Center for Bio-Ethical Reform

Linda Harvey's Message to Obama Supporters: 'What Kind of Wrath are you Calling Down on Yourselves?'

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Monday, 11/26/2012 1:45 pm

Linda Harvey of Mission America this weekend interviewed Mark Harrington, the anti-choice activist previously with the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform and now with CreatedEqual, to discuss how Obama won re-election while at the same time arguing that the majority of Americans oppose reproductive rights. They argued that Romney would’ve won if voters made abortion their top voting priority, even though exit polls found that 59% of voters said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Harvey and Harrington eventually concluded that people who supported Obama and the ‘Democrat party’ no longer have a “functioning conscience” and were simply inviting God’s wrath upon themselves and America at large:

Harrington: We have passed over this line when it comes to people having a functioning conscience. We may have passed to a place that maybe we won’t see returning, at least for a generation, at least that’s the way I see it.

Harvey: I think, yeah. You look at this and you say: what kind of wrath are you calling down on yourselves with that? God help you. This is so heart hardened and so cruel, these are human beings and you’re saying ‘hey, it’s fine.’

Harrington: The Democrat party, their party platform this year was brazen by taking out God and then putting it back in and have people boo, taking the ‘safe, legal and rare’ out of the abortion plank and then the rejection of Israel and Jerusalem as its capital, then the support for homosexual marriage. This is a change, now it’s overt. It’s no longer, ‘we support these things kind of in the background.’ Now it’s front and center, it’s who we are. When you put Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood at your Democrat National Convention as one of the main speakers, we have reached a different place in the Democrat party.

Harvey: And God is not ignoring all this.

Harrington: No, He’s not.

Harvey: He lives and He has been patient with us and I just shudder for our whole nation. It’s not just these people that support that, everybody is going to reap some of this.

Pavone's Tangled Web May Have Led To His Downfall

Submitted by Brian Tashman on Monday, 9/26/2011 11:24 am

Pavone’s Tangled Web May Have Led To His Downfall After Bishop Patrick Zurek of the Archdiocese of Amarillo, Texas, recalled Frank Pavone of Priests for Life over financial concerns, many of Pavone’s allies lashed out at Zurek. The Center For Bio-Ethical Reform said it would picket Roman Catholic churches in Amarillo for “hindering efforts to protect the safety of unborn children” and Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said Pavone’s suspension was “outrageous,” slamming Zurek for “casting a shadow where none should be.”

Pavone and his friends defended his financial management, but it appears that the group hit a significant financial shortfall. It appears that much of the problem involves one of Pavone’s many spinoff groups, Gospel of Life Ministries. Other Pavone-affiliated groups besides Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries include the National Pro-Life Religious Council, Rachel’s Vineyard and Faith And Action.

According to Religion News Service, Priests for Life faces a serious budget shortfall, partly as a result of its decision to loan “some $879,000 to Gospel of Life Ministries,” which lost its “tax-exempt status because it failed to file any forms for three consecutive years”:

A leading Catholic anti-abortion group whose leader is under scrutiny for failing to disclose financial details reported a $1.4 million deficit in 2010 despite collecting tens of millions of dollars in donations during recent years.

The budget shortfall at Priests For Life and a bishop’s recent decision to sharply curtail its national director’s activities raise serious questions about the group’s long-term viability.

…

Earlier this month, Bishop Patrick Zurek ordered Pavone to return to Amarillo, Texas, where the priest is officially based, saying Pavone had failed to answer questions about Priests For Life’s finances. The group’s financial troubles appear to partly result from the economic downturn that has hurt many nonprofits.

But an audit for 2010 released this week by PFL shows the problems also stem from debatable management decisions, such as spending nearly all of its reserve funds.

…

The audit shows that Priests for Life’s income, which is based largely on donations from individuals, went from $9.3 million in 2007 to $10.8 million in 2008 and $12 million in 2009.

In 2010, income dropped to $10.7 million while expenses stayed the same, resulting in a $1.4 million deficit.

Still, Pavone and PFL’s loaned some $879,000 to Gospel of Life Ministries, an offshoot of PFL that Pavone established in 2006 at the headquarters of Priests for Life in Staten Island, N.Y.

Gospel of Life Ministries was intended to unite evangelical and Catholic anti-abortion activists and to be financially self-sustaining. Instead, it relied on funds channeled from PFL to subsidize two cable television programs.

The IRS has revoked Gospel of Life’s tax-exempt status because it failed to file any forms for three consecutive years, according to GuideStar, an online database that tracks nonprofits.

…

Earlier this month, Zurek told the rest of the bishops in the United States that he was recalling Pavone to Amarillo and restricting his ministry until the priest complied with demands to disclose financial records and ended his “incorrigible defiance of my legitimate authority as his bishop.”

Zurek portrayed Pavone, who spends almost all his time traveling for PFL, as driven by personal ambition. Pavone has appealed Zurek’s ruling to the Vatican and said he will look for another diocese to call home.

Anti-Choice Groups Slams Randall Terry

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 2/3/2010 1:13 pm

Earlier this week, the Center For Bio-Ethical Reform issued a press release condemning Randall Terry's reaction to the conviction of Scott Roeder for murdering Dr. George Tiller and for Terry's support for the use of violence against abortion providers.

Terry immediately responded with a press release of his own making his standard claims that he does not support violence, but sees it as inevitable so long as abortion remains legal. 

Gregg Cunningham of the Center For Bio-Ethical Reform then responded with another press release in which he dared Terry to "sue us" if he thinks he's been maligned and proceeds to smack down Terry's attention-seeking histrionics while calling out his self-serving claims about opposing the use of violence. 

I'm posting a large chunk of the CBR release because it's a thing of beauty:

You chide me for not "picking up the phone" to "check the facts" before condemning your attempt to minimize the murder of George Tiller but what facts would have rebutted published newspaper photos of you displaying signs which argued that Scott Roeder's motives in killing George Tiller made his crime less than murder?

When you tell The New York Times (January 28, 2010, "Doctor's Killer Puts Abortion on the Stand") that you are not "condemning Mr. Roeder's actions," you are expressing support for violence against abortionists.

When you tell The Wichita Eagle (January 30, 2010, "Reactions to the Scott Roeder verdict from both sides of abortion debate") that "If we condemn him [Roeder] too severely it undermines the premise of everything we stand for," you are expressing support for violence against abortionists.

When you issue a press release (January 25, 2010) in which you say it is "a farce" to "pretend that this trial has nothing to do with child-killing by abortion," you are suggesting that Mr. Roeder's murder of George Tiller was justified by George Tiller's abortion practice and you are expressing support for violence against abortionists. (www.christiannewswire.com/news/7566412845.html).

When you issue a press release (January 27, 2010) in which you quote scripture which says in reference to George Tiller's murder, "For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning" and that "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous" and that "the Lord our God will bring other destructions upon them" and add "their innocent blood cries to God ... for vengeance," you are expressing support for violence against abortionists. (www.christiannewswire.com/news/8209412876.html).

When you hold a press conference (www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqGwuOwdZ7U) during which you say testimony by former Attorney General Phil Kline could have "validated" Scott Roeder's motivation and "brought a level of credibility to Scott's frame of mind," you are expressing support for violence against abortionists.

When you argue at a press conference (www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqGwuOwdZ7U) that Scott Roeder, who bought a handgun, practiced with it, studied George Tiller's daily habits and visited his church three times before finding him there and blowing his brains out, should have been charged with "voluntary manslaughter," you are expressing support for violence against abortionists.

When you argue that Scott Roeder's motivation for killing George Tiller entitles him to a slap-on-the-wrist sentence of less than five years in prison (the minimum sentence for voluntary manslaughter under Kansas law) you are trivializing premeditated murder and expressing support for violence against abortionists.

Against this background, your press conference claim that "I don't even agree with what Scott Roeder did" is absurd. It is the sort of self-serving fig leaf which thoughtful listeners will rightly reject. You are either being intentionally deceptive or wildly negligent.

You have every right to bring discredit upon yourself and the organization you represent. But when your self-promotional excesses discredit the entire pro-life movement with reckless theatrics, it would be irresponsible for the rest of us to signal indifference, or worse, agreement, by our collective silence.

When you attempt to rationalize, justify, or minimize violence against abortionists, you don't speak for those of us who condemn anarchy without equivocation. Be assured that when you jeopardize the fragile progress we have all worked so hard to achieve, we will anathematize and isolate you.

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Center for Bio-Ethical Reform Posts Archive

Linda Harvey's Message to Obama Supporters: 'What Kind of Wrath are you Calling Down on Yourselves?'
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Tashman, Monday 11/26/2012, 1:45pm
Linda Harvey of Mission America this weekend interviewed Mark Harrington, the anti-choice activist previously with the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform and now with CreatedEqual, to discuss how Obama won re-election while at the same time arguing that the majority of Americans oppose reproductive rights. They argued that Romney would’ve won if voters made abortion their top voting priority, even though exit polls found that 59% of voters said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Harvey and Harrington eventually concluded that people who supported Obama and the ‘Democrat... MORE >
Pavone's Tangled Web May Have Led To His Downfall
SUBMITTED BY: Brian Tashman, Monday 09/26/2011, 11:24am
Pavone’s Tangled Web May Have Led To His Downfall After Bishop Patrick Zurek of the Archdiocese of Amarillo, Texas, recalled Frank Pavone of Priests for Life over financial concerns, many of Pavone’s allies lashed out at Zurek. The Center For Bio-Ethical Reform said it would picket Roman Catholic churches in Amarillo for “hindering efforts to protect the safety of unborn children” and Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said Pavone’s suspension was “outrageous,” slamming Zurek for “casting a shadow where none should be.” Pavone and his... MORE >
Anti-Choice Groups Slams Randall Terry
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Wednesday 02/03/2010, 1:13pm
Earlier this week, the Center For Bio-Ethical Reform issued a press release condemning Randall Terry's reaction to the conviction of Scott Roeder for murdering Dr. George Tiller and for Terry's support for the use of violence against abortion providers. Terry immediately responded with a press release of his own making his standard claims that he does not support violence, but sees it as inevitable so long as abortion remains legal.  Gregg Cunningham of the Center For Bio-Ethical Reform then responded with another press release in which he dared Terry to "sue us" if he thinks... MORE >