Vida Humana Internacional (VHI) welcomed three new affiliates this year, including Voluntarias por la Vida in Venezuela, ANE Provida in Bolivia and Movimiento Anónimo por la Vida in Chile. Although Movimiento Anónimo por la Vida became an official affiliate this year, VHI has been helping this organization for the past 11 years. In August 1994, VHI sponsored Movimiento's first international conference. VHI now has sixteen affiliated organizations throughout Latin America, as well as many other organizations and/or contacts that we provide guidance, information and materials to.
VHI and its affiliates have collaborated in innumerable ways to promote and defend the "culture of life" against the implacable advance of the powerful anti-life forces. Although it is impossible to recount all these activities, here are highlights of a year filled with powerful demonstrations of God's providence and love.
Some of our affiliate projects funded:
Promotion and support of pro-life activities throughout Latin America:
VHI's affiliate Fundación Cultura de la Vida Humana (The Culture of Human Life Foundation) has been a major force of contention against proposed laws that give special rights to homosexuals and introduce "reproductive health" mandates in Colombia. (The reproductive health laws include a hodgepodge of provisions from the legalization of abortion, to gender equality, to so-called "children's rights" that allow for distribution of contraceptives without parents' consent.) HLI's Affiliate distributed an impressive packet of information that included videos to lawmakers, bishops, parish priests and the faithful, appeared before senate committees, organized marches and collected signatures and launched a strong media outreach. VHI prepared documents and sent hundreds of brochures that were used in the information packet.
In April, the Coalition of Groups For Life and Family of Baja California, organized the Second International Conference on Life and Family in Mexicali, Mexico. Magaly Llaguno, VHI's Executive Director was Keynote Speaker. VHI donated over 80 lbs. of educational materials which were distributed freely among conference participants.
The Second International Conference for Life and Family in Chile took place this past June with the participation of Fr. Tom Euteneuer and Dr. John C. Willke as main speakers. Dr. Willke was very kind in accepting our invitation and in donating dozens of pounds worth of materials. The conference was organized by HLI's Affiliate, Movimiento Anónimo por la Vida, and VHI held strategy sessions for our pro-life leaders from the Southern Tip, including the countries of Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
In conjunction with the conference in Chile, we organized a three country trip for Fr. Tom Euteneuer to Argentina, Chile and Paraguay. Fr. Tom visited our affiliates in each country and held an exhaustive speaking tour that went from colleges and seminaries to congressional offices and pro-life conferences.
VHI's affiliate in Panama, Fundación Ofrece Un Hogar held and International Conference on Life and Family in November. The conference was divided into two seminars, one for priests and religious and one for the general public. The latter was broadcast throughout Radio María, the Catholic radio station of the Archdiocese of Panama. Adolfo J. Castañeda, VHI's Director of Educational Programs was a faculty member among other international speakers which attended. Adolfo spoke about IPPF's sex-education and the UN and was interviewed on the national news. VHI was a partial sponsor of the conference and donated over 60 lbs. of materials for free distribution at the conference.
Fr. Tom visited our affiliate CEPROFARENA in Perú in November and was the main speaker at their national pro-life conference. A proposed law for the legalization of abortion is currently being debated in the Peruvian congress. Fr. Tom went on an extensive speaking tour to educate and enlighten legislators, priests, and the population at large about the harmful consequences of abortion as seen from the American experience in hopes of stopping this harmful law.
VHI serves as a bridge between the well established and experienced pro-life movement in the U.S. and its highly capable and resourceful counterpart in Latin America. Our goal is to extend various pro-life ministries started in the U.S. throughout Latin America.
VHI prepared an extensive dossier about the advance of the homosexual movement in Latin America. It was sent in September via E-mail to over 500 bishops and in hardcopy to all the presidents of the Episcopal Conferences and to the bishops in charge of the Family Pastoral in each country. The purpose of the dossier in addition to providing information was to encourage the formation of a pastoral for people with homosexual inclinations along the lines of the highly successful Courage ministry started by Fr. John Harvey in New York. VHI has been given permission to translate and use all the materials from Courage and we obtained the help of one of their priests to answer the many requests for help that we receive from men struggling with the homosexual inclination. We are receiving good feedback from the bishops as a result of these efforts.
VHI has worked closely with the National Office for Post Abortion Reconciliation and Healing (NOPARH) to bring the ministry of Project Rachel, a post-abortion healing and counseling program of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, to the Church in Latin America. VHI translated all the information available and is posted on its Spanish website. In addition, VHI translated the manual for priests on post-abortion healing and counseling which will be sent to the bishops in Latin America in collaboration with NOPARH. VHI is also trying to bring to Latin America the ministries of Rachel's Vineyard and Rachel's Hope which offer weekend retreats for the healing and reconciliation of women who are grieving after an abortion. This effort is in the early stages but we are greatly encouraged by the collaboration we have received from both ministries.
VHI's Outreach in the US:
VHI helped American Life League (ALL) organize a Hispanic one-day conference in New Orleans this past July in conjunction with ALL's "Celebrate Life" conference. Magaly Llaguno, VHI's Executive Director, helped organize the Hispanic program and was a speaker at the Spanish as well as the English conferences. Dr. Rafael Cabrera Artola, President of ANPROVIDA, VHI's affiliate in Nicaragua, was also a speaker at the Hispanic conference.
VHI and the Archdiocese of Miami organized a one day retreat for people who suffer from serious illnesses and their families. The retreat titled "Blessed are those who suffer" was held at the beautiful site of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity in May. A Mass for Healing was celebrated by Fr. Jordi Rivero, Director of the Archdiocese's Respect Life Ministry after presentations by various speakers.
VHI and the Archdiocese of Miami's Respect Life Ministry hosted a prolife exhibit at the National Council of La Raza's Annual Conference and Exhibit held in Miami in July. Over 10,000 people attended the Exhibit which lasted five days. Our pro-life exhibit sat in stark contrast of Planned Parenthood's exhibit geared for young people.
In addition to supporting the efforts of our extensive network of affiliates and collaborators in the region, VHI is the oldest and most experienced Hispanic outreach in the nation, with over 20 years of grassroots efforts. Many side-walk counselors, crisis pregnancy centers and Hispanic ministries around the country called on us to provide effective pro-life materials in Spanish.
VHI is a center of information for the Americas. The technological advances allow us to proclaim the gospel of life to millions of people through our radio and TV programs and through our Internet outreach!
VHI's 13 part series for EWTN titled "For Love of Life" was re-broadcast through local and cable networks in at least 5 countries that we know of. This series continues to save lives as we receive many a testimony and inquiries from viewers who want to become more involved in prolife activities or who are seeking help for their pregnancy or because they have had an abortion.
Our electronic bulletin continues to be a beacon of pro-life initiative and news from Latin America. There are over three thousand subscribers including many Catholic and secular media outlets, all the episcopal conferences in Latin America, the extensive network of pro-life groups in the Hispanic world and many others. We have received many letters of thanks for this invaluable service to the pro-life community.
Adolfo J. Castañeda, host of VHI's radio program "Defend Life", completed a 20 program series on the Social Doctrine of the Church and a 10 program series titled "Human Dignity: The Foundation of Moral Laws and Democracy." These programs are broadcast through WEWN, World Catholic Radio, and through Radio Peace, the Catholic radio outreach of the Archdiocese of Miami.
VHI's website continues to grow in size and to generate numerous E-mails with countless positive reactions to its content. It has received up to one million hits per month! The large volume of correspondence VHI receives from students, professors, doctors, priests, seminarians and single moms seeking information and assistance is indicative of its popularity. We have even received letters from victims, as well as from perpetrators of domestic violence in response to our section on that subject. The website has also attracted the attention of the well organized and heavily funded international gay movement, which has launched an electronic attack against VHI (by sending viruses and pornographic images by E-mail) seeking to force us to eliminate all the information offered under the section on homosexuality.
Our deepest gratitud to VHI's benefactors, who make this work possible with their prayerful and financial support.
Vida Humana Internacional
45 S.W. 71 Avenue Miami, Florida 33144 EE.UU.
Telephone: 305.260.0525 Fax: 305.260.0595
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Website: www.vidahumana.org