Jeanne Mancini Op-Ed in the Washington Times
Ahead of Saturday’s canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, March for Life President Jeanne Manini had an op-ed published in the Washington Times on Mother Teresa’s life and legacy.
Canonizing Mother Teresa for her exaltation of life
Hillary’s encounter for a future saint didn’t quench her passion for abortion
“Please don’t kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child.”
These moving words from Mother Teresa’s speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1997, a few months before her death, epitomized the deeply personal empathy the world came to admire her for during her lifetime. As we prepare to celebrate her canonization however, it is almost impossible to ignore the contrast between her message of love and life and a political culture that asks Americans to revel in abortion.
“I wanted a family but it was the wrong time,” said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America as she joyfully spoke to the Democratic National convention floor before a national audience in July. Rather than pleas for consideration and mercy, we are now subject to mainstream politics that asks women to “shout” their abortions as a normal and even positive action.
It has been said that the Holy Spirit raises up certain public saints, with a particular gift for a specific moment in history. Against the backdrop of having lost 57 million Americans to abortion since it was legalized in the United States, living in a culture where HBO runs a series aimed at normalizing abortion, and facing a presidential candidate who once said abortion should be safe, legal and rare now advocating abortion on demand at any time in pregnancy paid for by taxpayer dollars, our “shout your abortion” world needs the antidote of Mother Teresa’s gift of love and human dignity more than ever.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta understood the inherent dignity of the human person in a profound way. She saw Christ in every person she encountered — from the president of the United States to the addicted, sick, elderly person dying in one of the shelters she founded. She had the habit of pausing whenever she greeted anyone because she was greeting Christ in the person first. Her heart ached for the poor. She sought to satiate what she believed was God’s thirst by loving the poor. Interestingly this saint wasn’t known for being “nice” — certainly not politically correct — but rather for being radically faithful to God and her call to love the poorest of the poor, even when that meant conflict and challenge. She did not mince words and was single-focused in her mission.http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/31/canonizing-mother-teresa-for-her-exaltation-of-lif/
