Office of Pro-life Activities Melinda Knight, Director 144 West Wood Street Youngstown, OH 44503 Phone: 330-744-8451, ext. 289 Fax: 330-744-2848 Click the logo above to contact Congress The purpose of the Office of Pro-life Activities is to provide information and educational opportunities to Catholic parishes, groups, and schools, and to the general community, on the Pro-life teaching of the Catholic Church, focusing on: The sacred dignity of human life Abortion and post-abortion reconciliation Euthanasia and assisted suicide The death penalty Natural Family Planning and pro-life chastity Related life Issues The Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus' message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as "good news" to the people of every age and culture… Today this proclamation is especially pressing because of the extraordinary increase and gravity of threats to the life of individuals and peoples, especially where life is weak and defenseless…To all the members of the Church, the people of life and for life, I make this most urgent appeal, that together we may offer this world of ours new signs of hope…that a new culture of human life will be affirmed, for the building of an authentic civilization of truth and love. Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 1-6 Educational Opportunities: As a means of assisting parish and school ministers and catechists, the Office of Pro-life Activities provides and coordinates presentations for: Grade school & high school classes Youth groups Adult education RCIA sessions Confirmation classes Catechist/faculty training Parish associations Resources: The Office of Pro-life Activities will recommend and provide educational materials, as well as materials for planning opportunities for prayer, service, or political advocacy on behalf of human life. Copies of the following documents may be ordered through the Office of Pro-life Activities: Evangelium Vitae, On the Value and Inviolability of Human Life; John Paul II, 1995; cost $5 Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics; U.S. Catholic Bishops, 1998; cost $2 Pastoral Plan for Pro-life Activities: A Campaign in Support of Life; U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2001; cost $1 Donum Vitae, Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 1987; cost $3 Humanae Vitae, On the Regulation of Birth; Pope Paul VI, 1968; cost $2 Nutrition and Hydration: Moral and Pastoral Reflections; N.C.C.B. Committee for Pro-life Activities, 1992; cost $2 Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, 4th Edition; U.S. Catholic Bishops, 2001; cost $2 Parish Pro-life Committees: The Office of Pro-life Activities assists parish pro-life committees in getting started, taking simple actions to raise awareness, and planning opportunities for education, political advocacy, service and prayer. Project Rachel: Pastoral Counseling/Post-abortion Reconciliation A program of Catholic Charities Regional Agency Both before and after abortion, feelings of fear, anxiety, guilt, panic and pressure are common-not only for the woman who undergoes the abortion, but also for the father of the unborn child, the grandparents, close friends, and even medical personnel. Post-Abortion Counseling represents a means to receive the healing grace of peace. It allows you to move toward reconciliation with yourself, your unborn child, your family, and God, in a caring and hopeful context. For more information contact: Sister Pauline Dalpe, O.S.U. (Licensed Counselor) 1-800-670-6089 or 330-788-8726 ProLifeAlert Email Network We encourage all citizens, particularly Catholics, to embrace their citizenship not merely as a duty and privilege, but as an opportunity meaningfully to participate in building the culture of life. United States Bishops, Living the Gospel of Life: A Challenge to American Catholics To assist Catholics in living out the call to build a culture of life through acts of faithful citizenship, the Office of Pro-life Activities has created the ProLifeAlert Email Network. Several times a year before a critical vote, network members will receive email asking them to contact our elected officials with a pro-life message. It's easy and it can make all the difference! Sign up for ProLifeAlert Email Network The Human Life Guild Founded by Bishop Tobin in 1999, the purpose of the Human Life Guild is to be an organization of individuals who are willing to 'promote and defend human life, at every stage, in every condition, through thought, work, deed, and prayer.' Membership includes no other obligation. All persons who join the Guild receive a certificate of membership signed by the Bishop. Members also receive a semi-annual newsletter and are invited to participate in various special events. All are invited to attend the 6th Annual Human Life Guild Prayer Breakfast on Saturday October 2, 9:30 a.m. at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, 2759 North Lipkey Road, North Jackson, OH. Bishop Tobin will preside at Morning Prayer. Keynote speaker is Mary Jane Owen, Director of Disabled Catholics in Action, Washington, DC. Cost is $10 per person. For reservations, contact the Office of Pro-Life Activities 330-744-8451 or click here for a reservation form. Human Life Guild Application (For new members only) Click Here for Adobe Acrobat download   Links The following websites provide excellent information on pro-life issues: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Pro-life Activities www.usccb.org/prolife/index.htm The Second Look Project www.secondlookproject.org Project Rachel www.hopeafterabortion.com Natural Family Planning www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/nfp International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide www.internationaltaskforce.org Do No Harm: The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics www.stemcellresearch.org Americans to Ban Cloning www.cloninginformation.org U.S.C.C.B. Secretariat for Social Development & World Peace www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/criminal/cappunishment.htm National Committee for a Human Life Amendment: Download Area www.nchla.org