REVERENCE FOR LIFE
Publication of the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life
Pray Proclaim and Promote the Gospel of Life

Winter 2003

National Day of Prayer for the African American Family

First Sunday of Black History Month February 2, 2003

“Jesus our strength in a weary land.”

Psalm 138

On Sunday, February 2, 2003, Black Catholics were united in prayer for the African American family. As Dr. Beverly A. Carroll stated: “During these days of increased unemployment, terrorism, the fear of war, domestic violence, inadequate health care, HIV-AIDS, our families need the reassuring grace of prayer.” Thank you National Black Catholic organizational leaders for your support. We also wish to thank the many pastors and parishes who collaborated to make this day a time of prayer and unity.

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“NO TO WAR”

“ War is not always inevitable.  It is always a defeat for humanity.  International Law, honest dialogue, solidarity between states, the noble exercise of diplomacy, these are methods worthy of individuals and nations in resolving their differences.”    Pope John Paul II

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Abortion Must End

To all those who participated in the Vigil for Life Mass and the March for Life, marking the 30^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, thank you. Since that Supreme Court decision (1973) over 14 million African American babies have been aborted.  We will not stop praying, proclaiming, and promoting the end of abortion until Roe v. Wade is overturned. As Pope John Paul II reminds us, “It is impossible to further the common good without acknowledging and defending the right of life upon which all the other inalienable rights of individuals are founded and from which they develop” (The Gospel of Life, no. 101).

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Sudan Peace Talks

Through the intercession of St. Josephine Bakhita

The Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita was on Saturday, February 8, 2003.  On Thursday,
February 6, 2003, in Nairobi, the Sudanese government and the country’s leading rebel group signed a peace agreement in a breakthrough that could presage the end to 20 years of civil war. 
The Khartoum government and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army agreed to share power
and wealth in a new government of national unity.  The two sides also agreed that displaced families be returned to their homes. Through the intercession of St. Josephine Bakhita,
let us continue to pray for our sisters and brothers in Sudan.

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The Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS

March 2-9, 2003   

The National African American Catholic HIV-AIDS Task Force has coordinated prayer materials for this week of prayer and healing.  All materials and suggestions as to how we can celebrate this week for the healing of HIV-AIDS will be forwarded from the Secretariat for African American Catholics.  For more information please contact
SAAC at  USCCB.org/SAAC or   202- 541-317

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NBCAL Board of Consultants

Bishop J. Terry Steib, SVD, D.D., Episcopal Advisor
Fr. Jim Goode, OFM, Ph.D, President
Dr. Beverly A. Carroll, USCCB: SAAC,
Sr. Donna Banfield, SBS, NBSC 
Fr. Anthony Bozeman, NBCCC 
Supreme Lady Mary Briers, KPCLA
Ms. Charolette Davis, NABCA
Br. Tyrone Davis, CFC, - NBCCC
Deacon Jerry Lett, NAAACD
Mr. Joseph Powell, Pres. NABCA
Supreme Knight Arthur McFarland, KPC
Sr. Claire Napoleon, FMM, NBSC  
Msgr. Patrick R. Wells, NBCCC
Mr. Michael Youngblood, NAACYMN
Sr. Anita Baird, DHM, Pres. NBSC
Fr. Chester P. Smith, SVD, Pres. NBCCC

www.blackcatholicsforlife.org

 Join the National Black Catholic Apostolate for life in proclaiming Life by becoming an Affiliate of NBCAL. We would welcome your organization or group 
as an Affiliate of the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life as we witness the 
dignity and sacred of life as Black Catholics.  Our affiliates will be posted on the 
website: www.blackcatholicsforlife.org.

              An Affiliate of the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life will:

Pray for Life in the Black community and throughout the world.

Proclaim the dignity of human life from the moment of conception to its natural 
end in the Black community and throughout the world.

Promote Pro-Life Issues with the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life in the Black community and throughout the world.

Provide a donation to the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life whenever 
possible to help with: mailings, printing of Pro-Life educational/advocacy materials and outreach programs for the Black Community.

For more information contact us at: tnbcalife@aol.com or Fax 212 563-0787.

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary January 14, 2003 National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2003 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation   Our nation was built on a promise of life and liberty for all citizens. Guided by a deep respect for human dignity, our Founding Fathers worked to secure these rights for future generations, and today we continue to seek to fulfill their promise in our laws and our society. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we reaffirm the value of human life and renew our dedication to ensuring that every American has access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As we seek to improve quality of life, overcome illness, and promote vital medical research, my Administration will continue to honor our country's founding ideals of equal dignity and equal rights for every American. Every child is a priority and a blessing, and I believe that all should be welcomed in life and protected by law. My Administration has championed compassionate alternatives to abortion, such as helping women in crisis through maternity group homes, encouraging adoption, promoting abstinence education, and passing laws requiring parental notification and waiting periods for minors. The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which I signed into law in August 2002, is an important contribution to our efforts to care for human life. This important legislation helps protect the most vulnerable members of our society by ensuring that every infant born alive, including one who survives abortion, is considered a person and receives protection under Federal law. It helps achieve the promises of the Declaration of Independence for all, including those without the voice and power to defend their own rights. Through ethical policies and the compassion of Americans, we will continue to build a culture that respects life. Faith-based and community organizations and individual citizens play a critical role in strengthening our neighborhoods and bringing care and comfort to those in need. By helping fellow citizens, these groups recognize the dignity of every human being and the possibilities of every life; and their important efforts are helping to build a more just and generous Nation. By working together to protect the weak, the imperfect, and the unwanted, we affirm a culture of hope and help ensure a brighter future for all. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Sunday, January 19, 2003, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. As we reflect upon the sanctity of human life, I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies in our homes and places of worship, to rededicate ourselves to compassionate service, and to reaffirm our commitment to respecting the life and dignity of every human being. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-seventh. GEORGE W. BUSH See this article at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030114-13.html

Prepared by the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life. 
Copyright   2002.

          “REVERENCE FOR LIFE” A PUBLICATION OF NBCAL CAN BE REPRODUCED TO PROMOTE THE RESPECT LIFE MESSAGE.  KINDLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE NATIONAL BLACK CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE FOR LIFE.

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