000 abortions took place in 2006. “If this trend continues, in 2010 one out of every five pregnancies (125,000 annually) will end in abortion,” he said.

He noted that abortions in 200 were up six percent from 2005, and that the statistics indicate that at the very least, “266 children are not born each day in Spain because of abortion, resulting in one abortion taking place every 5.4 minutes.”

“The Ministry of Health must drastically re-orient its health and sexuality policies once their ineffectiveness has been made clear in order to stop or lessen this significant increase of abortions, which results in 266 deaths by abortion each day in Spain, making it the leading cause of mortality in Spain,” Hertfelder noted.

He called the government’s policies “obsolete and erroneous” and said it was “unheard-of that in these times the Ministry of Health does not want to make a distinction between abortions carried out for life or health of the mother and those carried out for psychological reasons, when these represent practically all (96.7%) abortions that take place. “To continue hiding the reality or hiding in empty policies is not, therefore, an effective solution,” Hertfelder stated.

The IFP called for preventive measures that focus on recognizing the personal and social value of pregnancy and motherhood, and an increase in public resources for pregnant women, including financial and educational assistance.



Click here to return to homepage

(CNA).- Amnesty International affirmed its policy decision on Friday to become a pro-abortion organization and focus some of its efforts on creating universal access to abortion under select circumstances. The radical change has caused Bishop Michael Evans of the Diocese of East Anglia, England to withdraw his 31-year membership from the organization.

The decision marks a significant shift for the 46-year-old organization that was founded by a Catholic layman, Peter Benenson, and has been neutral on the issue of abortion.

The policy was affirmed at Amnesty’s international council meeting in Mexico City, from Aug. 11 to 17. There were 400 delegates from 75 countries in attendance.

Amnesty’s executive committee took the initial policy decision in April to abortion in cases of rape, incest or when the woman’s health is jeopardized, but did not make a public announcement about it. It was not until this past week’s meeting in Mexico City that Amnesty delegates gave it overwhelming support.

A press release, issued by Amnesty on Friday, states: “Amnesty International committed itself to strengthening the organization’s work on the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and other factors contributing to women's recourse to abortion, and affirmed the organization’s policy on selected aspects of abortion (to support the decriminalization of abortion, to ensure women have access to health care when complications arise from abortion, and to defend women's access to abortion, within reasonable gestational limits, when their health or human rights are in danger), emphasizing that women and men must exercise their sexual and reproductive rights free from coercion, discrimination and violence.”

As a result, Catholic Church leaders are calling on Catholics to withdraw their support for Amnesty International.

In an Aug. 18 statement, Bishop Michael Evans of East Anglia said he is withdrawing his 31-year-membership and support for the organization.

“In time, Amnesty may seek to develop this policy further, but even this current limited decision makes it very difficult for Catholics to remain members of Amnesty or to give it any financial support,” the bishop stated.

The bishop recognized the “enormously important role” Amnesty has played in the world since its foundation.

“This regretable decision will almost certainly divide Amnesty’s membership and thereby undermine its vital work,” he added. “Among all human rights, the right to life is fundamental. Commitment to work to ‘Protect the Human’ can only be deeply compromised by any support for access to abortion. “

While the Catholic Church shares Amnesty’s strong commitment to oppose violence against women, he continued, it cannot support the violence done by abortion to “the most vulnerable and defenceless form of human life in a woman’s womb.”

Bishop Evans noted that the preamble to the 1989 International Convention on the Rights of the Child states that “the child ... needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.”

“This must surely be part of the body of international human rights law to which Amnesty International is committed,” the bishop stated.

“There is no human right to access to abortion, and Amnesty should not involve itself even in such extreme cases,” the bishop warned. He said the organization’s support for abortion compromises its mandate to ‘protect the human’.

Bishop Evans emphasized that while he can no longer be a member of Amnesty International, he remains deeply committed to its original mandate of working for freedom for prisoners of conscience, an end to torture and the death penalty, and fair trials for all.

The English bishop is not the only prelate to speak against Amnesty’s new policy. In early-June, Cardinal Renato Martino told Reuters that Amnesty would face ‘inevitable consequences’ for its decision.

"No more Catholic financing of Amnesty International after the organization’s pro-abortion about-face," he was quoted as saying.

Even support for selective abortion defines “the innocent child within the womb as an enemy, a 'thing' that must be destroyed," Cardinal Martino reportedly said.

The American Catholic press later reported Cardinal Martino saying the Amnesty’s new stance on abortion disqualifies it as a defender of human rights.


Click here to return to homepage

By Day Gardner

African Americans throughout history have broken through barriers--strongholds, built by social injustice. Senator Obama is another black American proving what we as a people have always known--with hard work and opportunity we can achieve greatness!

Recently, the inspiring Senator spoke to a congregation of concerned Christians at the Vernon Church of God in Chicago about the urgent need to end the "epidemic of violence" devastating our urban communities-- killing our children. He noted that 36 children had been killed just this year.

I found it interesting that Mr. Obama neglected to include the 20,000 children who were gruesomely-- violently killed last year in Chicago, (Cook County), by abortion--many of them just days before being "welcomed" into the world.

Recently, Senator Obama criticized the U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold the ban on partial birth abortion stating it was "part of a concerted effort to roll back women's rights."

No, Mr. Obama ... it was a concerted effort to ensure rights for all Americans no matter how small they may be.

Unfortunately, Barack Obama has heartlessly embraced the culture of death surrounding this country--one that includes killing human beings who cannot speak for themselves and are too small to fight back.

The Senator said this generation of young men have become products of violence, and must "break the cycle". He stated, "...There's a reason they go out and shoot each other, because they don't love themselves. And the reason they don't love themselves is because we are not loving them enough."

The young men Mr. Obama spoke of are simply doing what children do--they are following our lead. So far, we have been bad examples. We are teaching our young people that life is worthless--if he gets in your way--take him out! If an unborn child gets in your way-- take him out!

Abortion is the number one killer of African Americans- -killing more black people than heart attacks, stroke, HIV-AIDS, accidents, cancer, violent crime and all other deaths--COMBINED! More than 15 million black people--lost to abortion since 1973.

So, Mr. Obama, we agree--the cycle of violence must be broken! We must "love our children enough" to lead by example--to help them respect themselves and the lives of others--born and unborn--a true leader would know that.



Day Gardner is President of the National Black Pro-life Union and staff member at NPLAC on Capitol Hill. 202-834-0844

Click here to return to homepage

By Santificarnos.com

"The turnout was far beyond expectations, we were trilled with the day", said an ecstatic Eoghan De Faoite, Chairman of the organising rally committee and leader of the pro-life group Youth Defence.

The Irish pro-life rally, called 'Celebrate Life', which set off from the General Post Office, on Dublin's main street, had heads spinning as the colour and the enthusiasm of the crowd grabbed the attention of thousands of Dublin shoppers on a busy Saturday afternoon in Ireland's Capital.

The rally was headed up with a banner, held by a number of young women, calling on the Irish Government to keep their pre-election pro-life promise and not legislate for abortion or allow for embryo research.

Prior to the recent Irish Parliamentary elections (24th May), pressure was put on the main political parties, by Pro-life lobby groups, to guarantee, that if elected; they would not enact anti-life legislation. The two main political parties gave this guarantee and Mr. De Faoite stated that this rally was to remind the new Irish government of this pro-life commitment.

The rally arrived at the Irish Parliament Buildings to the sound of the song 'Life is Life' booming out from a public address system. The street was closed off by the Irish Police to accommodate the massive crowd and the rally participants took full advantage dancing and singing as they approached the stage where they were to be addressed by a number of pro-life speakers.

Speakers included members from the groups Youth Defence, the Pro-life Campaign, and the Mother and Child Campaign. Also Fr. Brian Mc Kevitt O.P., editor of the Catholic 'Alive' newspaper, gave a talk on the media and on the recent abortion controversy surrounding the 'human rights' group, Amnesty.

"Though this rally has given a huge boost to the pro- life cause in Ireland, we cannot become complacent. We need to continue to pray and act to make sure Ireland remains abortion free," concluded Mr. De Faoite.




Click here to return to homepage

By Santificarnos.com

The NAACP has rejected a resolution that would have led to open discussion on the convention floor on the harmful effects caused by abortion to African American women. The convention is being held in Detroit, July 7-10, at Cobo Hall. The resolution put forth by the Macon chapter of the NAACP has been censored for the second time in three years due to abortion content.

According to supporters of the resolition, 1,452 African American children are terminated each day by abortion. US census reports that for the first time in US history African Americans are beneath the replacement rate. African American women make up 36 percent of all abortions but only account for 6 percent of the population.

"It is deplorable that this noble institution with such a rich history would choose again to censor one of its own chapters, states Rev. Clenard H. Childress Jr. "This institution was founded to ensure that the voices of African Americans would be heard. What have we come to when those whom have the charge of protecting our rights willfully choose to take them away? Rev. Childress is the Assistant National Director of LEARN the largest African American pro-life organization in USA.

Elder Levon R. Yuille, the national director of the National Black Pro-life Congress is partnering with Learn and together they will hold a press conference outside the Cobo Center. "The NAACP has a history of refusing to face the abortion issue. The NAACP ignores the detrimental health issues of African American women due to abortion."

Dr. Alveda King, the niece of the slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King will be participating in the convention as a delegate. Dr. King plans to assist the Macon chapter in getting the resolution read.

Dr. Alveda King said, "Oh, God, what would Martin Luther King, Jr., who dreamed of having his children judged by the content of their characters do if he'd lived to see the contents of thousands of children's skulls emptied into the bottomless caverns of the abortionists pits?"


Click here to return to homepage

By John Davis

Perhaps the best rebuttal to those pro-abortion "Catholic" politicians in Washington and the statehouses who argue it is their duty to represent all their constituents and not vote or act on legislation based on their own personal beliefs — which reportedly mirror Church doctrine condemning the killing of the unborn — are the words uttered by the 16th century English statesman, St. Thomas More.

As a Knight and member of the King's Council in 1527, More faced his own moral dilemma. King Henry VIII desperately wanted the highly regarded Sir Thomas's support for his appeal to the Pope to grant him a divorce from Katherine of Aragon so he could marry his mistress Anne Boleyn. A fervent Catholic, More refused to give his support based on the Church's teaching of the indissolubility of marriage.

As the 1966 movie, "A Man For All Seasons," depicts, two years before ascending to the position of Lord Chancellor (as the first layman to hold the post), More, played by Paul Scofield, is drilled by his predecessor, Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles) regarding his lack of support for the King's divorce: "Explain how you as a councilor of England can obstruct these measures for the sake of your own private conscience?"

More responds point blank to Wolsey: "I think that when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos."

Who today could argue America has not been descending that very road to chaos ever since the 1973 Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion in all 50 states? Now Republican and Democratic politicians alike are beholden to the abortion lobby in order to win election or reelection. Republican governors Pataki in New York and Schwarzenegger in California defend a woman's right to an abortion despite their Catholic faith. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, an avowed Catholic, is among the Senate elite who voted to maintain the legality of partial birth abortion despite his church's condemnation of infanticide.

Clearly these Catholic politicians have elevated the goal of getting elected above their solemn duty to defend the Faith and the most vulnerable in society. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes."

Hopeful signs, though, amid this moral chaos are the recent proclamations of a handful of Catholic bishops warning Catholic politicians who support legalized abortion not to present themselves for Holy Communion. Indeed, these clergy are simply complying with their church's own Canon Law, which mandates the denial of Communion to all "manifest, obstinate, persistent sinners." These few stalwart shepherds are finally realizing that by not speaking out, they are imperiling the immortal souls of their flocks — as well as their own.

After being found guilty of treason, Sir Thomas More was beheaded on July 6, 1535. His crime was his refusal to recognize the King as the self-proclaimed supreme head of the church in England. Reportedly, among More's few final words on the scaffold were that he died "the King's good servant, but God's first."

In 1886 Pope Leo XIII beatified Thomas More with 53 other martyrs. In 1935 Pius XI canonized him on the fourth centenary of his martyrdom. In 1929, G.K. Chesterton remarked in an address that, "Blessed Thomas More is more important at this moment than at any moment since his death, even perhaps the great moment of his dying; but he is not quite so important as he will be in about a hundred years' time."

On October 31, 2000, Pope John Paul II proclaimed St. Thomas More the "patron saint of government officials and politicians." In his apostolic letter, Pope John remarked on the need for such a patron saint at a time when "scientific achievements in the area of biotechnology underline the need to defend human life at all its different stages." St. Thomas More provides such a role model, as the papal epistle proclaims: "Whenever men or women heed the call of truth, their conscience then guides their actions reliably towards good. Precisely because of the witness he bore, even at the price of his life, to the primacy of truth over power, Saint Thomas More is venerated as an imperishable example of moral integrity. And even outside the Church, among those with responsibility for the destinies of peoples, he is acknowledged as a source of inspiration for a political system which has as its supreme goal the service of the human person."

If only more of today's Catholic politicians would pay heed to the sterling example set by their patron saint.

Seattle Catholic
Click here to return to homepage

By Santificarnos.com

Organizers are describing a pro-life rally to be held in Dublin this coming Saturday, 7 July, as Ireland's largest pro-life event in fifteen years. Abortion remains illegal in Ireland, despite the legal quandary left by the X case ruling in 1992.

Two things protected the unborn child from abortion in Ireland. Firstly the provisions of the 1861 Offences against the Persons Act and secondly, a Pro-life Amendment to Ireland's constitution in 1983.

The latter was, however, later interpreted, in 1992, by Ireland's Supreme Court, to allow for abortion in the case of suicide. This outraged the Irish electorate whose intention, in voting for the 1983 amendment, was to protect the unborn fully in all circumstances; and so they brought their voices to the streets.

In what was seen as hugely significant in keeping abortion out of Ireland, thousands of people attended four pro-life rallies in Dublin, during 1992, to make their voices heard. Those rallies stalled the political momentum to legalize abortion in Ireland.

Since 1992, even though the Irish people have had the anti-life Supreme Court interpretation hanging over them, not one abortion has been carried out in Ireland. Successive Irish governments, fearful of the backlash from Ireland's pro-life movements, have balked at abortion legislation. The pro-life lobby, who have remained extremely active since those four mass rallies in 1992, are now celebrating 15 years of keeping Ireland abortion-free.

On Saturday the 7 July, at 1pm, pro-lifers from all around Ireland will gather outside the main post office (the GPO) in Dublin's main street O'Connell Street. They will then walk to the Irish Parliament (Dail Eireann) where they will be addressed by numerous pro-life speakers.

Eoghan De Faoite Chairman of the Rally Committee and leader of the Irish pro-life group Youth Defence, hopes the weather will 'be sunny and dry' and said that 'this rally intends to send a strong message to the Irish government; "Keep Ireland abortion free".'

Significantly, last week, only 80 people turned up for a pro-abortion demonstration in Dublin, which was addressed by Irish politicians. Eoghan De Faoite said that 'it is striking that such a small number turned out. It makes it abundantly clear that the pro-abortion lobby in Ireland has very little support from the Irish people.'

Click here to return to homepage

In June of 2007 the EU began threatening to cut funding to Nicaragua because of its recent decision to completely ban all abortions

By Rev Michael Bresciani

After WW2 a few voices could be heard that called for America to set the moral tone for the rest of the world. Such leadership is rarely spoken of today and in less than a generation it may have completely reversed.

The Roe v Wade decision of the US Supreme Court on January 22, 1973 is often seen as the first and the worst in a series of America's bad decision making. Some believe it has a life all of its own now throughout the rest of the globe. In a country where the latest news about Paris Hilton far outweighs the question of declining morality it hardly matters what is influencing the EU or the rest of the world to most Americans.

Whether anyone believes Roe v Wade set the precedent for the rest of the world or not it is now becoming the standard for fully developed nations, or is it?

Poland is appealing a recent EU ruling on abortion that was handed down by the European Court of Human Rights that requires it to pay $52,000 in damages for a citizen who has been denied the right to abort her unborn child.

Poland is the birth place of former Pope John Paul who was beloved among the Poles and surely set many of the moral parameters for that nation. Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said he would appeal the decision of the court based simply on the idea that it would not be good for the country.

Yet more recently in June of 2007 the EU began threatening to cut funding to Nicaragua because of its recent decision to completely ban all abortions.

Bert Koenders, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands says he wants both the United Nations and the European Union to crack down on pro life countries. Koenders wants the EU to put "women's rights on a higher agenda."

To Bible believing Christians including Catholics the world over this is seen as a very clear agenda but not one that could be termed "high." In fact accept in cases where a women's life or health are at risk this is seen as the very lowest of all causes to the Christian.

The argument from most of Christendom is based not on denying a woman her rights but in completely ignoring the rights of the unborn who have no voice or recourse by which to defend their own right to life. The unborn may not be able to provide testimony at hearings, carry placards or sit on the steps of a court house but many believers figuratively hear their voices crying out continuously with a haunting refrain of "we want to live."

Mankind is thought to be the most physically and morally advanced species on the planet and thus we would assume the most sensitive to the life of its own kind. The death of unborn children it seems can go unfelt if the abortion proceedings are done in a remote and clinically sterile area. This is proving to be a complete unreality. The trauma suffered by women who have undergone abortions is now a matter of public record and the reports are dismal.

In natures realm animals and birds will protect and defend their young even if it means their own death. They have no knowledge of how they are going to feed or care for their young, they rely only on instinct. That is the key word "instinct." It seems that instinct is what is now missing in a post
modern world, not ways and means. In fact in developed countries that have welfare and other provisions for unwed mothers the question of a child's survival is almost moot. It is only a matter of well the child may fare as compared to others in the same society.

Anyone who has taken horticulture or a basic botany course would be familiar with the "brine shrimp" experiment. Scientist discovered that plants in the same room with a tank of brine shrimp had a severe reaction when all of the shrimp were suddenly killed with an electric current. Supposing that it may have been altered by the reactions of humans in the same room, the experiment was conducted under more controlled conditions. The current was set to go through the tank of shrimp randomly and remotely and electrodes were placed on the plants to record the time when or if they reacted to the death of the shrimp. In every case the plants exuded a thin layer of chemicals on their foliage at exactly the same moment the shrimp were killed.

It must be noted that these were only plants and also the reaction was inter species in nature. Does this mean plants are more sensitive to the life of other creatures than humans? The answer is ours to make.

In both the EU and the United States attention is being drawn to the ravages of disease and poverty in African countries especially Darfur. No one can make light of the horrors that are transpiring in these countries but it would seem that they are being used to draw attention away from other horrors that post modern morality refuses to address.

Every few seconds in Africa a person dies (often children) from aids, hunger or warfare. Every few seconds in fully developed countries an unborn child dies at the hands of an abortionist. Is one scourge any worse than the other? That answer is also ours to make.

The best solutions ever accomplished by mankind have come not by pulling the trigger, but by pulling the plug. As our world spirals toward Armageddon it is not likely we will universally pull the plug on abortion but the decision is still open to one individual at a time and it always will be. To wit; "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: Dt. 30:19"


Rev Michael Bresciani is a Christian author and a columnist for several online sites and magazines. For articles and news from around the world visit "The Website for Insight"

Click here to return to homepage

By Matthew M. Anger

If anything can be said of accusations against the Catholic Church in World War II it is that they are as predictable as they are monotonous. Far more interesting (and revealing) is the heroism of thousands of ordinary Catholics who suffered and died at the hands of Hitler's reign of terror. The martyrdom of St. Maximillian Kolbe, who was put to death at the Auschwitz concentration camp, is well known. But such courage was not unique, as the revealed in the remarkable history of Stanislawa Leszczynska. The following is an abridged version of a study by Polish historian Prof. Maciej Giertych which provides some inkling of the horrors which Polish Catholics, and other Catholics throughout Europe, underwent during the Second World War. Sadly, such accounts — though they are numerous — are generally disregarded by modern academia and the media.

Slave Factories for the Reich

Auschwitz had all sorts of facilities, such as sleeping quarters, offices, kitchens and latrines. It also had a "sick ward" where, in atrocious conditions, sick prisoners were looked after by physicians who were prisoners themselves. Anyone who appeared unlikely to get well was killed. Thus the physicians were constantly concealing serious cases by falsifying records to permit a longer stay to those who otherwise would have been sent to the crematorium. Almost all survivors of Auschwitz suffered from typhoid, a disease that qualified inmates for liquidation, but was never reported thanks to the courage of the physicians. They were risking their lives since the punishment for breaking any rule in the concentration camp was death. Auschwitz also had a "maternity-ward." Many of the women who arrived at the camp were pregnant. They were needed for work; their babies were not. One of the midwives working in the ward was Stanislawa Leszczynska.

Stanislawa's Life

Born Stanislawa Zambrzyska in 1896, she married Bronislaw Leszczynski in 1916 and together they had two sons and a daughter. In 1922, she graduated from a school for midwives and began working in the poorest districts of Lodz. In pre-war Poland, babies were normally delivered at home. Stanislawa made herself available at any time, walking many kilometers to the homes of the women she helped. Her children recall that she often worked nights but she never slept during the day.

After the war, she returned to her job in Lodz. Her husband had been killed in the Warsaw uprising of 1944, but all of her children survived and, inspired by their mother's example, went on to become physicians. Stanislawa supported their education, earning the family livelihood through a devoted service to childbirth.

In March 1957, as her retirement neared, a reception was organized to commemorate her 35 years in the profession. Her son, Dr. Bronislaw Leszczynski, remarked to her before the reception that she might be asked about Auschwitz. Until that time, she had said nothing about her work in the concentration camp. Her son began taking notes and later, during the reception when all the speeches were over, he stood up and told his mother's story. What follows is taken from Maternal Love of Life: Texts About Stanislawa Leszczynska, edited by Bishop Bejz, 1988.

Introduction to Hell

Stanislawa was arrested in Lodz on February 18, 1943, with her daughter and two sons. The sons were sent to the labor camp at Mathausen and Gusen to work in the stone quarries. She and her daughter, Sylvia, were sent to Auschwitz where they arrived on April 17, 1943. They were given the numbers 41335 and 41336, tattooed on their forearms. They would remain as mementos of the camp.

They were deprived of all possessions, stripped, shaven, and given camp clothing – striped overalls and some underwear. Sylvia recalls that she received two left-foot slippers and a slip. All of the clothing was infested with lice. Stanislawa spent two years in the women's facility at Auschwitz, working as a midwife in three different blocks. The "sick-ward" in all of these was the same: 40-meter long bare wooden barracks heated by single brick stove. Because the camp was situated in a low-lying area, the barracks were frequently flooded with 2-3 inches of water. Within the sick-ward were three layers of bunks, lining both sides of the building. Up to three or four women would sleep on the filth-covered bunks at a time. The straw "mattresses", ridden with vermin, had long ago been ground nearly to dust and thus provided little comfort. Most women were left to lie on nothing more than wooden planks.

Stanislawa recalls the conditions the sick inmates had to contend with: "In the winter, when the temperatures were very low, icicles formed on the ceiling from the breath and perspiration – one silvery rod next to another. When, in the evening, the lights were put on, they glittered beautifully. They looked like one great crystal chandelier. But under these icicles, people slept and sick women delivered their babies."

The brick stove, says Stanislawa, "served as the only place for deliveries, because no other. . . arrangement for the purpose was available. The oven was only lit a few times during the year. . . Thirty bunks nearest the oven constituted the so-called maternity ward."

Stanislawa goes on to describe the misery of life in the camp: "In general the block was dominated by infections, stench and all kinds of vermin. Rats were abundant. . . . The victims of the rats were not only sick women but also the newborn children." There were 1,000 to 1,200 patients on average in the sick-ward. Of these at least a dozen died each day.

"In these conditions," explains Stanislawa, "the fate of the women in labor was tragic, and the role of the midwife extremely difficult. There were no antiseptics, no dressings, and no medicine, other than a small quota of aspirin." The food, such as it was, consisted mainly of "decayed, boiled greens." Initially, Stanislawa had to manage on her own, with occasional help from her young daughter. "The German camp physicians – Rhode, Koenig and Mengele – could not, of course, 'soil' their medical vocations by giving help to non-Germans...." Later, she was aided by female physicians who were themselves prisoners. As evidence of Stanislawa's deep humility, she placed very little emphasis on her own remarkable work. Rather, she spoke of the "greatness of the doctors, their devotion, [which] is frozen in the eyes of those who, tormented with the bondage of suffering, will never speak again. . . . The physicians did not work there for fame, approval, nor for the fulfillment of professional ambitions. All these motives were put aside. There remained only the medical duty of saving life in every case and in every situation, compounded with compassion for human suffering."

The illness afflicting most inmates was dysentery. Typhus also swept through the camp and, for a time, Stanislawa herself fell victim to the disease. She says that "the incidence of typhoid fever was, as far as possible, concealed from the Lagerarzt [the SS camp physician] usually by writing on the sick-list that the patient had the 'flu,' since those sick with typhoid were immediately liquidated . . . ."

Small Miracles Amid the Squalor

During her imprisonment, Stanislawa helped deliver over 3,000 babies. But there was something even more remarkable than her trying to cope amidst these hostile conditions. As she explained to her son, the Lagerarzt ordered her to make a report on the infections and mortality rate for mothers and infants. She replied, "I have not had a single case of death, either among the mothers or the newborns." The Lagerarzt's response was a look of disbelief. "He said that even the most perfectly handled clinics of German universities cannot claim such success. In his eyes I read anger and envy." In a self-deprecating manner, Stanislawa attributed this to fact that "the emaciated organisms were too barren a medium for bacteria." However, her children and fellow inmates ascribe this miraculous record to causes more than natural.

Planned Parenting in Auschwitz

When time for delivery approached, the already famished mother had to give up her bread ration for a time in order obtain a sheet which would be used to make diapers and clothing for the child. Needless to say, the Nazis did not provide such things. To make things worse, there was no running water in the barracks which made cleaning diapers a risky experience, since inmates were not permitted to move freely in the block. Any cleaning had to be done surreptitiously. Finally, there was no extra food or milk allocated for the infants. But simple neglect apparently did not satisfy the camp administrators. Thus, criminal inmates were employed to dispose of the troublesome infants.

Until May 1943, all the children born in Auschwitz were drowned in a barrel. These operations were performed by Schwester [sister] Klara, a German midwife who was imprisoned for infanticide. "As a Berufsverbrecherin (one guilty of occupational crime), and thus forbidden to practice her profession," says Stanislawa, "she was entrusted with a function to which she was more suited." Later, Klara was aided by a German prostitute, the redheaded Schwester Pfani. "After each delivery, the mothers were able to hear the characteristic gurgle and splashing water" as their babies were disposed of.

The situation changed somewhat in May 1943. "Aryan-looking" children, with blue eyes and fair hair, were spared Schwester Klara's treatment and sent to a center in the town of Naklo to be "de-nationalized." There they would end up in orphanages or were placed with German parents.

"Hoping that in the future it would be possible to recover these children, to bring them back to their mothers," Stanislawa explains, "I organized a method of marking the children with a 'tatoo' that would not be recognized by the SS guards. Many a mother was comforted by the thought that some day she would be able to find her lost happiness." Meanwhile, the fate of those left behind was hardly improved. The infants slowly died from malnutrition. Among the countless tragedies witnessed by Stanislawa, one in particular, stands out.

"I vividly recall a woman from Vilno, sent to Auschwitz for giving help to the partisans. Immediately after giving birth to a child her number was called out. . . I went to excuse her. This did not help but merely intensified anger. I realized she was being called out to the crematorium. She wrapped the child in a dirty piece of paper, pressed it to her breasts. . . Her lips moved noiselessly. She tried to sing her baby a song, as mothers often did there, murmuring to their infants various lullabies with which they tried to compensate them for the piercing cold and hunger, for their misery. However, she did not have the strength. . . she was unable to emit a sound . . . only large copious tears came from under her eyelids, flowing over her unusually pale cheeks and falling onto the head of the tiny child condemned to death."

Stanislawa Leszczynska concludes her brief but terrible memoir with the following remarks: "All of the babies were born alive. It was their purpose to live." Of the infants who remained at Auschwitz, "scarcely thirty survived the camp. Several hundred were sent to Naklo. . . . About 1,500 were drowned by Schwester Klara and Pfani. More than 1,000 died of cold and hunger." These figures cover the period from April, 1943, when Stanislawa arrived, to the liberation of the camp in January, 1945.

Other Accounts

In view of Stanislawa's reticence, we must rely on family members and fellow inmates to give us a more complete picture of her heroic activities. Her son, Bronislaw, reports that upon her arrival in the camp she tried to conceal her midwife identity card. "With this in hand, she stopped a German doctor in the camp, which was an act of courage in itself, punishable by death. She showed him her document. . . He thought about it for awhile and decided that she would perform the function of midwife in the so-called 'maternity ward.'" There she met the aforementioned Schwester Klara who informed her that each child delivered was to be declared "still-born," leaving it up to her as to how to "dispose" of the baby. Says Bronislaw, "She later beat my mother on the head. . . for not abiding by her instructions. . . She was then called to the Lagerarzt and he ordered her to perform infanticide if she wanted to survive. He was surprised when this small, weak woman, who he could crush with his boot, replied: 'No, never.' Why they did not kill her then, no one knows."

Her son goes on to recall Stanislawa's encounter with the notorious Dr. Mengele (who performed medical experiments on the inmates). Despite the gruesome setting, the following account is not without some humor. "When my mother opposed Mengele, who ordered her to kill babies being born in Auschwitz, he became furious. Describing this, my mother said: 'I only saw his long boots jumping back and forth. . . and I heard him shout: 'Befehl ist befehl' [an order is an order]. "Recalling these words many years later, I realized that since my mother was quite small and she had the habit of looking down when she thought about something. . . she stood with lowered eyes and saw his long boots nervously jumping in front of her.... Was this terrible murderer (he was a physician after all) trying to explain away his order to kill newborn babies? In any case, neither then nor at any other time, did he raise his murderous hand against my mother." On another occasion, Dr. Mengele entered the maternity ward. Seeing Stanislawa busy with deliveries, he said: "Mutti [Mother], you have earned a lot of money today. You must stand a beer." "How is one to understand this joke?" asks her son. "Mengele no doubt knew that the suffering inmates treated Stanislawa Leszczynska as a mother and commonly referred to her as 'Mother'. If consciously, or unconsciously, he referred to this, he at the same time showed respect to the maternal love and moral force which Stanislawa personified there."

One of the more fortunate inmates, Maria Saloman, gives us her impressions of Stanislawa: "For weeks she never had a chance to lie down. She sometimes sat down near a patient on the oven, dozed for a moment, but soon jumped up and ran to one of the moaning women. . . . When Mrs. Leszczynska first approached me, I knew that everything would be alright. I do not know why, but this was so. My baby managed to last three months in the camp, but seemed doomed to die of starvation. I was completely devoid of milk. 'Mother' somehow found two women to wet-nurse my baby, an Estonian and a Russian. To this day I do not know at what price [she did this]. My Liz owes her life to Stanislawa Leszczynska. I cannot think of her without tears coming to my eyes."

Stanislawa displayed as much common sense as courage. One survivor tells how she would procure water and, on occasions, an herbal brew which she used to wash the infants. Having to use the same water for all the babies, Stanislawa washed the healthy children followed by the sick ones so as not to infect the former. Kazimera Bogdanska explains that she was unable to nurse her tiny daughter. Nevertheless, Stanislawa informed her that she should still give the child an empty breast "so the glands would not stop working." "Mother was right," says Kazimera, "How lucky I was that I believed her. When liberty came in January 1945 and I was taken to a real hospital (since I had typhoid fever) the doctor allowed me to continue to give my child my breast devoid of milk. After some time milk returned. My daughter began to gain weight. . . . She started to become round and rosy cheeked. . . . Mother's wisdom and faith saved my only child."

Above all things it was Stanislawa's great piety which sustained her and which she always tried to impart to others. According to Maria Saloman: "Before making a delivery, [Stanislawa] made the sign of the cross and prayed. She whispered a prayer in which she sought not only help and hope, but found strength to sustain her in her inhuman toil. She worked for us alone, day after day, night after night. Without a moment's rest, without any replacement." One of the female physicians, Elzbieta Pawlowska, remembers that Stanislawa "was able to organize her prayers in such a manner that she got others to participate. . . . We would sit on the bunks. 'Mother' would start some prayer and then we would sing. We sang quietly. It was not possible otherwise. It was only a moment – some 15 or 30 minutes – but all was peaceful. There was an atmosphere she was able to create. I remember Russian women from nearby wards coming to participate."

Maria Oyrzynska says that one day, while assisting Stanislawa with a delivery, the latter took the baby, washed it, wrapped it in paper and a blanket and said: "Now the most important thing. We shall baptize the child." "I was the godmother," Maria recalls, "this was my first godchild. . . [Stanislawa] poured some water on the baby's head and said: 'I baptize you, Adam, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.' As godmother I took my responsibility very seriously and looked after Adam. Considering the camp conditions he lived relatively long. A whole three weeks."

Growing Devotion to Polish Midwife

Since she passed away in 1974, there has been growing devotion to Stanislawa Leszczynska in Poland. Pilgrimages are organized to her grave, while materials are being compiled as evidence for her process of beatification. She was commemorated in a "Chalice of Life," offered to the famous Czestochowa shrine at Jasna Gora by Polish women in May 1982, and in 1983 the Krakow School for Obstetricians was named in her honor. Numerous people have attested to favors obtained through her intercession, particularly in connection with child-birth problems. As Prof. Giertych concludes, "The life of Stanislawa Leszczynska is that of an exemplary mother and devoted midwife. Thus she is especially suited to be a patron of the fight for life against the child murderers who, just as in the concentration camps, continue to ply their deadly trade."


***
Matthew Anger is a freelance journalist who has written essays on history, philosophy and literature from a Catholic perspective. He lives with his wife and seven children in the Richmond, Virginia area, where he is employed as a web/multimedia designer. This article was also published at Seattle Catholic.


Click here to return to homepage

By Jonathan Tuttle


I feel tired way beyond my years. Well, maybe not way beyond, but beyond. What perhaps tires me more than anything is compromise. Compromise has become a way of life for modern American Catholics, and we do it so often that we hardly even recognize we're doing it any more.

Maybe that's why we all feel so tired these days, because compromise isn't just tiring—it's exhausting. The first casualty of compromise is conviction, and this lack of conviction just serves to remind us that we were too tired to fight in the first place. As far as the Church militant is concerned, sometimes the lack of will to fight is much more grueling than actually waging war.

This becomes more evident by just putting our own lives under a microscope.

We might go to the March for Life and tell people we are pro-life—some people. Some people we don't tell (our neighbor, our boss, the FedEx guy). We then congratulate ourselves on being so darn pro-life.

The morning after the march, we run out to the store. We go to Walgreens because it's cheap and it's convenient. We shop at the pharmacy that sells abortifacient drugs and Norplant patches.

We buy baby shampoo from Johnson & Johnson because they have a "no tears" formula for baby shampoo. The "no tears" slogan has become more ironic with every passing day, since this same company produces what has quaintly become known as "the pill." "The pill" should be the product that carries the "no tears" slogan. For every baby that dies from a mother inflicting this chemical abortion on her child, "no tears" are ever shed.

Except the tears from heaven, and we're not counting those.

Yes, Johnson & Johnson is a fine company. They are with you every step of the way: womb to grave, and for countless small babies, nowhere in between.

We walk down the grocery aisle and grab a six-pack of beer from Budweiser. Budweiser is a radically pro-homosexual company, sponsoring just about anything and everything having to do with the sodomite lifestyle. We could purchase Guinness, but that will run us two more dollars, and money's tight these days.

While we're there, we see a cute little Mickey Mouse hat for our baby girl, so we buy it for her. The hat was made by child slave labor in a communist country by a company that donates to Planned Parenthood, sponsors Gay Day at its theme parks, and produces virulently anti-Catholic films. But it was such a cute hat.

We get to the counter, where Cosmopolitan is sold, on which the headlines go into graphic sexual detail. We lament the fact that this magazine is sold where kids can see it. It may or may not cross our minds that there is a supermarket in town that doesn't allow this magazine in their stores. But that was another mile away, and probably meant five more minutes in line.

After using our American Express card, which donates money to Planned Parenthood, we grab our purchases and go. We drive away in our car, which is made by a company that also markets hard-core pornography, and stop at a gas station, which sells Penthouse behind the counter. There is a gas station a mile away that does not sell pornography, but then again, it is a mile away.

We come home and get on the internet. We dial up using a company that profits from "adult chat" lines, and look at our investment account at Morgan Stanley, which donates money to Planned Parenthood.

It has been a good day. Our mutual funds went up.

Of course, we push aside the fact that our mutual funds contain companies that produce and market hard-core pornography, perform chemical and surgical abortion, insure abortion healthcare coverage, and promote the homosexual agenda.

It has been a good day. Our mutual funds went up.

Maybe we're just living in an age in which we have to make compromises. How many of us make compromises so damn easily.

"This phone company might sponsor adult chat, but..."

"This healthcare provider might pay for abortions, but..."

"This company might advertise in Penthouse, but..."

There's a question maybe all of us should ask ourselves: "When is it going to be enough?" When will we pronounce these words instead:

"This company sponsors adult chat lines. Therefore, I will get a different telephone carrier."

"This healthcare provider pays for abortions. Therefore, I will find a new insurance company."

"This company advertises in Penthouse. Therefore, I will not buy products from this company any longer."

There is always the temptation to say that compromise must be made—that all companies are immoral. After all, if all companies are bad, that means that we have no responsibility to avoid any of them. But is this true? Jim Kelly, CFO of Paladin Financial Group, whose investment company helps Catholic investors avoid immoral companies, makes a startling claim. Kelly states: "Many Catholics think all companies are in some way tainted, but this simply isn't the case. Most companies, from an ethical perspective, are ethically clean. Based on our research, more than 90% of all companies pass our screening process." Paladin screens out companies involved in abortion and pornography to help their Catholic clients invest in stocks and bonds.

As economic agents in a modern economy, the responsibility of the Catholic seems to be quite obvious: make a sincere effort to find the good companies, and avoid evil ones. Only after making such an effort can we reasonably claim that we did not compromise our principles.

With over 800,000 demented men, sadistic women, and brainwashed children marching down our nation's capitol in a Luciferian death march on April 25th, there is no doubt that we are living in age in which the "worst are full of passionate intensity."

The question is whether "the best lack all conviction."

Originally published at Seattle Catholic

Click here to return to homepage

Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia has called on all people of goodwill to join him in rejecting the divisive and erroneous label that Philadelphia is now a pro-choice city.

Although they were counseled by doctors to abort all but two of the children, Ryan and Brianna knew it wasn’t even an option.

The Spanish Socialist government's support of 'Minocracy' ignores a seismic demographic shift that could rip apart the country's social fabric

By Robert Duncan

Minocracy is well and alive in Spain, and from the stench in the Moncloa vicinity one wonders if the country isn't also experiencing a case of acute indigestion.

The residence of Spain’s prime minister is in the Moncloa neighborhood. The inhabitants claim to be Socialist yet favor "Minocracy" - or the rule of the minority - by blatantly disregarding their political base and election year promises.

For example, the government appears to be more concerned about garnering the support of fringe voters, when it is not settling decade’s old scores such as the rewriting of history. In one scheme the Socialists have dredged up past horrors of the Spanish Civil War to focus on the Republican victims, while failing to acknowledge that barbarities were committed on both sides. Such legislative stunts and others - like removing statues of the Dictator Francisco Franco at midnight - tend to lessen the Socialists' credibility: after all, if a statue needs removed, why not in plain daylight?

In other areas, instead of worrying about promoting families, the Spanish government has introduced fast-track divorces and embryonic testing.

Even with respect to terrorism, the Socialists have ignored the pleas of victims and instead expressed a willingness to negotiate with ETA, ignoring that for all purposes the Basque terrorist group is actually blackmailing the Spanish state.

Logic is not this government's forte.

This is also a government that is opposed to freedom of speech, and has repeatedly attempted to censor the voice of the Catholic Church by suggesting that those who practice the Christian faith should only do so in private.

The Spanish Bishop's recently exhorted Catholics to live their faith both in private and public. The Socialist party, in turn, responded with a document that stressed its intentions of imposing a system that advocated laicism.

That Socialist document serves to further explain why this government insists that Catholic Religion Courses in public schools should no longer be under the jurisdiction of the Church. Under the Socialists’ program the teachers who would be imparting these classes could actually be people who are opposed to the Catholic faith. To understand the gravity of this, the vast majority of Spanish schools are affiliated with the Catholic Church and it is where many students receive some formation for First Communion and Confirmation, both of which the Catholic Church considers to be sacraments.

In this era of inclusiveness, the Socialist government has also included the possibility that there are religion professors teaching Islam.

This is also the government that turned a deaf ear to the million-plus persons that marched in Madrid petitioning it to not pass legislation to legalize same-sex marriages and under the guise of being inclusive allowed the very definition of marriage to be redefined. At the same time, the government ruled that judges must perform the same-sex marriages, and could not opt out on the grounds of conscientious objection. Socialist law is apparently on a higher moral plane than that of one’s conscience.

There has not been a collapse of homosexuals rushing to get married in Spain, despite very high-profile exceptions. In Madrid in 2005 there were 259 same-sex couples married, 201 of which were between men, and the remaining 58 cases between women. Interestingly, of the Gay marriages, 182 were between Spaniards, 35 were with a South American, 15 included a North American partner, while 10 were with Central Americans, seven were with Europeans, and there was one Asian.

Those figures highlight not only the apathy toward the institution of marriage on the part of the homosexual subculture, but also the government's consummate desire to seek votes in detriment of enacting legislation to foment a higher birth rate and to protect the family, not to mention its ignoring large Spanish families.

These "numerous" - or large - families need help. Help that the Socialists promised while in opposition in the form of tax incentives and subsidies. Of the over 1 million families that qualify as being numerous - having more than three children - only around 6 percent qualify for a monthly pittance of roughly 52 euros that the government provides in the form of aid. There are no real tax breaks, and certainly no incentives on par with other developed countries to encourage families to have more children. Instead, the government promises that in January electricity rates will rise 6 percent across the board - once again punishing those with large families in an exorbitant manner.

Furthermore, instead of providing incentives to help Spaniards have more children, the current government is playing peek-a-boo with a seismic demographic shift that will rip apart its social fabric. According to a recent report, immigrants will represent over 25 percent of the population by 2050, sharply higher than the current 8.5 percent.

With the country becoming increasingly dependant upon immigration and one of the world’s lowest birthrates, the government absurdly turns a blind eye to the active abortion tourist trade operating in Madrid and Barcelona, and where the price includes airline fare, abortion and hotel. No word if the drinks are on the house. Even the Dutch and English have been appalled at the ease with which late-term pregnant women can get an abortion in Spain - the flashing of money can almost always find a willing doctor to forge a document that the pregnancy had to be terminated as it was a risk to the woman.

It's not surprising that under such a hodgepodge of a platform that one can find an abundance of misguided politically correct measures throughout Spain: from renaming a public school to not offend Muslim students - which had the audacity to have been inaugurated with the name of a past Pope - to ridding school calendars of Christmas celebrations.

It smells like sulphur around Spain's PM's residence. And it's not just the nearby sewage construction contributing to the fine fragrance.

This article was originally published in Spero News, and various other sites.

Robert Duncan is a journalist and ombudsman for foreign press in Spain. He is an Executive Board Member and Vice-President for the Organización de Periodismo y Comunicación Ibero-Americana, and Vice-President of the energy and telecommunications association, APSCE. He is News Editor for Spero News, and Editor-In-Chief of EnerPub. More of his writings can be found here, as well as at the Santificarnos website.

He has also been published in World Catholic News, National Catholic Register, Renew America, Lifesite.net, as well as Capital Hill Coffee House, Common Conservative, The Conservative Voice, Enter Stage Right, News By Us, Conservative Crusader, World Net Daily, Mens News Daily and others. Robert was the bureau chief for an international news agency in Madrid for many years, and was published regularly in Dow Jones Newswires, with articles appearing in The Wall Street Journal.

(CNA).- The Socialist Prime Minister of Portugal, Jose Socrates, conceded late on Sunday that despite his party’s tremendous efforts to grant broader access to abortion in the country, a pro-abortion referendum has failed to pass due to insufficient voter participation.

With nearly all the votes counted, the referendum, which would have legalized abortion for whatever reason, up until the 10th week of pregnancy, had gained 58 % of the vote. The other 42% of voters came out against the proposal.

However, despite a multi-million dollar campaign on the part of the abortion industry and the socialist government, only 44% of the country’s 8.9 million registered voters participated. Under Portuguese law, a referendum must involve over half of the country’s registered voters in order to pass.

Socrates, for his part, says he will remain undeterred in his quest to change the law in Portugal. With the failure of his referendum, the Prime Minister has vowed to legalize abortion by way of parliament, a body over which his Socialist party holds strong control.

Under current law, abortion is allowed only in cases of rape, fetal malformation, or if the mother's health is in danger, and only in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

This is the second referendum proposed by pro-abortion groups in Portugal in less than 10 years. In 1998, a majority of Portuguese voters rejected a similar proposal, though that referendum was declared void due to low turnout as well. Following the 1998 referendum’s failure, a systematic pro-abortion campaign was initiated, directed especially at the country’s youth.

The American Jewish Committee mourns the passing of the Rev. Robert Drinan, a respected Jesuit priest, brilliant legal scholar and teacher, effective political leader, and beloved friend of the Jewish people and Israel.

"Robert Drinan was a Righteous Christian of our generation, and I had the joy of working with him for many years," said Rabbi James Rudin, AJC's senior interreligious adviser.

"Drinan passionately believed in the promise of the Second Vatican Council and its call for positive Catholic-Jewish relations," Rudin said.

During his illustrious career, as a priest and later as a member of Congress, he was a cherished ally of the American Jewish Committee on a host of vital issues.

"Drinan was a relentless foe of all forms of anti-Semitism and a life-long supporter of Israel, deeply committed to the Jewish state's survival and security," said Rudin.

Drinan was a founder, in 1972, of the National Interreligious Task Force on Soviet Jewry, an international leader in behalf of human rights and religious liberty, and a staunch supporter of the State of Israel. His book, Honor The Promise: America's Commitment to Israel, is a testament to Catholic understanding of and support for the Jewish state.

(CNA).- Fr. Robert Drinan, the only priest ever elected as a voting member of Congress, died peacefully Sunday at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington; he was 86.

According to the Associated Press, Fr. Drinan had suffered from pneumonia and congestive heart failure during the previous 10 days.

The Jesuit ran for elected office in 1970, over the objections of his superiors, on an anti-war platform. The priest, who urged the Catholic Church to condemn the Vietnam war as "morally objectionable", was said to consider politics a natural extension of his work in public affairs and human rights.

But his 10 years as a representative of Massachusetts was not without controversy. The priest-politician spoke and voted in favor of access to abortion.

He also opposed the draft and worked to abolish mandatory retirement. He became the first member of Congress to call for the impeachment of Richard Nixon in view of the administration's bombing of Cambodia.

Fr. Drinan left office in 1980, after Pope John Paul II issued a directive barring priests from holding public office.

However, he continued his activism and served as president of Americans for Democratic Action, giving speeches nationwide on hunger, civil liberties, and the arms race. In 1996 Fr. Drinan made waves by speaking in support of President Bill Clinton’s veto of the partial birth abortion ban.

Prior to his political career, Fr. Drinan was the dean of the Boston College Law School from 1956 to 1970. During the 1960s, he called for the desegregation of public schools and urged students to become involved in civil rights.

In the 1990s, the priest testified against the impeachment of Clinton, saying that impeachment should be for an official act, not a private one.

He had received more than 20 honorary degrees in his lifetime.