Clergy Voices: Volume 10, Issue 1

A Celebration of Progressive and Prophetic Voices at the Planned Parenthood 2006 Annual Conference

PPFA Clergy Advisory Board (CAB) member Rabbi Dennis Ross welcomed participants to the prayer breakfast by challenging them to assume the responsibility of "bringing our fragile world ever closer to the promise of redemption."

Each year, the CAB honors a member of the clergy who takes on the challenge, offered by Rabbi Ross, of advocating the advancement of reproductive rights and hence represents the dedication of the Reverend Tom Davis, chair of the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board, and his late wife, the Reverend Betsy M. Morgan. This year's 2006 Davis Award recipient, the Reverend W. Stewart MacColl, spent nearly five decades tending to the needs of the "fragile world" by advocating for reproductive health and choice.

Upon receiving the Davis Award, Mr. MacColl shared with the audience that his ministry was grounded in the words of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr: "The great ethical divide is between people who want to be pure and those who want to be responsible."

The crowd was particularly moved when Mr. MacColl shared with them how some people responded to his service to the fragile world. "So the picketers came. ... During the Sunday, Jane [MacColl's wife] and I served the protesters refreshments. At the next service I explained that we were showing respect for those folks, because they were expressing their understanding of their faith. A parishioner called me the next day saying, 'That's all very well for you to say, but you don't drive to church with a four year-old in the back seat of your car and have to try to explain to him [why] a woman [is] hold[ing] up a picture of a dead baby.'" Again, Mr. MacColl quoted Reinhold Niebuhr: "Sometimes the worst evil is done by good people who do not know that they are not good."

A thought-provoking keynote address titled "How Is It with Your Soul?" was delivered by the Reverend Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, president and professor of theology at Chicago Theological Seminary. She also addressed the challenges inherent in the responsibility of "bringing our fragile world ever closer to the promise of redemption."

Dr. Thistlethwaite argued that a state or national legal prohibition on abortion is religious establishment because it pleads one religious viewpoint over all other religious viewpoints. She offered a broad interpretation that a nation that does not respect freedom of conscience by individuals is in danger of losing its own soul. "Human existence as a materialistic quest for power and dominance, a crass manipulation of fear and intolerance for political gain, drives us apart both from one another and from God. 'For what does it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul?'"

In a tribute to all the progressive and prophetic voices celebrated at the interfaith breakfast, singer/songwriter and executive director of the Progressive Muslim Union of North America, Ani Zonneveld, shared the message in song that "we are truly one humanity."

PPFA Clergy Advisory Board member Rev. Kelvin Sauls closed the prayer service with a moving benediction.

The New York Times reporter Neela Banerjee, who attended the breakfast, wrote an article titled,"The Abortion-Rights Side Invokes God, Too," published on April 3, 2006. The article highlights the fact that Planned Parenthood and people of faith are not incongruent. The very nature of the article helps Planned Parenthood and its religious allies remind the American public that there truly are multiple religious and moral dimensions to reproductive health issues. The article was an affirmation of our prophetic and progressive voices.

ED. NOTE: For transcripts of Mr. MacColl's and Dr.Thistlethwaite's remarks at the prayer breakfast, please e-mail karen.senecal@ppfa.org.

A Message from Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America

This is my first message for Clergy Voices, and I am excited to have this venue to express my pro-choice views as a person of faith. I know that religious support for reproductive rights is key to the success of our movement, and I respect and value the critical role clergy play.

During the political ascendancy of the religious right in the mid-1990s, I formed the Texas Faith Network and Texas Freedom Network to combat the broad policy agenda of the extreme right in Texas, including its efforts to undermine reproductive rights. Together, both networks now boast membership of more than 23,000 clergy and community leaders across the state of Texas and serve as a model for other advocacy organizations. We found in Texas that the faith-based voice of our clergy and laity, on issues of civil and reproductive rights, allowed us to reach a wider community.

During my recent travels to Planned Parenthood affiliates, I had the opportunity to spend a day with the Rev. Mark Pawlowski, CEO of Planned Parenthood of South Central Michigan (PPSCM) and Planned Parenthood Federation of America Clergy Advisory Board (CAB) member. He was a great host, and his expertise and reputation in his community is invaluable as we work to expose the agenda of the radical right and to engage in "the sacred work of justice," as the Rev. Tom Davis, chair of the CAB, so aptly puts it.

I had the pleasure of joining the CAB for a portion of their board meeting during the Planned Parenthood annual conference in Washington, DC. The CAB shared with me the plans they drafted at the clergy summit in Seattle, WA, for supporting Planned Parenthood's mission. You can read more about the goals that emerged from the summit in this edition of Clergy Voices. Their enthusiasm and excitement for our work is really what the reproductive justice movement is all about and why we will prevail.

I am eager to work with you to build our network of support among people of faith in this country and look forward to a fruitful working relationship.

Meet the Reverend Dr. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite

by Laura Lambert, writer and editor in the PPFA Editorial Services Department

The Reverend Dr. Susan Brooks. Thistlethwaite, president and professor of theology at Chicago Theological Seminary, testified against the nomination of Chief Justice John G. Roberts at the Senate Confirmation hearings. Thistlethwaite's gravest concerns over the Roberts nomination were his views on the separation of church and state and privacy — in particular the vital role privacy plays in protecting reproductive rights. As noted above, Thistlethwaite was the keynote speaker at the Interfaith Prayer Breakfast at the Planned Parenthood 2006 Annual Conference.

In your teaching and writing, and in your work as president of Chicago Theological Seminary, you are particularly concerned with contemporary religious life. Can you talk a little about that?

Contemporary religious life, has, unfortunately been discovered by political strategists.

I think that has caused the generation of these wedge issues — abortion, homosexuality, evolution.I think that it truly has a very negative consequence on faith life. Its consequence for diverse faith communities has been a narrowing, a politicizing of faith.

Faith communities need to be one of the places in American society where it doesn't matter what party you belong to. There ought to be a place to talk beyond our political differences — to be kind of purple, not red and blue all the time.

Do you think that has driven people away from faith, or organized religion?

It has made it very difficult for people who are thoughtful to respect religious faith. It has had the effect of portraying God as a political actor, as favoring one side or the other. I think that those kinds of things are bad for faith. It's horrible for politics, too. And it is blending things that we as a nation have very, very intelligently kept apart.

Not that faith can't speak to the public, or to public life. It's important for people of faith to lift up their values in the public square. I've done that all my life.

How about reproductive rights in contemporary religious life?

[Abortion] is one of these wedge issues. I've counseled many people over the years considering whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. To portray these people as frivolous in their thinking is just terrible. It doesn't feel like a choice, that's not what it feels like. It feels like a responsibility, whichever way you go. ... It is a responsibility — and everyone has to do the best possible job of making informed decisions about this capacity we all have to reproduce.

The language of reproductive responsibility also brings in what we stand for, which is free, safe contraception for everybody and never allowing the conversation to narrow so that we just consider abortion. We're talking about reproductive responsibility. We're talking about giving people accurate information in education. We're talking about safety. We're talking about ... being able to get the so-called 'morning-after' pill.

In the real world, these kinds of things come up. You can't just make these ideological kinds of postures — because the real world is particular. If you have current children who have to be fed and educated and clothed, what is your responsibility to them relative to another mouth to feed? That's the real world. That's where people have to live and make their choices.

In your testimony, you said that women have had to "counter strong, even virulent, opposition from churches" in the quest for equal standing in this country. Today, reproductive rights are under fierce attack, and religious hardliners are particularly vocal in the movement to dismantle Roe. What is the role for religious progressives?

Religious progressives are asking that themselves right now. They are unwilling — I know this is certainly true for me — to let the voice of values be the voice of the religious right.

I'm actually working on a pro-family progressivism movement. [Our message is:] "We've got family values and, actually, they're better than yours." We can't be shy about that. Letting your kids ask questions and encouraging them to be their own person and grow up to be interesting, creative, and responsible adults, and not little robots that have to mouth your particular point-of-view — these are our family values and we just don't say them enough.

I think progressives are struggling how to do this in a way that's also authentic to the commitment to diversity. We're not really talking-points kind of people.

You were the keynote speaker for the Interfaith Prayer Breakfast at the Planned Parenthood 2006 Annual Conference. The themes of the conference were hope, justice, and freedom. What are your hopes for the reproductive rights movement as we move forward?

I'm fairly hopeful these days. It seems that the country is waking up to the fact that ideological politics that are not based in reality don't work really well.

I think people are beginning to see that this ideologically driven approach to running this country is fantasy. I'm very hopeful that people are going to start stepping back from that and begin to look around for people who are going to govern us with some passing attention to the real world.

This interview originally appeared in Choice! Magazine. Laura Lambert, writer and editor in the PPFA Editorial Services Department, spoke with Dr.Thistlethwaite about the intersection between religious life and reproductive rights.

In Memory of Rabbi Balfour Brickner

by Rev. Dr. Tom Davis, PPFA Clergy Advisory Board Chair

To hear the news that Rabbi Balfour Brickner had died was like hearing that there had been a major violation of natural law. On September 1, 2005, I joined Planned Parenthood Federation of America staff and Clergy Advisory Board members at his memorial service at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City. This was the institution he served so well for so many years.

The speakers at that service sketched a rabbinical career that covered all the political turmoils of America since the 1950s. Brickner was integrally involved in them all. A friend spoke of the time in 1964 when Martin Luther King Jr. asked a group of rabbis to come to St. Augustine, FL, to help in the civil rights movement. It was a time when one could suffer hard treatment for participating in Southern demonstrations. So it was normal for a rabbi to ask, "Will we be arrested? Will we be beaten?" Brickner's answer was, "Probably both." They went and were arrested. When they demanded that they be locked up with their African-American fellow demonstrators, Brickner wouldn't subside until the sheriff — who was in the local Klan — threatened him with a cattle prod.

This was only one incident in a long career of bearing witness on every controversial issue of the age. He was not only arrested in civil rights battles in the South, he also met secretly with the Vietcong in Paris. In 1984 he went to Nicaragua to oppose American policies there. But of all his causes, he was especially drawn to the struggle over women's reproductive rights.

In 1974 he testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments in opposition to a Human Life Amendment that would make abortion illegal. He pointed out that in Judaism, the fetus did not have the status of a person and that historic Jewish legal opinion would never subordinate the rights of the woman to those of the fetus.

At a private dinner together during a Planned Parenthood annual conference, he shared with me a moment from early in his career in Washington when Adlai Stevenson asked him to write a prayer that he could use for an upcoming meeting with Jewish religious leaders. What a way to begin an astonishing public career of robust advocacy, abundant writing, and an unmatchable and irreplaceable spirit.

The Chaplain's Corner

by Rev. Ignacio Castuera, PPFA National Chaplain

The work of the chaplain is very rewarding as it involves connecting progressive clergy and their congregations to local affiliates around the country.

On a trip to United Campus Ministry at Texas A&M University, I explained to the students the positive ways in which Planned Parenthood supports reproductive freedom and health care for women. The students raised many questions about a variety of issues, such as the federal abortion ban. Although I may not have won any staunch supporters, it was clear that I had challenged many of the students to rethink previously held misconceptions about Planned Parenthood.

As I travel the country, I state loudly and clearly that women's right to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health is something that religious people want to preserve. In our society, however, there is a tendency to self-censor when we believe that our perspective is not a popular one. As a result, we are unable or unwilling to state our point of view (I call this a "conspiracy of silence"), which silences potential allies. I have seen this in various situations, particularly in the states that have legislation enacted or pending to ban abortions.

The only remedy for this learned behavior is for people of faith to clearly say what they believe. When we speak, we give courage to others to speak. We must be willing to speak up when abortion bans threaten the lives of women.

Knowledge and courage will be potent forces to help us in the coming months and years to counter the wave of actions against women in the name of religion. We can work with the Planned Parenthood family to intensify its efforts. We will continue to stand in solidarity with women and their right to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services.

Thank You, Planned Parenthood of Western Washington

The Clergy Advisory Board (CAB) summit meeting in Seattle, WA, was made possible due to a generous grant from Planned Parenthood of Western Washington (PPWW). The grant also enabled Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) to fill the critical staff positions of clergy project manager and clergy coordinator.

News from the Clergy Advisory Board

In September 2005, the Clergy Advisory Board (CAB) held a summit in Seattle, WA. It seized the opportunity to develop new strategies for advocating Planned Parenthood's work amidst the changing political and religious currents of our age.

The summit had two focuses: messaging and organizing. CAB members recognized the need for messages using language with which religious people are comfortable. They agreed that justice was the key Biblical imperative to strive for during this time when access to reproductive health services is under assault. Using justice as a framework, the CAB developed a statement on parental consent issues.

The CAB is extremely enthusiastic about its renewed commitment to organize on the local level and to work with denominations and other supportive clergy to provide education with the object of gaining more explicit support for reproductive rights and comprehensive sex ed.

These goals are included in the two-to-five-year working plan drafted at the summit. In addition to messaging and organizing, the working plan includes commitments from CAB members to further explore and implement the ways in which clergy can support PPFA and coordinate advocacy work with other pro-choice religious groups. The CAB will hold its second summit in October 2006 to follow up on the work that began last September and to add, as necessary, new objectives for the coming year.

The CAB will continue to make the case for reproductive justice for women. The materials in this newsletter are but a part of the continuing contribution to this struggle.

History Renews Hope

by Rev. Dr. Tom Davis, PPFA Clergy Advisory Board Chair

In the past year I have spoken at 16 Planned Parenthood affiliates all across the country. Many of them — Charlottesville, San Diego, Tucson — are in the process of reviving clergy support groups. It is an acknowledgment of the need to confront the religious forces arrayed against the work of Planned Parenthood. Whether speaking to the clergy groups, to staff members, or to general membership luncheons, my topic has been the religious roots of reproductive justice. But speaking on that topic involves lifting up the long history of clergy support of the work of the federation. And looking at that history offers ample grounds for hope in our current struggles.

In past struggles, like the denial of contraception to welfare clients in Maryland, to patients at the public hospitals of New York City, and to unmarried women almost everywhere, it was the clergy who forced the public to think about the injustice of such policies. Clergy could speak from experience about the terrible consequences of the policies in women's lives. Clergy were not the only ones who did this — many courageous doctors and determined volunteers were also involved — but clergy were the ones who confronted and overcame the religious defenses of such policies. It turned out that when you could show the public the suffering such policies caused in the lives of women, the vast majority of Americans no longer defended them.

Now consider the current situation in South Dakota. Here is a state that has passed many unjust laws to control women's reproductive lives. But finally the legislature passed a law which places the state back in the 1950s. The law criminalizes any abortion except to save a woman's life. Now the issue becomes clear. If this law goes into effect, the people who call themselves "pro-life" will be responsible for the consequences. According to an article by Cynthia Gorney in the June 26 New Yorker, many "pro-life" citizens of South Dakota are having second thoughts about those consequences. Many of them are probably going to vote against a law they always thought they wanted. What happened? What happened was that they began to imagine the tragedies that the law would bring.

A slice of the anti-abortion movement is clearly punitive. It wants to punish women for being active sexually in ways it does not approve. Basically, it wants to control women's lives. But it appears that the bulk of the public is not of that mode — even in conservative states. Rather it only wants to have the right to approve or disapprove the specific reasons why women have abortions. In her article Cynthia Gorney describes it as a frequent belief that "the woman's reasons are not adequate." Such an attitude is certainly troubling. It is the same kind of thing Planned Parenthood faced in the past when the public did not approve of birth control, or of making contraception available to unmarried women, etc. But when the public is shown the consequences of making women's decisions for them, it usually changes its mind. There is no majority now (only a few pharmacists) who would deny women birth control. The process takes time and can be discouraging, but the history of Planned Parenthood shows that in time, justice has a good chance of prevailing.

Wherever I went in the Planned Parenthood world, I saw few signs of discouragement. In the staff of affiliates, the board members, and in the clergy who support them, I saw a resolute and even cheerful determination. Remembering history has the possibility of renewing hope, and that is what is happening in the affiliates right now.

With Thanks to Dan Maguire

by Rev. Dr. Tom Davis, PPFA Clergy Advisory Board Chair

After 12 years on the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Clergy Advisory Board, Dan Maguire is stepping down. He is simply irreplaceable.

When Dan joined the board in 1994, he brought his unique perspective to our work. As a Roman Catholic professor at Marquette University for more than 30 years and a former priest, he provides both historical and theological grounds for a conscientious pro-choice Catholic position. In that same year, he co-founded the Religious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health and Ethics. Recognizing that two-thirds of the earth's populations follow the world's major religions, and that these teachings affect not only the faithful, but also public attitudes and public policy, the consultation seeks to make religion a positive influence in the public square.

Among his many books was a special contribution to the work of securing reproductive justice — Sacred Choices: The Right to Contraception and Abortion in Ten World Religions. This perceptive study explodes the poisonous myth that the world's religions oppose a woman's right to reproductive freedom. As a member of the Clergy Advisory Board, Dan has appeared at rallies, written countless letters, opposed appalling nominations to federal courts, and spoken at more than 30 affiliates.

Most irreplaceable is his puckish sense of humor. When he was meeting with various scholars from the world religions, a Chinese scholar told him that both in China and in the Republic of China (Taiwan), they were putting free condoms in motel drawers. And now in his words: "I looked at them as seriously as I could and I said, 'We don't do that. We put Bibles there.' I said our thesis is that, if a couple comes to a motel to have sex and they find the Bible, they'll read that instead. He looked at me, still straining to keep a straight face, and he said, 'Do you have data?' I said, 'You bet we do. We have the very highest rate in the world of unplanned pregnancies.'"

As we allow him to step down, we retain him as a theological consultant — unpaid, of course.

Thanks for everything, Dan.

NEWS FROM THE FIELD: AFFILIATE UPDATES

New York, NY — Reproductive Justice in a Just Society The Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) Religious Leaders Task Force, a group of clergy representing diverse religious traditions who support and advocate for reproductive justice in the pulpit and in the public square, wrote a statement — Reproductive Justice in a Just Society — that was published by PPNYC on March 7, 2006. The statement talks about reproductive justice in terms of equal access — equal access to information about the great gift of human sexuality and equal access to affordable birth control and abortion. It also ties issues of reproductive justice to the quest for economic and social justice. If you would like to read and endorse this statement, please visit http://www.ppnyc.org/facts/facts/clergystatement.html.

Birmingham, AL — Reproductive Health in the South: A Clergy Perspective Planned Parenthood of Alabama's 76th annual meeting featured a panel discussion that explored challenges to reproductive health in the South from a clergy perspective. Among the four members of the clergy who participated in the panel was PPFA Clergy Advisory Board member the Reverend Dr. Joanne Sizoo, who serves as interim pastor of Central Steele Creek Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC.

The panelists addressed questions such as,What is the greatest challenge to reproductive rights and health in the South? What religious strategies, if any, would you propose to assure reproductive rights? How can religious leaders reduce the intense religious rhetoric that virtually precludes meaningful discussion and debate about the health and wellbeing of women?

The approaches to these challenging questions ranged from providing an overview of Jewish thought about when life begins to denominational affirmations of reproductive choice. Dr. Sizoo talked about the importance of having clergy on Planned Parenthood affiliate boards, of supporting local affiliate clergy networks, and of the work of the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board.

By the close of the meeting, several board members spoke about ways in which they can follow up on the suggestions offered by the clergy panel. And by the next PPA Board meeting, two members of the clergy were added to the board.

Clergy Voices welcomes articles on the theological basis for reproductive rights, pro-choice clergy events around the country, prayers and sermons, and more. Please submit articles to Clergy Voices Office of Special Projects
Planned Parenthood
Federation of America
434 West 33rd Street
New York, NY 10001

Introducing PPFA's New Clergy Project Manager and Clergy Coordinator

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) Clergy Advisory Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Rev. Karen H. Senecal to the new position of clergy project manager and Sabrina Hayeem-Ladani as clergy coordinator.

Karen comes to PPFA from Judson Memorial Church, located in New York City. As a minister there, Karen organized and led weekly worship services and helped the congregation to develop skills of theological reflection. During this time, Karen was also an active member of the Planned Parenthood of New York City Religious Leaders Task Force.

Karen earned her Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary and her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Hartwick College. In her new role as clergy project manager, Karen manages national programs to broaden clergy support of PPFA by recruiting and mobilizing members of the PPFA Pro-Choice Religious Network (PCRN). Sabrina comes to PPFA from the Foundation for Jewish Camping where she managed all aspects of office administration.

Sabrina is responsible for developing and maintaining the clergy database and coordinating the print production and fulfillment of Clergy Voices. She is also helping identify and recruit prospective members for the PCRN.

Karen and Sabrina work with Director of Special Projects Caren Spruch and National Chaplain Rev. Ignacio Castuera in the PPFA Office of Special Projects. Karen can be reached at (212) 261-4697 or karen.senecal@ppfa.org. Sabrina can be reached at (212) 261-4721 or sabrina.hayeemladani@ppfa.org.

CLERGY VOICES is published by the Planned Parenthood^® Federation of America Office of Special Projects (OSP), 434 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001.

President
Cecile Richards

Chair, PPFA Clergy Advisory Board
The Reverend Tom Davis

Director, OSP
Caren Spruch

National Chaplain, PPFA
The Reverend Ignacio Castuera

Clergy Project Manager
The Reverend Karen H. Senecal

Clergy Coordinator
Sabrina Hayeem-Ladani

© 2006 Planned Parenthood^®Federation of America, Inc. All rights reserved. Planned Parenthood^®, PPFA^®, and the logo of "nested Ps" are registered service marks of PPFA.

Clergy Statement on Teen Access and Parental Involvement

As clergy we know that in healthy families, parents are devoted to the well-being of their children and care about every aspect of their lives. They want to know when their children are facing a decision about an unplanned pregnancy because they want to be helpful and supportive. But they also believe that their daughters' safety is more important than their desire to be informed. For this reason, we must oppose laws requiring either notification of or consent by the parents of teens who seek to end a pregnancy.

We strongly believe in, encourage, and advocate parental involvement with children from their earliest years. Indeed, the Bible commands that we instruct our children so that they will gain wisdom and understanding. However, we also strongly believe that so-called parental consent and/or notification laws will do nothing to improve communication between parents and children, and we have good reason to fear that such laws have the potential to harm young women who are already vulnerable.

We clergy, by the very nature of our role, develop longstanding relationships with the youth and families of our congregations and community groups. As providers of pastoral care, we understand the complexities of family life. Recognizing that these are matters of faith and pastoral counsel, we affirm the value of family, the necessity for timely and compassionate health care, and the importance of communication among family members about the full range of issues a young person may face, including matters of sexuality and reproductive health. We take heart and comfort in the fact that most parents are involved in their daughters' decisions about unplanned pregnancies.

But, as pastoral counselors, we also know that not every family functions well. Alcoholism, domestic violence, and neglect are but some of the sad realities that many young people live with. In such families, a teen who becomes pregnant is unlikely to tell her parents and run the risk of their wrath. In other families, a teen may wish to spare her parents the pain she believes her unplanned pregnancy might cause them. In at least one case in a state where mandatory parental notification is the law, a teen's concern for her parents cost her life. Knowing that she could not go to a reputable provider who would be obligated to notify her parents, she became the victim of illegal abortion. Access to confidential and competent health care could have preserved her life.

Mandatory parental notification and/or consent laws can increase health risks for pregnant teens. Such laws, despite their intentions to the contrary, are far more likely to encourage a teen to delay speaking with her parents and, thereby, cause her to delay seeking the medical services and emotional counseling she requires. In turn, these delays increase the risk and the cost of any procedure she may undergo.

The provision of a judicial bypass does not resolve this problem. The disclosure of personal matters to strangers — lawyers, judges, or others — can be humiliating. It is not uncommon for judges opposing abortion to arbitrarily deny such requests. Judicial bypass, even when approval is routine, creates further delays and thus poses greater risk for a teen. A pregnant teen needs immediate and confidential access to a health care provider, not a judge.

As legislators review proposals for mandatory parental involvement when a teen seeks an abortion, we urge them to consider carefully the complex circumstances of American families and to reject all such proposals.There is no moral or ethical justification for the potential harm that parental notification and consent laws pose to the vulnerable among us, whom we are obligated to defend and protect.

Statement adopted by the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board
February 2006