|
|
|
|
In Focus
Serving life, living love, sharing hope
Dear Friend for Life
It has been a very eventful fortnight and as usual I am amazed at just how quickly the time has gone since I last wrote to you.
Many of you will have known, or heard of, Dr Peter Scanlon - a great pro-life doctor, Catholic husband, and father of seven. On Tuesday last week Dr Scanlon went to his eternal rest. Dr Scanlon has supported Family Life International from our beginning in 1992, and we have been blessed to have his friendship, support and advice throughout the years. You can read how he influenced my life here. All our thoughts and prayers go to his wife Maria, and the children at this time.
It is exciting to see just how far our message of hope for women facing a crisis pregnancy is getting out there, as we receive referrals from unexpected people and organisations. In Auckland, we are currently making appointments with priests, medical centres and other organisations that may see abortion vulnerable women requiring our help at Family Life Crisis Pregnancy Centre. The feedback has been good, and as the population in Auckland keeps changing, there are many out there who are hearing about us for the first time.
Clare, in Wellington and Frank in Dunedin have also continued to raise the profile of our services in their areas. Clare is also currently teaching two groups of young people Theology of the Body, encouraging them to embrace God's plan for their lives.
During the school holidays we were given the opportunity to encourage about 200 youth at World Youth Day Experience Auckland to take up St John Paul II's challenge to youth to succeed in defending life. It was an incredible opportunity to talk about the work we do at Family Life International while sharing a few neat facts about the development of the pre-born child. We also handed out a new prayer book which we have developed for youth, which was appreciated by many in attendance.
Meanwhile, society's journey into the brave new world just keeps getting more sci fi by the moment. Not content with inserting 'contraceptive' rods into a woman's arm, the latest technology is a 'contraceptive' micro chip. The chip will apparently allow the release of the hormone levonorgestrel to be turned on or off as desired. This is the same hormone that is found in the Jadelle implant. It should be noted that levonorgestrel can act as an abortifacient.
Another story that has caught my attention is a study which found that men who have had a vasectomy are at a greater risk for prostate cancer. Given New Zealand has such a high incidence of men having this sterilising procedure, it will be interesting to see if this link is further confirmed.
Finally, thank you to all of your who replied to my last email about pornography and modesty, I appreciated your honest feedback on this topic.
I liked this from Neil Coup: "Prudery aside, the promotion of correct, "truthful" and "chaste" attitudes to sexuality, personal integrity, Marriage, and family life by all responsible authorities (Government & its laws, parents, teachers, and pastors, etc.) is essential".
Thank you for all you do to serve life, live love and share hope; and for your support of our work at Family Life International NZ.
Yours in the service of Life
on behalf of all the team at Family Life International NZ
Michelle Kaufman
Communications Director
Family Life International NZ
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
