Homily given by the Very Reverend Father, Greg Maturi, O.P. on Sunday, Jan. 17th at St. Dominic's in Youngstown Ohio:
This Friday, several hundred thousand people will march in Washington DC in the Pro-Life March. They have done so every year for the past 36 years. They march because in this great country of ours, babies are being sacrificed simply for the sake of convenience. Those who march love this great country of ours. And as with the prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading, for the sake of this country they will not be silent, they will not be quiet. They will not be silent as long as our government calls a constitutional right that which is manifestly evil.
Yes, it’s sad that in this great country of ours, the evil of abortion has darkened the minds of so many. Our country has overcome evil in the past. One thinks of the great evil of slavery. The parallels between slavery and abortion are stunning. It’s as if history is repeating itself. 150 years ago, in 1857 the supreme court of the US passed the Dred Scott decision which held that slaves are not citizens and therefore not protected by the constitution. The president of the US at the time, James Buchanan, had hoped that the supreme court decision would finally put to rest the slavery issue. But it did not. In fact, it made it worse. The decision so upset good people, that they formed a new political party in opposition to slavery. They called the new party the Republican party. In 1860, the Republican party nominated for president a senator from Illinois named Abraham Lincoln. During his campaign to become the 16th president of the United States, Lincoln debated with the Democrat senator from Illinois, Stephen Douglas, who along with the Democrat party, defended slavery. The transcript of their debates illustrates the parallel between slavery and abortion.
During their debates, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech at Cooper Union in NYC where he defended the Republican position against slavery. The speech is well worth the read. In that speech, Lincoln used the US constitution, and the voting record of the founding fathers, to make his case. He denounced the Dred Scott decision as wrong and non binding.
In reply, Stephen Douglas, representing the Democrat party, held that slavery should not only be permitted, but that it is morally acceptable, socially elevating, and should have national recognition as a legal right and a social blessing. But the parallel between slavery and abortion goes even deeper. As in today’s Republican party, so in Lincoln’s time, a certain faction of the Republican party known as “Copperheads” did not want to deal with the issue of slavery. They were more concerned about keeping political peace than ending slavery.
History has shown them to be wrong, dead wrong.
History will do the same for those who do not stand up against abortion today.
Today’s situation is not all that different from then. We are faced with a grave evil that cries to the Lord for vindication. And so today we look to the Lord for grace. We come to Jesus here in the Eucharist, just as Mary came to him at the wedding of Cana. We seek his wisdom and strength. We seek his power to transform the hearts of those in elected office who stubbornly refuse to accept the truth about human life in the womb.
Still, we know that the battle against abortion is ultimately a spiritual battle. And so we look to the Holy Spirit. It is He, St Paul says in today’s 2nd reading, who gives each of us the spiritual gifts we need. We ask the Holy Spirit to give us His gifts. And as we use those gifts to stand against evil, then we will be able to proclaim authentically, in the words of today’s psalmist, God’s marvelous deeds, one of which is this great country of ours.
God Bless America!
It is also worth noting that both Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade passed with the Supreme Court rule of 7 to 2.
Also, in 1857 the U.S. Supreme Court declared that blacks are "...a subordinate and inferior class of beings..." [Dred] Scott v. Sandford.
The Supreme Court similarly said in 1973, "The word 'person' in the XIV Amendment does not include the unborn." Roe v. Wade
Science continues to claim otherwise.
Read Dr. Alveda King on abortion:
Planned Parenthood, Stop Lying about My Uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!
"Please visit www.priestsforlife.org/africanamerican and view the Martin Luther King, Jr. PDF about Planned Parenthood. My uncle didn’t even attend their awards ceremony. He didn’t write the speech. Could a man who warned against the evils of infantacide in his Letter From A Birmingham Jail; who said “the Negro cannot win if he is willing to sacrifice the future of his children for immediate personal comfort and safety,” whose father was staunchly prolife; who said “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere support abortion and killer chemicals called “safe” birth control? Dr. King did support natural family planning. He did teach youth to live purposeful lives. He did not and would not support abortion and sterilization! Planned Parenthood tricked me into having secret abortions which hurt me and killed my babies. They lied to my uncle, Dr. King. How can the dream survive if we murder our children?
Read on to view more of their trickery in their media release!"
Sadly, racism continues to be a reality in our country, yet many do not recognize the most brutal face of racism - abortion. Here is one man who knows the truth:
"The most dangerous place for an African American to be is in the womb of their African American mother." Rev, Clenard H Childress Jr
www.blackgenocide.org