Connect with us

Politics

Frank Pavone: Anniversary of an Important Document Regarding Abortion and the Meaning of Democracy

Published

5 months ago

on

Guest Post by Pro-life Leader Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life

One of the most striking, bold and sobering paragraphs ever written about the impact of abortion on the common good is the 20th paragraph of St. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), which is marking its 30th anniversary on March 25.

It is a great antidote for the thinking that says we can be served by “pro-choice” lawmakers because “their other positions are good.” It’s easy to start counting the positions we think a politician has “right” but that’s a very superficial and flawed way of doing moral analysis. It’s like saying to a supporter of terrorism, “I disagree with you on the one issue of terrorism, but what’s your health care plan?”

Paragraph 20 of Evangelium Vitae starts by showing the radical and practical impossibility of living with the implications of “pro-choice.” Human rights are all connected – precisely by our humanity. And the exercise of human rights is completely dependent upon being alive. If the right to life is protected on any other basis than the simple fact that one is human, then it – and the other rights that depend on it – are no longer human rights. As the Pope says, “At that point, everything is negotiable, everything is open to bargaining.”

The Pope then takes aim at the erroneous idea that if abortion has been legalized according to proper democratic procedures, then that’s all that matters. He says, “The appearance of the strictest respect for legality is maintained …. Really, what we have here is only the tragic caricature of legality; the democratic ideal, which is only truly such when it acknowledges and safeguards the dignity of every human person, is betrayed in its very foundations: How is it still possible to speak of the dignity of every human person when the killing of the weakest and most innocent is permitted?”

Along with this, he has some of the strongest words ever written about what happens when the state legalizes abortion:

“In this way democracy, contradicting its own principles, effectively moves towards a form of totalitarianism. The State is no longer the ‘common home’ where all can live together on the basis of principles of fundamental equality, but is transformed into a tyrant State, which arrogates to itself the right to dispose of the life of the weakest and most defenseless members … When this happens, the process leading to the breakdown of a genuinely human co-existence and the disintegration of the State itself has already begun. To claim the right to abortion, infanticide and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others. This is the death of true freedom.”

Fortunately, as I write this, we have a pro-life president and a pro-life majority House and Senate. The results of the 2024 elections, like the words of St. John Paul II above, are a clear repudiation of what the pro-abortion Democrats think of the meaning of “defending democracy.”

But we can’t be fooled into thinking that the abortion extremism of the Democrat party has been vanquished. Sure, California Gov. Gavin Newsom invited pro-life conservative Charlie Kirk to be a guest on his podcast, but the Democrat governor still sees his state as an abortion destination and maintains a stockpile of deadly abortion pills.

And yes, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans to avert a government shutdown but not too long ago he led the charge to block a vote on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, calling the bill “the very definition of pernicious.” Somehow, in the minds of the Democrats, it is harmful to provide basic life-saving care for a newborn who outlives an abortionist’s attempt on his life.

The Democrats give much lip service to defending democracy, but in reality, the party was behind the state ballot amendments that – in an end run around the fruits of the democratic process there over many years – allowed the killing to resume in Missouri. Most babies had been protected by law in that state, and the new amendment will certainly lead to more deaths by abortion.

By writing about “The disintegration of the State itself…totalitarianism…the death of true freedom,” St. John Paul very clearly stated that democracy cannot flourish in a society where the murder of the unborn is a legally sanctioned, day-to-day occurrence.

Prolife Leader Frank Pavone is the National Director of Priests for Life and President of Prolife Vote.

The post Frank Pavone: Anniversary of an Important Document Regarding Abortion and the Meaning of Democracy appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Politics

Victor Reacts: This Is Almost Too Stupid to Be True – NYC Transgender Homeless Shelter (VIDEO)

Published

22 hours ago

on

August 9, 2025

By

Democrats continue to somehow subvert the lowest of expectations as they fight their woke crusades.

In a first ever virtue signal, New York City is set to open a transgender only homeless shelter.

The Gateway Pundit reported,

The city of New York is opening the nation’s first transgender-only homeless shelter.

The shelter, a partnership between a local LGBTQ nonprofit and the city government, will cost the city an extraordinary $65 million and will be the first transgender homeless shelter in the nation.

“ We’ve watched so many other corporations and foundations and businesses just like completely turn their back on the community and the city didn’t do it,” said Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, the nonprofit that will manage the shelter for the city.

“The city is keeping in line with what New York City has always been, a sanctuary city, a safe haven, but more importantly, a trendsetter when it comes to LGBTQ rights.”

The opening comes amid a broader homelessness crisis in New York City, where more than 100,000 people are estimated to be without stable housing on any given night.

The city’s shelter system is already stretched thin, with demand rising due to a combination of economic hardship, an influx of illegal aliens ,and a severe shortage of affordable housing.

Who cares about all the other homeless people in New York City each night, the transgender homeless come first.

Truth has become stranger than parody. With any luck, Democrats will continue down this path of self destruction that has been so thoroughly rejected by the American people.

The post Victor Reacts: This Is Almost Too Stupid to Be True – NYC Transgender Homeless Shelter (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Continue Reading

Politics

Suspect in Deadly Montana Bar Shooting Captured After a Weeklong Manhunt

Published

22 hours ago

on

August 9, 2025

By

A weeklong manhunt has come to a close with the apprehension of Michael Paul Brown, a 45-year-old Army veteran, following a fatal mass shooting at The Owl Bar in Anaconda.

On August 1, 2025, at approximately 10:30 a.m., Brown entered The Owl Bar, where he lived next door, and opened fire with a rifle, killing four local residents: bartender Nancy Lauretta Kelley (64) and patrons Daniel Edwin Baillie (59), David Allen Leach (70), and Tony Wayne Palm (74).

A multi-agency effort, including state law enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service, and federal resources, scoured the mountainous terrain surrounding Anaconda. Helicopters, K9 units, and tactical teams were deployed across the region.

A reward of $7,500 to $10,000 was offered for information leading to Brown’s capture.

On Friday, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte confirmed Brown’s arrest via social media, acknowledging the rapid and resolute law enforcement response.

“The Anaconda shooter Michael Brown has been apprehended. Incredible response from law enforcement officers across Montana. Thank you to all partners for your commitment to the search. May God continue to be with the families of the four victims still grieving their loss,” Gianforte.

CNN reported:

Brown had been on the run since the “biggest” shooting in the state of Montana in a decade. He was arrested around 2 p.m. local time Friday near the search area in Anaconda and is now in the custody of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County authorities, according to the Montana Department of Justice.

Brown, an Army veteran, was seen on security footage fleeing The Owl Bar, where the fatal shooting occurred, investigators said. Since then, he had been sought by authorities representing at least 38 local, state and federal agencies traversing challenging terrain in the western Montana wilderness.

“I am proud of the unrelenting law enforcement effort this week to find and arrest Michael Paul Brown. The support we’ve seen for the community of Anaconda from across the state and the nation has also been remarkable,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said in a statement following the arrest. “The families and friends of the victims remain in my prayers.”

[…]

Brown served as an armor crewman in the US Army from January 2001 to May 2005 and was deployed to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005, Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, a spokesperson with the US Army, previously told CNN.

Brown’s niece, Clare Boyle, previously told CNN he struggled with his mental health during his time in the Army and was never the same after his service. Brown’s mental health got progressively worse with the passing of both of his parents, Boyle said.

The post Suspect in Deadly Montana Bar Shooting Captured After a Weeklong Manhunt appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Continue Reading

Politics

WATCH: Fire Ravages World-Famous Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain

Published

22 hours ago

on

August 9, 2025

By

Fire breaks out in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Cordoba.

More than a tourist attraction, more than an architectural treasure, the Mosque-Cathedral in the Andalusian city of Cordoba, Spain is a historical monument and a spiritual center – so, all around the world, both the faithful and the history lovers are mourning as a massive fire consumes the building complex.

Newsweek reported:

“Firefighters are responding to the blaze at the major tourist attraction and UNESCO-listed heritage site in Andalusia. Footage shows thick smoke billowing out from the millennia-old building as flames lapped at its roof.

Firefighters from the city of Córdoba are still battling to extinguish the fire at the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba but local reports say the blaze is mostly contained as of 10 p.m. local time. The extent of damage is not yet clear.”

Being simultaneously one of the most significant buildings both in Islamic and in Christian architectural history, it began as a grand mosque in the 8th century and was transformed into a cathedral in 1236.

“The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, officially called the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, was built as a mosque over 200 years starting 785 CE. The mosque opened in 988 CE, and remained a Muslim site for nearly 300 years before the Christian conquest of Cordoba in 1236 CE.

The structure converted to a cathedral, undergoing additional modifications and building until one final, major addition in 1607 CE.”

Read more, from November 2024:

‘The Virgin of Paris’: Medieval Statue of the Virgin Mary With Baby Jesus, That Survived the 2019 Fire, Is Returned to the Notre Dame Cathedral Ahead of December Grand Reopening

The post WATCH: Fire Ravages World-Famous Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Continue Reading

Trending