What Would Our Lady of Guadalupe Do? Please remove ads for providers of the notorious abortifacient Plan B from your parish bulletins.

As so beautifully explained last year by Bishop Paul Loverde of Arlington,

• "In God’s loving care, in His Divine Providence, Our Lady of Guadalupe and the cause of life are intertwined....in the image on Juan Diego’s cloak, the Blessed Virgin is depicted as a pregnant woman. The black belt which she is wearing is the symbol in the Aztec culture of a woman with child. And Christ is neither a young boy nor an adult, but rather a helpless, defenseless child in the womb of His mother Mary. So, the apparition of Our Blessed Lady on Tepeyac Hill proclaims that life is present within the mother’s womb: human life, a human being! The horror of abortion is that a pre-born, innocent and defenseless human being has his or her life unjustly taken away....


• "A second reason for asserting that Our Lady of Guadalupe and the cause of life are intertwined is rooted in the fact that Mary 'appeared on Tepeyac Hill at a time when human sacrifice was part of the native Aztec culture. It has been estimated that one out of every five children was sacrificed to the Aztecs’ gods' (The Word Among Us, Advent 2009, p. 32). The apparition of Mary, depicted on Juan Diego’s cloak, conveyed an important message to the Aztecs: this woman, revealed as one belonging to the God whom the Spanish missionaries were proclaiming as the one true God, was pregnant with the Son of God, the author of all life....


• "Just as Mary brought to Elizabeth, Zechariah and their son, John the Baptist, the Child hidden in her womb, Who is the author of life and the one Savior of the world, so at Tepeyac Hill, she brought the same Lord Jesus to the Aztecs and peoples everywhere."

We often hear that there have been 50 million abortions in the United States, since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Truth be told, that number is a gross underestimate. When you add chemical and mechanical methods, Pharmacists for Life International (PFLI) estimates that there have been 276,675,000 abortions, in the U.S. alone. That means that more than five times as many abortions can be accounted for through pharmaceutical chemicals and devices, than through surgical abortions (Some items that are promoted as "contraceptives" are actually abortifacients or potentially abortifacients.).

The Holy Father has called pharmacists to "conscientious objection, which is a right your profession must recognize, permitting you not to collaborate either directly or indirectly by supplying products for the purpose of decisions that are clearly immoral such as, for example, abortion or euthanasia." I believe that the Catholic community in the U.S. has been doing a heinously poor job of supporting pharmacists of conscience

• In the Diocese of Arlington, Divine Mercy Pharmacy was associated with the Tepeyac Family Center. Divine Mercy Pharmacy refused to deal in abortifacients or contraceptives. Tragically, it had to quickly close for lack of business.


• PFLI maintains a listing of pharmacists who have vowed to "not dispense any abortifacient drugs or devices, nor do they refer for the same" (Note: While that list contains less than two handfuls of such pharmacists, arrangements can apparently be made with some for mail order of prescriptions.). Yet, parishes routinely carry advertisements for pharmacies which have not made such commitments.

Your own parish bulletin includes an advertisement for a provider of the notorious abortifacient Plan B (as confirmed by the manufacturer's web site):

1. Annunciation BVM, Philadelphia (Zevin's Drug Store)
2. Assumption BVM, Feasterville (Gary's Rx Shoppe)
3. Epiphany, Philadelphia (Zevin's Drug Store)
4. Holy Family, Philadelphia (Morrison Pharmacy)
5. Holy Martyrs, Oreland (Genuardi)
6. Holy Savior, Norristown (Genuardi)
7. Maternity BVM, Philadelphia (Shop Rite)
8. Mother of Divine Grace, Philadelphia (Port Richmond Pharmacy)
9. Our Lady of Consolation, Parkesburg (Longneker Pharmacy)
10. Our Lady of Grace, Penndel (Genuardi)
11. Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Bridgeport (Genuardi)
12. St Anastasia, Newtown Square (Mackey's Pharmacy)
13. St Anselm, Philadelphia (Shop Rite)
14. St Augustine, Bridgeport (Genuardi)
15. St Basil the Great, Kimberton (Gateway Pharmacy and Genuardi)
16. St Bridget, Philadelphia (Falls Pharmacy)
17. St Cecelia, Philadelphia (Verree Pharmacy)
18. St Helena, Blue Bell (The Medicine Shoppe)
19. St John the Baptist, Philadelphia (Morrison Pharmacy)
20. St Josaphat, Philadelphia (Morrison Pharmacy)
21. St Joseph, Collingdale (Public Drug of Darby)
22. St Jude, Chalfont (Genuardi)
23. St Leo, Philadelphia (Rubino's Pharmacy and Shop Rite)
24. St Mary of the Assumption, Manayunk (Morrison Pharmacy)
25. St Paul, East Norriton (Genuardi)
26. St Peter, West Brandywine (Brandywine Pharmacy - Note: The pharmacist even identifies self as a parishioner.)
27. St Thomas Aquinas, Croydon (Mat's Pharmacy)
28. St Titus, East Norriton (Genuardi)

Pharmacies carrying Plan B are just one example of advertisers that have no business being in parish bulletins. Catholic parishes and institutions should not advertise any of those who prescribe/ dispense/ market abortifacients and/or contraceptives - be they convenience stores, pharmacies (including those in department stores and supermarkets), or physicians. These advertisers are profiting from the most heinous abuse against children.

As we await the birth of our infant savior, I prayerfully and respectfully request that you remove the offending ad from your bulletin.

Sincerely,