Last week in the city of Trenton, New Jersey, brothers from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (C.F.R.) were arrested at a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic; they were giving out red roses and words of encouragement in a pro-life demonstration called the “Red Rose Rescue.”

Inside the clinic, they distributed red roses with a card attached. The card read “a new life, however tiny, brings the promise of unrepeatable joy,” and included phone numbers for local pregnancy care centres.

Father Fidelis Moscinski and three other ‘Red Rose Rescuers’ participated in the visit, offering women and couples words of encouragement.

During their time there, one couple scheduled for an abortion got up and left the clinic.

“That was a victory for us that they did leave. They were filing in the paperwork for an abortion. We don’t know if they are going to go back; all we can say is that they left during the time of the rescue. We were very encouraged by that. If we hadn’t gone in there and that couple was not spoken to, that baby would probably be dead.”

When police arrived on the scene, the four rescuers refused to leave. Instead, they continued with their conversations or sat on the floor praying quietly and singing hymns. While engaging in “civil disobedience” they said:

“We cannot leave. Innocent unborn children are about to be put to death and we have opted to stay with them.”

In attendance but not arrested was Rev. Stephen Imbarrato, who said in a statement: “We will go into the very places where the unborn are put to death and extend help to the moms. Should this help be refused, we will not leave the abortion centres but remain in solidarity with the helpless victims oppressed by the injustice of abortion.”

The pro-life society says that a “Red Rose Rescue” has the next goals: “To offer help and words of encouragement to the mothers, to persuade them to turn away from their abortion decision and to offer a loving act of defence on behalf of the unborn about to be aborted—to abide with them in the moment of their abandonment.”

The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal‘s official statement on “Red Rose Rescues” can be found here. The Friars of the Renewal is a relatively new congregation, founded in 1987 by eight co-founders. The C.F.R.s adhere to an ascetic lifestyle in their friaries and live in impoverished areas around the world ministering to the needy. One of the co-founders, Fr. San Fortuna is a well-known artist who evangelises through performing music, mainly rap.

Source: U Catholic