SWALLOWED SCROLL: Scripture, Tradition, Catechesis, Evangelization: Pro-Life resources for catechists

RESPECT LIFE

January 22nd marked the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. Since 1973 an estimated 40 million children have lost their lives to abortion. It is important to ask ourselves how much the culture of death has pervaded our world. How do our children view the dignity of human life? We need to incorporate the Church's teachings about the universal dignity of all human life from conception to natural death into our teaching of the Catholic faith. Whenver we teach about mankind being made in God's image and likeness, about the commandment prohibiting murder, about the need to work for social justice... the great scandal of abortion should not be far from our minds... nor the minds of our young Catholic children.

Here are some links--and I am trying to post more as I find them...

Resources for the classroom

The Catholic diocese of Richmond, Virginia has an excellent site on education materials for social justice issues: http://www.richmonddiocese.org/cst/ From this site, check out the link on
abortion... and you will find resources and links for middle school, high school, and adult.

Catholic Teaching and the Bible concerning Conception and Abortion:
http://www.scriptureforlife.org/

What does the Bible teach about abortion:
http://www.nprcouncil.org/bibleteaching.htm

What did the early Christians teach about abortion:
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1990/9005frs.asp

A Catholic Respect Life Curriculum (Knights for Life). This is a lengthy intensive curriculum for HS, college, adults, etc. available on-line via PDF. Also available is the Huntsville Respect Life Curriculum for Pre-K to grade 12. One could wade through and pick out parts that seem useful. [ via Christian Patriots for Life’s Pro-Life Education Program http://www.cpforlife.org/pro_life_education.htm ]
http://www.cpforlife.org/curriculum.htm

Athletes for Life http://www.lifeathletes.org/ founder, Chris Godfrey, has a whole course "That's Where I Live" on chastity and pro-life for school use that may be able to be adapted in some way for a catechism class. [The book can be ordered if you go into the "locker room" page]

www.lifeprinciples.net Life Principles: some more good things, some geared to college-age, but also some nice articles that can be used with high school age kids.

The Legionaries of Christ have a new site www.ourfaithinaction.org ("connecting faith to current events") that has some archived articles that could be useful: on embryonic stem cell research: http://www.ourfaithinaction.org/archive_pages/sept_05.htm ; Abortion survivor shocks Colorado legislators: http://www.ourfaithinaction.org/archive
_pages/sept_06.htm

Websites and organizations-ABORTION and general life issues

News on the life issues:
LifeSite: http://www.lifesite.net/
Life News.com: http://www.lifenews.com/

U.S. Bishops’ Pro-Life activities page:
http://www.usccb.org/prolife/

Abort73.com “Abortion unfiltered”: The case against abortion, facts about abortion, finding help, etc.
http://www.abort73.com/

More facts regarding abortion: http://www.secondlookproject.org/

Pro-Life Action League http://www.prolifeaction.org/ and

Students for Life of America http://www.studentsforlife.org/

Feminists for Life
http://www.feministsforlife.org/

Priests for Life
www.priestsforlife.org

Defendlife.org
http://www.defendlife.org/

Swallowed Scroll post on abortion:
http://swallowedscroll.blogspot.com/2006/11/
abortion-great-malady-of-our-time.html

Websites and organizations—STEM CELL RESEARCH

Do no harm: The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics
http://www.stemcellresearch.org/

Stem Cell Research Facts
http://www.stemcellresearchfacts.com/

Documents and addresses on stem cell research:

Pontifical Academy for Life: Declaration on the Production and the Scientific and Therapeutic Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_academies/
acdlife/documents/rc_pa_acdlife_doc_20000824
_cellule-staminali_en.html

Pope Benedict XVI: Stem Cells-What Future for Therapy? Address to the Pontifical for Life symposium:
http://www.wf-f.org/06-4-Benedict_StemCells.html

Swallowed Scroll posts on Embryonic stem cell research:

http://swallowedscroll.blogspot.com/2007/01/
house-passes-destructive-stem-cell.html

http://swallowedscroll.blogspot.com/2006/10/
embryonic-stem-cell-research-lets-look.html

http://swallowedscroll.blogspot.com/2006/11/
more-on-evils-of-embryonic-stem-cell.html

Websites and organizations—DEATH PENALTY

http://www.americancatholic.org/News/DeathPenalty/
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12565a.htm (Catholic encyclopedia)
http://www.cacp.org/ (Catholics Against Capital Punnishment – I don’t know much about this group, just found it via a google search)

Marriage, Family, Openness to children, Contraception, etc.

Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body
http://www.theologyofthebody.net/

Couple to Couple League: Better marriages through Natural Family Planning
http://ccli.org/

One More Soul: Fostering God’s Plan for love, chastity, marriage, sex, and children:
http://www.omsoul.com/