Ecumenism and the Pro-Life Movement
While the founders of Operation Rescue may have intended only to save the lives of the helpless children that are destroyed through abortion, they now find themselves serving an entirely different purpose.
“I have never seen such an instrument for ecumenism as Operation Rescue is,” said Catholic priest Patrick Malone, head of St. Mary Catholic Parish just outside Wichita. Malone explained that Operation Rescue “has a very strong evangelical flavor nationwide, but the experience here has been that the operations break down barriers that have separated churches as we stand for the common cause of the unborn child.”
Recognizing that the movement offers a tremendous opportunity to sweep millions of Protestants under the guidance of the papacy, Catholic leaders are now encouraging Roman Catholics to join Operation Rescue and shape its future direction. It’s already working. said Malone, “People I’ve demonstrated with, attended rallies with and spent time in jail with–the evangelicals and others–apologized again and again to me” for the views they had held of the Catholic Church.
At Indianapolis 1990, Catholic priest Michael Scanlan gave a testimony about being arrested during an Operation Rescue demonstration. He spoke of the close fellowship between Catholics and Protestants in the jail, and said many of the Protestants attended the masses which were held there. He also said that after these ecumenical experiences, some Protestants began reciting the rosary during Operation Rescue demonstrations.
The National Catholic Register has reported in at least two articles the news that Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry is the latest Protestant pro-life activist to join the Roman Catholic Church. In a Register interview, Terry was asked, “When did you first take an interest in the Catholic Church?” His answer is: “It was during my work in Operation Rescue that I first became interested in the Roman Catholic Church.”
Modern Christian Ecumenical Movements
Even a cursory review of what has taken place in the Church during the last 25 years will reveal a fierce undermining of the faith. Precisely as the Bible warns, today’s most effective enemies of Christ are those who claim to be Christians and call mankind not just to any old false religion but to a counterfeit Christianity.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. – 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
Modern Non-Christian Ecumenical Movements
Growing alongside the Christian ecumenical movement are those non-Christian movements with basically the same message: uniting the world into a one world religion that is inclusive of all beliefs.
I joined the pro-life movement here in New Zealand in the 80’s, but have always been an outsider due to my not being a Catholic. Having said that, there were/are virtually no committed pro-life non-Catholics here. There was one who became prominent for a short time, protesting outside clinics. I visited him in prison, only to find out that he had converted…and now aggressively, wanted to convert me. So we had a heated argument…in prison. But what are they to do now that their Pope is pro-choice, pro-UN, pro-world religion, pro-“saving the planet (population reduction) pro-vaccine etc etc.? It stuns me that traditional Catholics continue to believe they are the one true Church, even when some acknowledge that a “false prophet” now occupies “the chair of Peter”. At what stage must they (surely?) pull out? Again, Protestants have no cause to be smug, most having succumbed years ago. The path is wide indeed, that leads to destruction.