Catholic Transcript Online

HARTFORD – January was the month when Catholics throughout the Archdiocese were asked to say "no" in their parishes to the so-called Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) by signing and sending postcards to their Congressional delegates.

And sign they did.

During the weekend of Jan. 24-25, members of most parishes were provided with three postcards – one for their United States Representative and two for their U.S. Senators – stating their opposition to FOCA.

Some 220,000 cards were shipped to Connecticut as part of a massive nationwide pro-life postcard campaign launched by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

"It went unusually well," said Father James J. Cronin, director of pro-life activities for the Archdiocese of Hartford, who received a ton – actually, 3,504 pounds – of cards that were stored in his garage before being distributed to parishes.

He referred to an informal canvass that he conducted toward the end of February. Twenty-five parishes had mailed some 26,000 postcards for their parishioners.

Father Cronin, who also is Pastor of St. Mary Parish in Milford, was quick to point out that people from those parishes likely took another 5,000-8,000 cards home from church and mailed them on their own.

For parishes that have not yet mailed their postcards in bulk, Father Cronin hopes to have them dropped at a deanery location and then have designated groups personally deliver them to Congressional offices.

"The greatest impact is made when the cards are sent individually," he noted. "But, delivering them in person also makes a statement."

In the Archdiocese, parishioners sent cards to U.S. Senators Joseph Lieberman and Christopher Dodd; and to their Congressional representative – Rosa DeLauro, Christopher Murphy or John Larson.

Father Christopher M. Ford, Pastor of St. Mary Parish in Branford, said he was overwhelmed by the response.

"It was much greater than I expected. We collected 1,500 cards ourselves that we mailed, and I don’t know how many more people took home and mailed themselves.

"Plus, we also distributed postcards to several evangelical communities in town," he said, "and they were thrilled with the opportunity to participate.

"I was very moved by the entire campaign and the tremendous commitment to the cause of life that it represented," he said. "I was really praising our parishioners the next week at Mass."

Launched in January, the national campaign was coordinated through the USCCB’s partner organization, the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment.

Tens of millions of cards in English and Spanish were distributed across the country – to parishes, schools, non-Catholic churches and civic organizations – with the majority of Catholic dioceses participating.

The campaign was fueled by President Barack Obama, who, while on the campaign trail, called abortion a "fundamental issue" in a speech before a Planned Parenthood group.

In the speech, he said he would "not yield" in regard to his pro-choice views, and stated that "the first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act."

FOCA in the past has been a proposed national law before Congress (H.R. 1964 and S. 1173) that would go well beyond the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision by removing all state and local restrictions on abortion.

It proposes to establish a new fundamental right to abortion at all stages, and provides that the government cannot "interfere" in any way with an abortion decision; nor can it treat abortion differently than any other health procedure.

Moreover, Christian doctors and nurses would be forced to perform abortions against their conscience or face losing their jobs or being sued. And Catholic hospitals – St. Francis in Hartford, St. Mary Hospital in Waterbury, St. Raphael in New Haven and St. Vincent in Bridgeport – would be forced to do abortions or shut down.

It would also provide for government funding at taxpayer expense for abortions in certain and probably most cases.

Father Cronin said that organizers hope to take the campaign to Catholic schools in the coming months.

According to the USCCB, the campaign was unprecedented in scope and is expected to exceed any sponsored by the Catholic bishops in the past. No plans are under way as yet for a follow-up campaign.