Norma McCorvey and Sandra Cano
Most Reverend Patrick ZurekBishop of Amarillo
Your Excellency:
We respectfully write to you on behalf of the thousands of babies who are killed every day in our names – or rather, the names given to us.
We are the women who were the plaintiffs who won the companion, landmark 1973 Supreme Court decisions legalizing abortion in America.
We are Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade and Mary Doe of Doe v. Bolton.
And while our assigned, made-up names hid us from recognition in order to advance the darkness of the culture of death, today we plead with you in our true names, Norma McCorvey and Sandra Cano, to be a light for the Culture of Life.
We humbly ask that you please allow Fr. Frank Pavone to return to the Priests for Life ministry at the soonest possible time.
Our plea is heartfelt and urgent. There are lives at stake and work to be done – work at which Fr. Frank uniquely excels.
Following are our individual comments:
*****
My journey from plaintiff Jane Roe to abortion clinic worker to Norma McCorvey, Roman Catholic and pro-life convert, is well known. But what may not be well known is the role Fr. Frank Pavone played in my journey.
For Fr. Frank, being a bold voice for babies and a compassionate priest for the Church is not an either/or thing. He is both – all the time. When I had questions about faith, I went to Fr. Frank and he answered them. When I needed counsel, he was there. When I decided to become a Roman Catholic in 1998, Fr. Frank received me into the Church.
At no time did Fr. Frank’s tireless work on behalf of God’s precious babies interfere with his priestly work on behalf of this prodigal daughter. And I’m quite sure I am not an exception. Fr. Frank is first and foremost a priest, but he is one who has been uniquely gifted by God to speak with humility and power on behalf of those our society treats as less than human.
I cannot speak of audits or finances. I wouldn’t know where to begin. But I can speak of Fr. Frank’s integrity, his selflessness, and his love for God. I cannot imagine anyone taking his solemn duties and responsibilities more seriously or acting with more diligence.
I pray with all my heart that you will resolve whatever questions you have with Fr. Frank and return to unborn babies one of their most effective advocates.
*****
As Sandra Cano/Mary Doe, I know the helplessness of being connected to something that you despise and would never want any part of.
I never wanted an abortion, yet my visit to a legal aid attorney for divorce and child custody advice resulted in my being unwillingly attached to a legal case that to this day allows babies to be aborted at any time for any reason.
In the case that lawyers created, it was claimed that I went to a hospital to seek an abortion. I never did that – I would never do that. Doe v. Bolton was fiction, a case based on lies about me that I didn’t know were being told.
After the Supreme Court announced the Roe and Doe decisions and I realized that I was Doe, I wanted to set the record straight. I wanted to clear my name. But no one would believe that I was Mary Doe. Having the records legally unsealed proved difficult for a “little person” like me with no education and no advocate.
For years, well intentioned people believed things about me that were not true.
Now that I am able to tell my story, I never want to feel that helplessness again. And I never want others, especially those committed to God’s truth and His precious babies, to be in that same position.
That’s why I am compelled to write to you about Fr. Frank Pavone. Because of misunderstandings that have taken on a life of their own, some people are apparently starting to believe insinuations about Fr. Frank that are totally contrary to everything I know to be true about the man. This is a great injustice.
I appreciate that Msgr. Harold Waldow has clarified that Fr. Pavone has not been accused of any wrongdoing. I ask that you put these words into action by allowing Fr. Frank to resume the work that God has gifted him to do.
Fr. Frank has assisted and counseled me not only on my ongoing journey of healing, but also in my efforts to get my story out. He and his team have allowed that story to air on television and radio, in ways that I would have never been able to reach.
*****
A great battle is being waged in the heavenly places and here on earth. It’s no more apparent than in the ongoing slaughter of our brothers and sisters in the womb. Every moment, lives are being crushed.
We ask in all humility for your prayerful consideration of our request that Fr. Frank Pavone be given permission to resume his call to defend God’s tiniest children as soon as possible. And we thank you for reading our letter.
Yours respectfully,
Norma McCorvey and Sandra Cano
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