Wednesday 14-Sep-2005 23:16

USCCB Official Pays Public Homage to Notorious
Pro-Abort/Pro-Homosexual Rabbi


Rabbi Balfour Brickner, openly pro-abortion and pro-sodomite, has been rated "sexiest rabbi" by the website, newyorkmetro.com


From: Randy Engel, Executive Director, U.S. Coalition for Life* Export,
PA 15632
To: U.S. Pro-life leadership
Date: September 14, 2005
Subject: USCCB Praise for Work and Life of Rabbi Balfour Brickner

On September 2, 2005, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
(USCCB) Office of Media Relations issued a statement by Dr. Eugene
Fisher, Associate Director of the USCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical and
Interreligious Affairs and a consultant to the Vatican's Commission for
Religious Relations with the Jews, on the death of New York Rabbi
Balfour Brickner on August 29, 2005.

The full text of the statement by Dr. Fisher reads as follows:

"Rabbi Balfour Brickner was one of the great leaders of Reform Judaism
and one of the greatest American religious leaders of the second half
of the twentieth century. He was a man of social vision and moral
courage who never backed down from the good fight for the rights of
others, whether the cause was civil and religious rights or labor and
Jewish-Christian relations. He was a mentor and a guide in these
matters not only to many in his own community but equally to many
within the Catholic community. As a leader of the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism) and the Rabbi
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York, he participated in dialogue not
only with Catholics in America but also internationally. He was a
biblical prophet with a sense of humor. He was, in brief, a mensch. We
in the Catholic community involved in interreligious and social work
have lost a great friend. And the world has lost one of its most
important voices. May he rest in peace with the Lord, and may his name
forever be a blessing."

Dr. Fisher's unqualified praise of Rabbi Brickner as "a great friend" of
Catholics and the Church, carefully omits any reference to the seedier
aspects of Rabbi Brickner's well known, long-time crusade for "abortion
rights" and "homosexual rights."

Rabbi Brickner served on the boards of the Planned Parenthood Federation
of America (PPFA), the PPFA Board of Advocates and the PPFA Clergy
Advisory Board, Planned Parenthood of New York City.

Rabbi Brickner was a founder of Religious Leaders for a Free Choice, a
New York-based pro-abortion organization.

Rabbi Brickner was a founding member and board member of the National
Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL), renamed NARAL -
Pro-Choice America.

Rabbi Brickner served on the board of the New York affiliate of the
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCAR). In the mid-1970s,
Rabbi Brickner, testified on RCAR's behalf before the U.S. Senate in
favor of abortion rights. He stated that in Judaism the fetus in the
womb is not considered a person and has "no juridical personality of its
own." In fact, he stated, "a fetus did not acquire legal standing until
thirty days after its birth."

Rabbi Brickner frequently expressed his pro-abortion opinions in PPFA's
publication "Clergy Voices." In "Bush Administration Alchemy Would Turn
a Fetus into a Child," Brickner charged that by making the fetus
eligible for health care, the Bush Administration was turning "a fetus
into a child and a woman into a vessel." He stated that the unborn fetus
"is not a child" and "it is not a living soul."

Rabbi Brickner is quoted by WOMENSENEWS as stating "The media has played
and pandered to the Roman Catholic Community and their position as
though it is in some ways definitive toward reproductive choice."

Rabbi Brickner helped draft the 2000 SEICUS (Sex Education and
Information Council of the United States) "Religious Declaration on
Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing," which upholds contraception,
abortion and homosexual rights including the right to "the blessing of
same sex unions," cradle-to-grave sex instruction and population
control.

Dr. Fisher's claim, made on behalf of the USCCB, the official arm of the
American Bishops , that Rabbi Brickner was a great religious leader
whose name may "forever be a blessing," needs to be refuted; Dr. Fisher
and his superior, Rev. Arthur Kennedy, Executive Director of the
Secretariat, need to be sent packing; and the members of the hierarchy
who permitted this scandalous statement to be issued need to issue an
apology to the Pro-Life Community. In addition the Vatican should remove
Dr. Fisher from any advisory position to the Holy See on Jewish
ecumenical relations.


Action Line: Contact Bishop Blaire and Cardinal Keeler by phone, fax or
e-mail. Also please
distribute this release to your pro-life mailing lists. Reproduce it
freely and add it to your web page if
possible. Also be sure and send a letter of protest to your own bishop.
Ask him if Dr. Fisher speaks for him? If not, ask him to file a formal
protest with Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Washington, the
President of the USCCB. Send your own personal protest to Bishop
Skylstad.

IMPORTANT ADDRESSES

Bishop William S. Skylstad, President, USCCB
1023 W. Riverside Avenue, P.O. Box 1453
Spokane, WA 99210-1453
(509) 358-7305
The only e-mail available is emeisfjord@dioceseofspokane.org
Ask Deacon Eric Meisfieord, Communications Director to
transfer your message to Bishop Skylstad.


Most Reverend Stephen E. Blaire, Bishop of Stockton, CA is Chairman of
the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
His address is 1105 N. Lincoln Street
Stockton, CA 95203
209-466-0636
Fax: 209-941-9722
e-mail - bishop@stocktondiocese.org

Other members of the Secretariat include William Cardinal Keeler,
Archbishop of Baltimore, who ironically is also Chairman of the USCCB
Pro-Life Committee. Protests can be register through the Archdiocese
Respect Life Office at
Life@archbalt.org.
Letters and faxes can be sent to Cardinal Keeler at
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Fax: 410-727-8234
Phone: 410-547-5446

Most Reverend William J. Levada, Archbishop of San Francisco, a member
of the Secretariat has
recently been appointed to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith in Rome. He should be
asked to remove Dr. Fisher from any advisory position to the Holy See on
Jewish ecumenical
relations.

Write, call or e-mail Archbishop Levada at:
One Peter Yorke Way
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-614-5609
Fax 415 - 614 - 5601
e-mail at info@sfarchdiocese.org


Other members of the secretariat who need to be contacted include:

Most Reverend Alexander J. Brunett
Archbishop of Seattle
910 Marion Street
Seattle, WA 98104
206-382-4927
Fax: 206-382-3495

Most Reverend Tod D. Brown
Bishop of Orange
2811 East Villa Real Drive
P.O. Box 14195
Orange, CA 92863-1595
714-282-3105
Fax: 714-282-3107

Most Reverend John H. Ricard, SSJ
Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee
P. O. Drawer 17329
Pensacola, FL 32522
850-432-1515
Fax: 850-436-6424

Most Reverend Plácido Rodríguez, CFM
Bishop of Lubbock
4620 4th Street
P. O. Box 98700
Lubbock, TX 79499
806-792-3943
Fax: 806-792-2953

Most Reverend Nicholas J. Samra
Titular Bishop of Gerasa
8525 Cole Street
Warren, MI 48093
810-558-0143
Fax: 810-558-0144

Most Reverend Carlos A. Sevilla, SJ
Bishop of Yakima
5301-A Tieton Drive
Yakima, WA 98909
509-965-7117
Fax: 509-966-8334


Consultors:
Most Reverend Oscar H. Lipscomb
Archbishop of Mobile
P.O. Box 1966
400 Government Street
Mobile, AL 36633
334-434-1585
Fax: 334-434-1588

Most Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk
Archbishop of Cincinnati
100 East 8th Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202-2129
513-421-3131
Fax: 513-421-6225

Most Reverend Frederick F. Campbell
Diocese of Columbus
Chancery
198 E Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: 614-224-2251
Email: chomail@colsdioc.org


Most Reverend Patrick R. Cooney
Bishop of Gaylord
611 W. North Street
Gaylord, MI 49735-8349
517-732-5147
Fax: 517-732-1706

Most Reverend Howard J. Hubbard
Bishop of Albany
40 North Main Avenue
Albany, NY 12203
518-453-6600
Fax: 518-453-6793

Most Reverend Richard J. Sklba (Chairman-Elect)
Auxiliary Bishop of Milwaukee
2491 N. Murray Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211
414-769-3486
Fax: 414-769-3408

The Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs is located at
the USCCB, 3211 4th St. NE, Washington, D.C. 20017-1194. Telephone:
202-541-3020. Fax: 202-541-3183
e-mail: seiamail@usccb.org. Staff secretary is Rev. Francis V. Tiso.

Please send copies of any communications concerning the Fisher matter to
the USCL via tengel@bellatlantic.net, attn. Randy Engel. The USCL, in
return, will keep you advised on the reaction, or lack of it, by USCCB
officials.


*Created in 1972, the U.S. Coalition for Life is the oldest pro-life
research agency in the United States.
Randy Engel is the Director of the U.S. Coalition for Life. She is a
40-year veteran of the pro-life war in the U.S. and an internationally
recognized authority on abortion, population control and eugenics. In
1976, Engel founded the Michael Fund/International Foundation for
Genetic Research - the pro-life alternative to the March of Dimes - with
Dr. Jerome Lejeune of Paris. She is the author of Sex Education - The
Final Plague, The McHugh Chronicles - Who Betrayed the Pro-Life
Movement? and A March of Dimes Primer - The A-Z of Eugenic Killing.


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comments: 4
c o m m e n t s
Daniel :: Friday 16-Sep-2005 22:17 :: ip: logged
Thank you for the info!

JP :: Saturday 17-Sep-2005 00:26 :: ip: logged
I read your posting about Mr. Fisher's praise of Rabbi Brickner with some dismay. I think you failed to emphasize that the late rabbi dedicated his life to social justice, including protesting racism and war and improving interfaith (especially Catholic-Jewish) relations. He generated tremendous good will in so many things he did during his life, whether for the rights of minorities or of women. He marched with Martin Luther King against racism, even went to prison alongside him, refusing to be separated from Dr. King when the police wanted to separate whites from the blacks. If you knew anything about him, you would know that he lived a life of love towards his fellow man, regardless of their race or religion or gender. Although a Jew, in many ways he followed the teachings of Jesus, showing compassion towards all he knew.... Must the late rabbi be a hated enemy because you disagreed with him about the issue of abortion? I am pro-life myself, but I think you go way too far. You even condemn, and push to oust, Mr. Fisher, who praised the rabbi because of their lifelong work together in improving interfaith relations? I'm confused about your reasoning here. Are you really saying that you do not consider improving race and inter-religious relations to be a good thing? Or are you saying that if someone disagrees with you about abortion, no other good that they do in their lives could ever possibly matter? It seems to me that it has gotten so far that if someone disagrees with you, they are your mortal enemy and even those 'on your side' who offer them any praise are your enemies too! To me, this 'take no prisoners' approach with those whom you disagree -- they are enemies deserving no praise for anything in their life -- means that you refuse to offer them compassion, to honor their lives or to treat them like a fellow human being. It is this attitute that has contributed to the breakdown of rational civil discourse in this country. It is this very approach that fuels intolerance and hatred. Do you think this is really Christian? No, I think this is so unlike the compassionate, forgiving teachings of Jesus (who taught to love -- and certainly forgive -- even our enemies). Unfortunately, this is rather more like the attitude of the fundamentalism Muslims, who regard those who are not Muslim as necessarily their enemies, not human, deserving of only contempt and death. In "The Sunflower", Wiesenthal asks the leading clergy in the world, Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu leaders, if he should have forgiven a Nazi who killed even children during the Holocaust. It is especially the Christian clergy who answer that, yes, he should have forgiven the Nazi, because he deserves compassion. Why? Because even a Nazi is a human being, because God has taught us love and forgiveness, and only God is in a position to judge. Fisher is not your enemy, neither is the rabbi. These are men, even great men, who disagree with you. JP

Peter Frey :: Saturday 17-Sep-2005 00:45 :: ip: logged
This conclusively proves that our "bishops" are apostates from the Catholic faith. To promote such an individual as a "great religious leader" while opposing the church's position on life issues is a direct slap in the face to all pro-life Catholics. I would also be interested in hearing what Rome and Benedict have to say about it. This can not go on unnoticed. The USCCB is a hot bed of liberal dissenters and unCatholic even anti-Catholic persons.

Not Shocked :: Saturday 17-Sep-2005 16:19 :: ip: logged
American Catholic Bishops long have been servants of WASP culture, and WASP culture, as with its theological source, is utterly liberal and perverse. WASP culture is from its crystallization during the English Puritan Revolution a Judaizng culture because Anglo-Saxon Calvinism was a Judaizing theology. That means that WASP cultural Elites, who even when fiscally conservative will tend to be decidedly liberal in theological and cultural matters, will always gravitate toward and ally with Jews, even the Jewish leaders of the most morlaly perverse aspeects of the Sexeual Revolution. Catholic Bishops in America play that game well, proving that they are often primarily lapdogs for Elite Liberal WASP culture, which makes them good 'tolerant' Americans. Such a 'Catholic' leadership produces road-to-Hell-paved-with-good-intentions folk like poster JP by the millions.Just wondering: Does anyone know Fisher's ethnicity? I have found that Catholics who are themselves at least part Jewish in ethnicity have a much greater tendency to be leaders of theological, cultural, and moral movements that are allied with leftwing Jewish leaders than are Catholics who are, say, Irish or Polish or Italian or Spanish, etc.

Mattheus :: Saturday 17-Sep-2005 22:29 :: ip: logged
To JP:Brickner advocated two sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance: the sin of sodom and wilful murder (abortion). Whatever "good works" he did for humanity were of no value, and earned no merit before God. There is no hatred harbored for Mr. Brickner. If he condemned the sin of sodom and fought for the lives of the innocent unborn, he would have been a great man, much to be admired. However, he did none of these...