Sunday, July 25, 2010

Does the Day for Life Collection go to fund abortions?

Today in England and Wales is "A Day for Life" and we are asked to take a second collection for "associated charities".
Does the "Day for Life" collection go to fund abortions? This is a question raised by Caritas in Veritate. Some of the money raised  apparently goes to the "non-values based" City Pregnancy Counselling and Psychotherapy. "Non-values based" generally is a euphemism for pro-abortion.
As Fr John says he is sure this is not at the behest of one of our bishops but someone at Eccleston Square but that raises a further questions: to what extent are those who work there sympathetic to the Catholic faith? Who is catechising them? Who will sack them? "A Day for Life" is I understand Archbishop Bernard Longley's brief.
It could well be the CPCP is pro-life but the contrary is suggested by their site and since the farce over the Papal visit I expect the worse from the Square.

13 comments:

The Bones said...

I've seen the city leaflet and they appear to believe abortion so bad as not to mention it on their literature.

They seem to concentrate on other 'solutions'. Adoption seems to be the main focus of their engagement with pregnant women.

nickbris said...

Somebody has to talk to women seeking abortion,and if even one is persuaded to change their mind it must be money well spent. A pregnant woman may be contemplating suicide,they all need help and if our few pence can help these desperate people it will all be worth it.

We could go on questioning the integrity of these organisations and suspecting them but that would do no good at all.

Loving one another is one thing but we also have to trust each other.

Joe said...

Father Ray:

Having looked at the original post at Caritas in Veritate, and followed its links, I do not think it is factually accurate to suggest that the money being raised by the Day for Life might be funding abortions.

My own judgement is that none of the projects reported as being funded by last year's collection are objectionable from a Catholic point of view.

Volpius Leonius said...

This is why I never donate any money to these things.

It does not even matter to me whether the they are pro or anti or non committal about abortion, when I give money as a Catholic to the Church I expect that money to be used for the glory of God, that is to be used by a organisations that hold Catholic values and are identifiable as Catholic and whose motivation for what thy do is the Catholic Faith.

Works without Faith are dead or as the Pope recently put it sterile.

Andrew Plasom-Scott said...

From their www site:

"City Pregnancy Counselling and Psychotherapy is a service provided by the charity Life and is an associational member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy working within the framework of the ethical guidelines provided."

I think you can rest assured that Life is pro-Life...

Tony Wallace said...

Abortion is murder, nothing more nor less.

I am appalled to think that a Catholic charity is involved in raising funds for murdering unborn people.

being human said...

I believe that this organisation is pro-life and has or had a connection with LIFE. On this occasion I would give the Bishops of England and Wales the benefit of the doubt.

Zephyrinus said...

". . . to what extent are those who work there [Eccleston Square]sympathetic to the Catholic faith ? Who is catechising them ? Who will sack them ?. . ."
More importantly, WHO DOES THE VETTING FOR THESE PEOPLE, WHEN THEY ARE EMPLOYED AT ECCLESTON SQUARE ? COME ON, BISHOPS. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE !!! YOU'VE GOT CUCKOOS IN THE NEST !!!

nickbris said...

I.d like to know more about Volpius Leonius.Sounds like a real barrel of charm.

I said we have to love one another and trust one another.

If you are too tight to donate then don't make it sound as if you are a SAINT or even some sort of Catholic.

Volpius Leonius said...

I donate to Catholic charities Nickbris I feel no need to donate to secular organisations and nor should the Church be responsible for fund raising for such organisations as far as I am concerned.

Trust has to be earned, be wise as serpents remember, that means not trusting everyone, not been naive.

johnf said...

Fr Ray

I alerted Professor Jack Scarisbrick, Chairman of the LIFE Charity about this and he has asked me to submit the following:

Jack Scarisbrick, chairman of LIFE said…

The money collected on ‘Day for Life’ will not go to the charity LIFE, alas. We received a donation from the collection a few years ago, but otherwise the monies raised by it go to a range of good causes – this year to support the dying. We wish that its name could be changed in order to avoid confusion.

The City Pregnancy and Psychotherapy Centre is, as its publicity clearly states, ‘a service provided by the charity LIFE’. We require all its counsellors to be ‘paid up’ supporters of LIFE. It is what it is and says what it says precisely in order to be able to offer a prolife lifeline to people who need us but who might not otherwise come near us. It is an important experiment in prolife care work.

Dilly said...

The leaflet at our church also focused on the fight against euthanasia - this is a battle to the death with the neo-nazi kulturkampf promoted so assiduously by the death-merchants in the media - and it badly needs money upfront to counter the desensitisation being carried out by the enemies of civilisation at the BBC and elsewhere.

torchofthefaith said...

Dear Father Ray

Fr. Boyle has done a service by raising this issue.

1. The 'What is Counselling and Psychotherapy' page of the City Pregnacy Counselling and Psychotherapy website promotes the use of the following 'therapies' -

•Transactional analysis,
•Psychodynamic
•Person-centered
•Gestalt
•Transpersonal
•Cognitive Behavioral

A couple of these are based in Jungian/New Age philosophies and are NOT compatible with the Catholic Faith.

Archbishop Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City once wrote a clear warning about some of these therapies in an article entitled 'A Call to Vigilance'.

2. Between 2001-2003 I worked for LIFE as a PR/Education Officer.

I (and other young Catholic team members) resigned on conscience for the following reasons -

A. The Rogerian model of Non-Directive Counselling which LIFE employs allows no space for the Catholic understandings of Original Sin, Redemption, or the Thomistic notion of giving good guidance and counsel. As such it is amoral and seeks only to impart 'information' to enable clients to come to an 'informed choice' through 'self actualization'. But of course such an approach could actually facilitate a woman on to an abortion!

I did a lot of research into Carl Rogers - the father of the Rogerian Non-Directive Counselling being used - and his influence on the New-Age style Esalen Centre and the destruction of Western Catholic institutions caused by his Rogerian encounter groups.

It must be said that there were good women counsellors in the LIFE system - and some babies and their mothers were saved. However many others were taught to leave their Catholicism at the door when counselling. They would thus cease to think and operate as Catholics in that most momentous of contexts in order to act as secularist non-directive counsellors. And all this was done in order to be 'professional.'

Alan submitted the findings of his research to his Catholic superiors. No action was ever taken.

B. I - and other young Catholic members - tried to promote marriage and chastity in school pro-life talks but finally resigned when -

The LIFE website began to include Brook Advisory style comments for teens like 'A condom can help reduce the risk of STI but is not 100% effective' and 'To reduce your risk of STI then reduce your number of sexual partners.'

We were banned from talking about God - even when giving pro-life talks in Catholic schools. I was even told that talking about God was 'exclusive language.'

The only answer to the Culture of Death is Jesus Christ and His creative Culture of Life.

Go and give your money to Good Counsel Network and SPUC instead!

In Christ Alan John Houghton

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