Yesterday, many print and broadcast media took notice of our struggle against Planned Parenthood for the first time when a little handful of clergy gathered for a press conference to support Planned Parenthood. Leah Hope of ABC Channel 7, who interviewed me at the Vigil site yesterday told me there were eight or nine clergy, scraped up from all over the Chicago area. There were more clergy than that up on the altar with Bishop Sartain at yesterday’s pro-life Mass at Our Lady of Mercy, and we’ve had many times that number out on the street on numerous occasions praying that Planned Parenthood will never open. In fact, more than sixty clergy just from Aurora have signed the Fox Valley Clergy for Life statement opposing Planned Parenthood. Add to that sixty-plus from neighboring communities. That’s more than 120 clergy from this area versus maybe nine from all over the place (most, it seems, from Cook County). Those are the real numbers, and once again the pro-life side dramatically outnumbers the pro-abortion side. But that’s not the impression you would get from the media, especially today’s Beacon. Reporter Kristen Zambo devotes 40% of an article on Bisohp Sartain’s mass to the pro-abortion clergy—that on top of Ben Goldberger‘s article on the pro-abortion clergy. Add it up and it’s significantly more than half of the Beacon’s coverage devoted to the pro-abort clergy (not one of whom, as far as I know, is actually from the Fox Valley), though there were more pro-life clergy just on the altar at Our Lady of Mercy last night. Nevertheless, as dismaying as the imbalance in the media may be, the real news here is that a huge number of clergy in the immediate area threatened by Planned Parenthood are standing up against them.
Media Coverage of Clergy Support for PP
Here’s a wrap-up of the coverage of the pro-abortion clergy press conference in support of Planned Parenthood.
- “Bishop Sartain leads pro-life Mass”
- —Naperville Sun, September 13, 2007
- “Joliet Bishop backs faithful who oppose new women’s clinic”
- —Chicago Tribune, September 13, 2007
- “Pro-choice clerics back clinic”
- —Chicago Sun-Times, September 13, 2007
- “Area religious leaders pray for support of Planned Parenthood”
- —Naperville Sun, September 13, 2007
- “Religious leaders support Planned Parenthood clinic”
- —Naperville Sun, September 13, 2007
- “Ministers voice support for new clinic”
- —ABC News Channel 7, September 12, 2007
- “Religious Leaders Support Family Planning Clinic”
- —WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, September 12, 2007
- “Both Sides Praying For Aurora’s Planned Parenthood Clinic”
- —WBBM News Radio 780, September 12, 2007
