Priests for Life
 | |
| Abbreviation | PFL |
|---|---|
| Established | 1990 |
| Type | NGO, Private Association of the Faithful |
| Headquarters | Staten Island, New York |
National Director | Fr. Frank Pavone |
| Website | http://www.priestsforlife.org/ |
Priests For Life (PFL) is a Roman Catholic pro-life organization based in Staten Island, New York. It functions as a network to promote and coordinate pro-life activism with the primary strategic goal of ending abortion and euthanasia and to spread the Gospel of Life according to the Evangelium Vitae encyclical written by Pope John Paul II.
History
Priests for Life came about in 1990 through the work Father Lee Kaylor,[1] a Roman Catholic priest serving in the Archdiocese of San Francisco; Fr Kaylor found out about a new piece of legislation being proposed in Sacramento, California which he felt went against the pro-life cause - his response was to write to all the other Roman Catholic priests in California, along with his two friends Fr. Frank Felice and Fr. Voight Emmerick, trying to galvanize further opposition to the legislation.[2] Sending the letter turned out to be an auspicious move, as Fr. Kaylor received in response a large number of positive letters and financial contributions to his cause.[2] Encouraged by this, he decided to establish a group which would serve to co-ordinate pro-life action by the clergy both nationally and more effectively[1] - this too met with highly positive feedback, so much so that Fr. Kaylor went to Archbishop John R. Quinn to seek canonical approval for the group.[2] Priests for Life was subsequently approved and granted official approbation as a Private Association of the Faithful on 30 April 1994 and listed in the Official Catholic Directory.[1][2]
In 2003, it was granted non-governmental organization status by the United Nations.
Status
While primary membership is for Catholic bishops, priests and deacons, there is also a lay auxiliary membership, as it has the canonical status of a Private Association of the Christian Faithful.[3] It has about 60 full-time paid employees. Its national director is Father Frank Pavone. Priests for Life exists primarily in order to show the clergy how to fight the culture of death.[4]
On August 1, 2012, there was a Special Order on the floor of the United States Congress headed by Representative Michele Bachmann, noting the 20th anniversary of Priests for Life and the importance of Priests for Life in the world today. There were six members of Congress who spent 35 minutes (collectively) speaking about the work of Priests for Life. These six Representatives of Congress included Rep. Chris Smith, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, Rep. Jean Schmidt, Rep. Louie Gohmert, and Rep. Tim Walberg. C-SPAN broadcast the Special Order live. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
HHS Contraception Mandate Lawsuit
On February 15, 2012, Priests for Life filed a lawsuit against the contraception mandate because the organization (Priests For Life) feels that the Health and Human Services ruling is unconstitutional on many levels.[12][13][14] The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.[15]
Timeline of Events:
- April 12, 2013 The court dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice, allowing Priests for Life to file a new lawsuit once the revised regulations are finalized. The same was being done with most of the other religious non-profit cases.[16]
- August 19, 2013 Priests for Life filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the HHS mandate as applied to nonprofit religious organizations.[17][18][19]
- September 19, 2013 Priests for Life filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, seeking to halt the enforcement of the HHS mandate while the case proceeds through litigation. The district court consolidated Priests for Life’s motion for a preliminary injunction with a ruling on the merits, directing Priests for Life to also file a motion for summary judgment.[19]
- October 1, 2013 Priests for Life filed its motion for summary judgment, requesting that the court permanently halt the enforcement of the HHS mandate.[20]
- October 17, 2013 The government opposed Priests for Life’s motion and filed its own motion to dismiss.
- December 9, 2013 The district court heard oral argument on the parties’ motions.[21]
- December 19, 2013 The district court issued its decision denying Priests for Life’s motion and granting the government’s motion to dismiss.[22]
- December 19, 2013 Priests for Life filed its notice of appeal with U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”).
- December 20, 2013 Priests for Life filed an emergency motion for an injunction, seeking to halt the enforcement of the HHS mandate while the case proceeds through the appeal process.[23]
- December 31, 2013 The D.C. Circuit granted Priests for Life’s emergency motion, halting the enforcement of the HHS mandate pending resolution of the appeal. The D.C. Circuit also expedited the appeal.[23]
- February 28, 2014 Priests for Life filed its opening brief in the D.C. Circuit.[24]
- April 11, 2014 Priests for Life filed its reply brief in the D.C. Circuit, thereby completing the briefing.[24]
- May 8, 2014 Oral argument scheduled before a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit.[25][26][27]
- November 6, 2015 The Supreme Court agreed to review the case, which it combined with six other similar challenges to the Health and Human Services' Contraceptive Mandate.[28][29]
- November 17, 2015 All cases consolidated under David Zubik v. Burwell. Briefs scheduled for January 4, 2016.[30]
Graphic images
The Priests for Life organization provides an extensive collection of photos of live babies as well as aborted babies, via the internet.[31] Its photos have also appeared in print.[32] According to Pavone: "There is no single thing that I have seen more powerful to change people on abortion than simply showing them the pictures....When people see what abortion does to a baby, they are stung to the heart and their consciences are awakened."[33]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 "History of Priests for Life". Priests for Life. Archived from the original on 24 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 DeStefano, Anthony (January–February 2001). "How Did Priests For Life Start?". Priests for Life Newsletter 11 (1). Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ↑ "Canon Law Excerpt" priestsforlife.org
- ↑ PFL Web Site: Purpose.
- ↑ Special Order of Congress: Start on Page H5623
- ↑ http://www.priestsforlife.org/video/c-span-chris-smith-clip.flv
- ↑ http://www.priestsforlife.org/video/c-span-full-clip.flv
- ↑ http://www.priestsforlife.org/video/c-span-michele-bachmann-clip.flv
- ↑ "A Message from Priests for Life". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ "A Message from Priests for Life". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ "A Message from Priests for Life". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ "Priests for Life to file lawsuit against US government". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ "EWTN, Priests for Life File Suit Against Obama Mandate". LifeNews.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ "Priests for Life Begins New Lawsuit Against Contraception Mandate". ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ http://www.priestsforlife.org/hhsmandate/priests-for-life-v-sebelius.pdf
- ↑ "TV and Radio Interviews". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ http://www.priestsforlife.org/pdf/complaint-priests-for-life-v-dhhs.pdf
- ↑ Catholic Online. "Priests for Life Files New Lawsuit Against Obamacare, Sponsors Webcast". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- 1 2 "Priests for Life v. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services". American Freedom Law Center. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ http://www.americanfreedomlawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/caseapps/d83c884c3907e6e4e19e29911ecac3147b1f3154.pdf
- ↑ Shannon Bream. "Religious organizations challenge contraception mandate in federal court". Fox News. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ http://www.priestsforlife.org/hhsmandate/13-12-31-order-granting-injunction.pdf
- 1 2 http://www.americanfreedomlawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/caseapps/43b3c10fc76d1e28a1076c93c60020db9f83a16a.pdf
- 1 2 http://www.americanfreedomlawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Opening-Brief-Filed.pdf
- ↑ "AFLC’s Lawsuit against the HHS Mandate". American Freedom Law Center. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ "Priests: HHS Law Violates Our 'Reason for Existence'". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ EWTN News Report: AFLC's Contraception Mandate Challenge. YouTube. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ↑ http://www.christiantoday.com/article/supreme.court.to.hear.nuns.complaint.on.obamacare.contraceptive.mandate/69923.htm
- ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/06/politics/supreme-court-obamacare-contraception-mandate/index.html
- ↑ Zubik v. Burwell; Scotus Blog; November 2015
- ↑ Images at PFL web site.
- ↑ Balkin, Jack. What Roe V. Wade Should Have Said: the nation's top legal experts rewrite America's most controversial decision, page 218 et seq. (NYU Press 2005).
- ↑ White, Hilary and Jalsevac, Steve. "Use of Graphic Abortion Photos Strongly Defended by Pro-Life Leaders", LifeSiteNews.com (2007-07-20).