April, 2007

To whom it may concern:

I wish to express my strong support for the wonderful work of Stephanie Gray and the pro-life organization of which she is executive director: The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR). I have known Miss Gray since 2002 and have closely followed and examined her work and that of CCBR over the past four years. This endorsement is thus grounded in my personal experience of seeing many hearts and minds made increasingly sympathetic, even converted, to a culture of life ethic for the unborn, specifically through their pro-life work.

There is no doubt that the effort to build a culture of life with respect to the unborn in this land of Canada demands a real labour of love on many fronts: supporting women in crisis pregnancies, educating the public regarding the destructive reality of abortion, lobbying politicians and promoting pro-life legislation, awakening the conscience of the nation by public demonstration, providing healing for those so adversely affected by post-abortion syndrome, etc. All these are essential to an authentic pro-life ecology in this land. While CCBR’s approach supports and compliments these good and necessary works, its unique contribution to the pro-life movement in Canada is a bold, yet charitably tempered, prophetic witness which consists of an impeccably-reasoned pro-life apologetic, strategically oriented to engage our present society in its apathy and growing embrace of the culture of death.

Pope John Paul the Great - of blessed memory - along with the Second Vatican Council called abortion the "unspeakable crime" (Evangelium vitae, 58), and precisely because words alone cannot convey such an abominable act, CCBR, in line with the great tradition of social reform movements throughout history, makes wise use of visual images of the unborn before and after ‘the choice’ of abortion through its educational presentations, Choice Chain, Genocide Awareness Project and Reproductive Choice Campaign. In this way they put into action the words of the great Apostle of the Gospel of Life who exhorted the Christians of Ephesus: "...take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; but when anything is exposed to the light it becomes visible..." (Eph. 5:11). It is precisely to this prophetic work of making "visible" the truth of abortion that Miss Gray and CCBR are dedicated. And it is again precisely this visibility of the truth, conveyed in well reasoned, scientific/philosophical argumentation and visual images, that becomes such a powerful means to pierce the armor of our national apathy, to convict us of the abominable crime of abortion in our midst, to lead each of us personally to an authentic repentance, to real healing, and to ultimately become fellow labourers for a culture of life in this God-blessed land of Canada.

Will this type of approach cause a stir? Will some, even many, be offended? Yes, to both questions. To bring to the attention of the populace that our society tolerates the horrific murder and dismemberment of innocent unborn children is not pleasant. From personal experience I can truly say that authentic pro-life proclamation can, at times, be really disturbing not only for its audience but also for its proclaimers! But herein lies "the wisdom of repugnance" (Fr. Tad Pacholczyk) when it moves us to the truth that if something is so disturbing to think about or gaze upon, how is it that we can continue to tolerate, even legitimize, its existence? In this, as in every other social justice movement, offence must come. One cannot expect otherwise in a clash of two diametrically opposed philosophical outlooks and the cultures they inspire: one of life and one of death. Indeed, if there is no offence, if there is a sickening "social peace" with abortion in this land, then the pro-life movement has utterly failed to be effectively engaged. The foremost question for pro-lifers and their efforts in this battle for the minds and hearts of the nation is: are we really "... speaking the truth in charity..." (Eph. 4:15). Real truth and real charity in an inspiringly effective and prophetic pro-life witness is what Stephanie Gray and CCBR are all about. Not only strongly endorsed, they need to be commended as a wonderful leaven for the entire pro-life movement in Canada!

In the Life-creating Trinity,



Father Taras (Kraychuk)
Priest/Monk of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in Canada