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Last Friday Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, President of Human Life International since 2000, announced to his friends that he had been invited by his bishop (Most Rev. Gerald Barbarito) to return to his home diocese of West Palm Beach. HLI has chosen an interim President and is looking for a permanent replacement for Fr. Euteneur.

Several readers have contacted me and asked if there is more to the story. Some commenters have said Fr. Euteneuer’s departure was abrupt and unexpected. I don’t have any inside information on this one, but what I have access to publicly suggests that there isn’t anything questionable about the situation.

Priests who are incardinated in a diocese always serve outside the diocese at the pleasure of their bishop, and the diocese always has “first rights” to their priestly ministry. Despite the Diocese of Palm Beach’s rocky past, the diocese’ recent public statements suggest Bishop Barbarito is a good bishop and it is not surprising that he might want as excellent and energetic a priest as Fr. Euteneuer back home for a time so that he can contribute to the life of the diocese. We live in a time when amazing priests are a precious resource, and just like a priest must be obedient to the needs of his diocese, we must be obedient to the needs of the universal church.

Most revealing to me are Fr. Euteneur’s own words:

“…my discernment about this decision tells me that this is the right thing for me to do and at the right time. I have great peace about the road that lies ahead and about all that has been accomplished up to this point.”

Please join me in praying for Fr. Euteneur as he begins a new stage in his priestly vocation, and pray for the good work of Human Life International as they search for a new President.

Some of the recent topics I’ve discussed on the APP blog have some definite relevance to papists:

• GOP reminds President about abortion-spending promise (Remember that executive order preventing abortions with public funding? The President sure doesn’t want us to.)
• Planned Parenthood begins campaign requiring health insurers to hand out contraception (Thanks to the passage of Obamacare, your tax dollars at work in new ways.)
• Gov. Mitch Daniels mistakenly attempts to separate economic from social conservatism (Possible 2012 GOP Presidential candidate suggested there should be a national “truce” on social issues. Sorry Mitch, that’s not what the babies need.)

We’ve spent a good deal of time observing the activities of Sister Carol Keehan during and after the passage of Obamacare. We’ve also spent some time looking at the Knights of Columbus and their policy of refusing to expel pro-abortion politicians from their ranks.

Now it appears that Sr. Keehan has been pressured off the board of a hospital run by another prominent Catholic organization – the Knights of Malta:

Sister Carol Keehan, President of the US Catholic Health Association, has been pressured off the prestigious Holy Family Hospital Foundation board over her support for the federal health care bill. Sr. Keehan, in opposition to the United States bishops, was a key supporter of the abortion-expanding bill – so much so that she was given one of the 21 ceremonial pens President Obama used to sign the measure into law. The hospital is a work of a Catholic Order known as the Knights of Malta. (LifeSiteNews)

The details of Sr. Keehan’s departure are somewhat murky. For instance, it is not clear if the leadership of the Knights of Malta asked Keehan to resign, or if she did so of her own accord once she was made aware of the displeasure among some of the Knights over her association with their hospital.

Nevertheless, let’s notice the end result: Sr. Keehan is no longer causing scandal by overseeing a hospital administered by a venerable pro-life organization. I’m sure there are experienced people who can fill the vacancy she leaves, so the mission of the hospital is not inhibited by her absence. And, most importantly, the world didn’t end. Life goes on.

The difference is that Sr. Keehan isn’t where she shouldn’t be.

I am seriously impressed by the unique pro-life art of Camille Allen:

She even manages to make the phrase “babies for sale” not sound so mercenary.

This little story from England warms the heart:

Marie Boswell expected to get the latest information about the status of her unborn child from her physician. In a rare ultrasound picture showing her baby giving her a thumbs up, she got a progress report from the baby boy himself.

Bosworth was stunned by the ultrasound photo of her 20-week-old unborn baby giving her the popular sign when everything’s all right.

“It was really funny,” the 35-year-old mother said of the ultrasound picture she had at Wythenshawe Hospital, near her home in Manchester.

She told the London Daily Mail newspaper, “I went to the scan with my friend and my mum and we were all just laughing. He was giving us the thumbs up, it was just so clear.”

“We couldn’t believe it. I have big hands, but nothing on the scale of his,” she told the newspaper. “We’re thinking he might make a good goalkeeper. I’ve never seen a scan like this before – but we love it.” (LifeNews)

Elsewhere in England:

A TV advertisement giving advice on unplanned pregnancy and explaining how to get an abortion will be aired for the first time next week in the U.K.

The advertisement, paid for by the Maria Stopes Organization, which is a non-governmental group specializing in sexual and reproductive health, is aimed at breaking one of society’s last taboos. (FoxNews)

And if that abrupt transition felt jarring … it was meant to.

The Knights have been proactive in responding to the critique I published earlier this week, and Patrick S. Korten, Vice President for Communications at the KofC Supreme Council has provided me with a statement which I am happy to publish. Here is the first part:

The Knights of Columbus has always urged its members to live in a way completely consistent with Catholic teaching on all issues. We are proudly and unambiguously pro-life and have been at the forefront of the effort to protect marriage. Though we are saddened that not all of our members always live up to the Catholic faith, we are grateful that the vast majority do, and that they do so much good for the Church and society. Our councils have a chaplain, a Catholic priest, to ensure that the Knights of the council are educated in the tenets of the Catholic faith. In short, our beliefs are those of the Church, with no additions and no subtractions.

Since our founding by Father Michael J. McGivney in 1882, membership in the Knights has been open to Catholic men at least 18 years of age who are “practical (that is, practicing) Catholics” in union with the Holy See. We leave the determination of who is a “practical” Catholic to the Church, and do not presume to substitute our own judgment for that of the bishop of each diocese. If the bishop considers a man to be a practicing Catholic in good standing, the Order does not attempt to second-guess his decision.

Once a man becomes a brother Knight, our principles of charity, unity and fraternity require that we regard him as a brother in all respects, even when he may stray from the teachings of the Church. Our responsibility in such circumstances is to try to help him embrace the fullness of the Catholic faith.

Here is the entire statement:

Membership in the Knights of Columbus

The statement (after listing the many pro-life and pro-marriage achievements of the Knights) concludes: “There are those who believe that our time, resources and energy could be better spent hunting down a handful of members who constitute the rare exception. We disagree.”

I want to add a couple brief points: I don’t want to see good Knights leave as a result of there being bad Knights in the organization. I think there are many things that can be done to improve individual chapters short of expelling bad Knights, who often are not even actively involved in their local chapter.

That said, I remain hopeful that the leadership of the Knights, in collaboration with the bishops, will seriously pursue creative ways of responding to the unique scandal caused when high-profile dissenters from Church teaching also maintain membership in the Knights. I will be praying for a charitable resolution, and will continue to support the Knights in this difficult situation.

I’ve written a short piece for APP on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. The gist:

There is, once again, an air of inevitability about the confirmation of a President Obama nominee to the Supreme Court. I have heard some in the conservative movement say that it would be best to let Elena Kagan be confirmed lest her appointment fail and the President nominate someone more problematic than her a replacement.

… while the selection of a young, liberal justice to replace the aging Justice Stevens may be discouraging to those who have labored long on behalf of the unborn, the opportunity to educate a new generation of American citizens ought not be missed. After all, the young lawyers in this generation will eventually comprise the pool that future Presidents will select from when they make their choice for America’s justices. And one of them may even end up writing a majority opinion which Kagan will not join.

[Read why opposing Kagan matters...]

My friend Dave Bathon reminded me that there are still a few spots open for all four of this year’s Crossroads pro-life walk across America. Several of my friends have done this apostolate before and found it fruitful:

This is a great opportunity to spend your summer being a voice for the voiceless! Crossroads walks in response to the challenge made by our late Holy Father, John Paul II that we should “not be afraid to go out on the streets … [to] preach Christ and the good news of salvation in the squares of cities, towns and villages.”

Crossroads is a walk of prayer, sacrifice, and peaceful witness. The goal is to change hearts and minds one at a time as we make our 12-week walking pilgrimage from the West Coast to Washington, D.C. Walks start in Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Walkers can expect daily Mass, praying all 20 decades of the Rosary, and praying the Divine Office. Walkers individually walk between 15-20 miles a day, Monday through Friday and spend the weekends in major cities praying at abortion mills and speaking at Churches and to Youth Groups. Our shirts simply say “PRO-LIFE.” A simple, but profound message of Love.

Walks start May 22nd (with training on the 20th & 21st) and go until the weekend of August 14th and 15th. We also have a Pro-Life Walk Across Canada from Vancouver to Ottawa.

Crossroads is still accepting applications for this year’s walks. Are you 18-30 and you up to the challenge? To apply or find out more visit crossroadswalk.org or email Dave Bathon: dave@crossroadswalk.org

Also, as a reminder, if you want to support the ministry of Crossroads with your daily purchases, you can purchase the Crossroads VISA.

I read many news stories every day dealing with abortion.

I’m gradually coming to agree with those who strongly believe that, in my lifetime, we will see Roe v. Wade overturned. So I am beginning to try to prepare for the national debate that reversal promises to spark.

Why do I think we are being successful in killing abortion? Let’s take a quick tour through some recent headlines.

1. Planned Parenthood, the flagship of abortion providers in this country, through the fine work of Live Action films and others, is being exposed as an organization that lies to and exploits women:

Planned Parenthood is the ACORN of abortion. Corrupt, money-driven, and thugish. And average Americans are coming to realize its true traits. We need to push for Planned Parenthood to be defunded of all the federal funds it receives, as a starting point.

2. Pro-life pregnancy counseling centers are providing real alternatives to abortion clinics as places where women facing crisis pregnancies look for care, as this infographic helps show:

The creator of this map (which shows pregnancy centers in blue and abortion clinics in green), explains it:

Overall, the blue coverage across the United States shows that, in a vast majority of the country, abortion alternatives are much easier to find than abortion providers. So while the “pro-life” camp ended up on the wrong side of the 1973 Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion, they have built a significant organizational infrastructure which can be leveraged to promote their cause, while “pro-choice” advocates remain concentrated primarily in the nation’s more politically progressive urban centers.

We can all find out more about the local pro-life pregnancy counseling centers in our neighborhood and support them through financial donations, or by donating our time, etc.

3. Planned Parenthood and abortion activists are desperate to shut down these pro-life pregnancy centers. But all this has done (besides a handful of victories) is make more people aware of their existence in the first place. And any debate about abortion that centers on the real alternatives being provided by pro-lifers to pregnant women is a good debate to be had in the press.

4. Meanwhile, day after day, new stories are making more and more people aware of the horrible choices that legalized abortion encourages, such as this one where an abortion practitioner lost his medical license for killing the wrong twin in a failed abortion. We will see more of these as abortion continues to warp the standards of the medical profession. But these are the extreme cases that help people who are sitting on the fence see the disastrous consequences of our current state of affairs.

5. Finally, even universities and institutions that have been tempted by the prevailing secularism of the previous generation about this issue, are sensing the turning of the tide and are adapting to a younger generation that is more pro-life than their parents. I didn’t mean to use Notre Dame as an example of this when I began writing my post, but it seemed like an appropriate opportunity to bring up the fact that they have recently adopted a “new statement and principles in support of life.”

(6. Professor Michael New adds a sixth point – states that allow pro-life activities actually have lower abortion rates, which means that the number of abortions per year is not absolute, but instead relative to how actively alternatives to abortion are being allowed, promoted and offered.)

Reading the daily headlines, it’s becoming easier to point out ways in which we are killing abortion.

Let’s snuff it out.

Josh already posted the news on CVA some time ago. Like him, I’m not surprised. Stupak faced strong challengers from both sides of the abortion issue, so staying in Congress would have been a huge fight for him.

I remain deeply disappointed with his decisions in the final hours of the health care debate. Not only did he stick us with this horrible bill, but he set back the possibility of real pro-life representatives surviving in the Democrat party at least a dozen years, if not for good.

More of my thoughts on Stupak’s resignation are posted at the APP blog.

Matthew Warner of FallibleBlogma has outdone himself with this beautiful and powerful video:

This would be a good video to send to people who call themselves “pro-choice”, or favor voting for “pro-choice” politicians.

This, my papist friends, is a bishop:

 As a group of students protested outside of an abortion clinic on Highland Avenue in East Liberty Saturday, a familiar face joined the crowd – Bishop David Zubik.

“I asked him if he would be willing to come down and he said absolutely,” said Katie Ginter, of Students for Life. “Him coming down here shows the confidence he has in us and what we’re doing.”

“When I went to the March for Life in Washington, some of the students came to me and said, ‘We come on Saturdays; would you ever do that?’ And I said I would love to do that,” said Bishop Zubik, of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. – Local KDKA

Do you participate in your local 40 Days For Life or pray outside of an abortion clinic? Has your group ever asked your bishop to join you? Sometimes great good is never done because we don’t have the courage to ask …