October 10, 2008

Guest: Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, President of Human Life International
Featured Saint of the Day: St. Francis Borgia

Today Deacon Rick and Jenny spoke with the President of Human Life International, Fr. Thomas Euteneuer. Fr. Euteneuer will be speaking tonight at an event sponsored by KWKY Catholic Radio at St. Augustine's Church in Des Moines. It is a Free Event that will begin at 7pm. Tonight Fr. Euteneuer will speak on the global aspect of the Pro-Life movement. He will touch on how important it is to vote during this election season as the president has the power to touch nations internationally. To foster life internationally it is necessary to first have leadership in America that understands the value of life.

Fr. Tom was born in Michigan and grew up in Florida. He's from a good Catholic family is the middle of seven children. He was reared in Palm Beach, Florida, and that is where he received his vocation. A priest took him aside at his eighth grade graduation and asked if he'd ever considered becoming a priest. It planted a seed which sprouted and stayed with him through high school and college at Notre Dame. One of his summers at Notre Dame he went through marine corps training and graduated at the top of his class. After college he entered seminary. He attended the North American Seminary in Rome, and found that the discipline of a seminary was harder than that of a marine in many ways. Discovering internal discipline and self-reflection was harder than boot camp. He was ordained a Deacon in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and a priest in Palm Beach, Florida.

Fr. Tom spoke today of the ripple effect Roe v. Wade has had upon other nations in the world. Fr. Tom spoke of the international dimension to politics. For example, the president is the one who appoints the ambassadors to other countries. In the Clinton administration alone, someone who was publicly pro-choice, many strides were made backwards internationally on the issue of life. For instance the Population Conference that was held to make abortion an international right. If it weren't for the Vatican, and a few Catholic and Muslim countries who stood against it, that right would have been enacted and abortion would have spread like wild fire.

There is hope, though, and Fr. Tom sees it in the youth. He sees it when he attends the March for Life every year where most of the participants are under the age of 25. When events like these are internationally acclaimed it gives other nations the hope they need to continue to fight for life. The Right to Life is written in the human heart and legalizing abortion isn't going to get rid of that.

For more resources, prayers, and information you can go to the Human Life International website:
www.hli.org