ARTICLES

Human Life International No-show?

By Art Brew

Santa Clara is scheduled to be the site of the annual Human Life International conference in late April, but at this writing, many wonder if anyone will show up. So great is the disaffection on the part of hundreds of loyal supporters in California. The Front Royal, Virginia based Human Life International is the world's largest pro-life organization. But turmoil and dissension and efforts to resolve the conflict have been largely unsuccessful. There have been published reports that the group was thinking about moving its headquarters to Rome. HLI had hoped to return to the Silicon Valley for the second time where its earlier sessions at the Great America Marriott Hotel and the nearby Shrine of Our Lady of Peace drew record crowds in April of 1991. Other West Coast meetings in Orange County have also attracted good turnouts. These were more successful than the HLI's previous meetings in Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto.

In August, HLI announced the retirement of its founder Father Paul Marx, ostensibly for health reasons. But one month earlier, in July of last year, Father Marx had refused to sign a letter declaring his retirement. The letter was presented to Father Marx in Minnesota by two of the organization's board members. At that time, Father Marx was traveling through the Midwest on a fund-raising trip when his Benedictine superior, Abbot Timothy Kelly, ordered him to St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota for a 'period of rest'.

Abbot Kelly later announced that Father Marx had informed him of his intention to resign from Human Life International, effective immediately, for health reasons. In a letter to the HLI board, Father Marx denied his intention to leave and stated that he wanted to remain until 2001 and continue writing for the organization's special reports.

"Consistent with this decision", Father Marx wrote, "I will not actively participate in HLI's fund raising efforts. As I have stated repeatedly in the past, I am simply not comfortable making representations to potential donors that their money will be used wisely and efficiently.... At the conclusion of the 2001 conference, I will re-evaluate my overall role at HLI. By then I hope that my confidence in the direction of HLI will be restored. For now, the events of the past year have left me discouraged and tired."

Under the leadership of the current president, Father Richard Welch, HLI has encountered rough waters which threaten to sink the group and its branches and affiliates all over the world. Founded in 1972 by Father Marx, HLI grew to be one of the most respected and effective organizations promoting the sanctity of life and the protection of the unborn. Of late, however, there have been charges of financial mismanagement, internal dissension, including lawsuits by disgruntled former employees. Relations between Father Marx and Father Welch deteriorated and efforts have been in play by Welch and his allies to ease Father Marx out.

It has been reported that in the last two years, thirty-five HLI employees have either been fired or resigned in the wake of the problems at the Front Royal headquarters. Two longtime executives, Robert LaLonde, executive director, and Michelle LaPalm, executive vice president, were accused of financial mismanagement, left HLI and later sued the group for defamation of character. The lawsuit is pending. Another prominent pro-life activist, John Cavanagh-O'Keefe and two others were fired for discussing HLI's internal problems. They have brought an action before the National Labor Relations Board over the dismissal. All of this turmoil has had a predictable effect on HLI's important fund-raising operations which have been hugely successful in the past and has enabled it to carry on its worldwide apostolate. A San Francisco couple, who had donated generously for years recently took HLI out of their will. "We have not closed the door on helping in the future," they said in a recent interview, "but we want to see some stability return to the organization soon. We are not happy with the way Father Marx has been treated." A Los Altos family has also made an adjustment in their will for the same reason. "I am particularly upset about the report that HLI may spend one million dollars in a public relations campaign to improve its image. Think of all the people who can't afford more than a few dollars a year in donations discovering it's going to a huge PR effort instead of saving babies."

In the early 70's, Father Marx was driven to pro-life work when he foresaw the carnage and heartbreak that would result from a simple legal decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 and has led the fight to preserve the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. His dedication, energy, and blunt talk about abortion in this country and overseas has won him millions of followers and not a few enemies. Planned Parenthood, America's leading provider of abortion, has called him 'public enemy number one' a title he wears proudly. Pope John Paul II has called him "The Apostle of Life, doing the most important work on earth". Now 79, Father Marx received a clean bill of health from the world renowned Mayo Clinic last year. Mrs. Virginia Hitchcock, a long time HLI volunteer and resident of the East Bay, visited Father Marx in Minnesota recently and found him in good spirits and good health. Hitchcock was the California coordinator for the last HLI Santa Clara conference.

In an extraordinary turn of events, HLI put out a press release on January 6th to the effect that Father Marx sent them a letter of apology for any trouble he has caused and wants to become involved actively again with theorganization. But the next day, a close friend of Father Marx says that she had talked to him and that he has recanted his apology reported earlier by HLI. He apparently signed it under duress and does not intend to rejoin HLI or attend the April conference in Santa Clara. Our source also reports that Father Marx's priestly faculties have been taken away from him by his Benedictine superiors who are working closely with HLI.

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