Rev. Peter West

Father Peter West is the Vice President for Missions at Human Life International.

Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi: A New Prayer for Mother and Child

Friday, May 11th, 2012

By Father Peter West

In English, the ancient axiom is translated “The law of prayer is the law of belief,” or the way we pray effects what we believe. In the early Church, many doctrinal disputes were settled on the basis of texts used for prayers. Before any creeds were developed there were decades of liturgical tradition.

St. Prosper of Aquitane, a disciple of St. Augustine, also said, “Legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi” which means, “The Church believes as she prays.” The prayers we use are a means of catechesis – of teaching various truths of our faith.

Thus, everyone who respects life should rejoice in the new “Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb Within Mass,” just published in both English and Spanish by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The prayers were approved by the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 2011. The U.S. Bishops decreed the prayers be published on the Solemnity of the Annunciation.

(more…)

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Beginning of Life, Culture of Life, Feature Post, Politics and Faith, Rev. Peter West, Truth and Charity Forum | No Comments »

Remarks on Religious Liberty

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

By Father Peter West

The following remarks were from a speech given by Father Peter West, vice president for missions for Human Life International, given at the Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally in Front Royal, Virginia on March 23, 2012.

The most precious freedom we enjoy in the United States is the freedom to practice our religion according to the dictates of our conscience. It can be called our first freedom. This freedom, which continues to be denied in many parts of the world today, is what drew the first settlers from Europe to America.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees this right. It states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

(more…)

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Contraception and Sterilization, Election 2012, Feature Post, Politics, Politics and Faith, Rev. Peter West, Truth and Charity Forum | No Comments »

A Saint for Africa, and for the West: How the Story of St. Bakhita Is Being Replayed Today

Monday, March 19th, 2012

By Father Peter West

(Zenit.org) – When Josephine Bakhita died in 1947, thousands of Italians passed her funeral bier to pay respects to a simple woman who had achieved great renown for her kindness. To this day, the people of Schio, Italy, honor now-Saint Josephine, a former African slave, with the title “Nostra Madre Moretta,” which means “Our Black Mother.”

In her native land of Sudan, news of Josephine’s beatification was banned, yet Blessed John Paul II came to the capital city of Khartoum nine months later, despite the threats to his security, on Feb. 10, 1993. An immense crowd gathered in the Sudanese capital’s “Green Square” to hear the Pope and to honor this daughter of Africa. In his homily the Holy Father proclaimed:

“Rejoice, all of Africa! Bakhita has come back to you. The daughter of Sudan was sold into slavery … and yet was still free—free with the freedom of the saints.”

(more…)

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Culture of Life, Feature Post, Politics and Faith, Rev. Peter West, Truth and Charity Forum | No Comments »

Social Justice and the Catholic Vote

Friday, March 16th, 2012

By Father Peter West

(AmericanThinker) – Catholics make up about one quarter of the American electorate, and the majority of the Catholic vote has gone to the winner in every presidential election since 1972.  With that said, conservatives — whether they like it or not — will have to engage the concept of “social justice” if they wish to earn the sizable Catholic vote in November 2012.

Of course, the term “social justice” makes some conservatives cringe because it has been co-opted by those who crave moral legitimacy for their political ends even as they seek to marginalize the Church.  But these leftist distortions are meant only to mislead.

Justice is commonly defined as giving each person his due.  Social justice is simply an extension of this virtue into the public realm, concerning how society is ordered, with particular concern for the most vulnerable.  Working for social justice means nothing more than respecting the dignity of every human person and defending the rights that flow from that dignity.

(more…)

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Election 2012, Feature Post, Politics, Politics and Faith, Rev. Peter West, The Holy Father, Truth and Charity Forum | 1 Comment »

A Threat to Life, Family and Freedom in the Philippines

Friday, October 21st, 2011

By Father Peter West

People of good will throughout the world should be aware of a great threat to the children and families of the Philippines. Filipinos are overwhelmingly Catholic (81%) and pro-life. Because of this fact, and because they are still having children, they have become a target of international population control organizations and pro-abortion groups. According to the UNFPA, outside organizations based in the United States and Europe have spent $962 million dollars to promote population control in the Philippines from 1991 to 2010.

Since 1998, Filipinos have been fighting the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, which mandates, among other things, comprehensive sex education, government funded contraceptives and aboritfacients and forced participation for doctors regardless of conscientious objection. The bill also labels contraceptives as “essential medicines.” With limitless funds aiding in its promotion, an increasing number of individuals and groups have fallen into the trap of thinking that the RH Bill is necessary for economic development. Many of them have also been convinced by the propaganda that paints the Catholic Church as the enemy of progress. With the unyielding support of the “Catholic” current president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino, there is great danger that the bill could pass soon. So far, the Filipino people are holding strong. HLI has been part of a successful effort to educate the public about the dangers of this bill, including the production of a documentary that is being distributed throughout the Philippines, including to all of the Filipino Bishops.

It is crucial to note that neither the enormous amount of money nor the language in the RH Bill comes from the Philippines. The bill was not written by Filipinos for Filipinos, but by international population control groups in secret. For a poor country, offers of enormous amounts of money are difficult to refuse unless people are well-grounded morally, and aware of the devastating effects that contraception and other anti-life practices can have on a country. For the time being, the RH Bill is not written to legalize abortion, which is still highly restricted in the Philippines; but it is widely understood that legalized abortion will follow soon after the RH Bill is passed – if it is passed. Fr. Paul Marx, OSB, founder of HLI, often said that in all his travels he had not seen one country where the widespread use of contraception did not quickly lead to widespread abortion.

(more…)

Tags:
Posted in Contraception and Sterilization, Feature Post, Rev. Peter West, Truth and Charity Forum | No Comments »