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."
Other Modern Ecumenical Movements
- (ECT) Evangelicals and Catholics
Together
- Freemasonry
- The New Age Movement
- Baha'i World Faith
- Promise Keepers
