During the International ProLife Youth Conference (IPYC) there was one speech that stood out in particular to me. First, because of the eloquence of it's delivery and second because of the dynamic articulation of how Timothy Herrmann delivered the pro-life position. This is something I believe all of us could practice, especially when dialoging with those of power who may disagree with the pro-life message. The difference in effectiveness between running around hooting about baby murderers and having an intelectual conversation can win and loose people on both sides. Timothy Herrmann of C-FAM graciously shared with me the written version of his speech. It is my hope that you will read and truly study what he has to share.
Good afternoon to you all,
As mentioned, my name is Tim Herrmann and I work for C-FAM as their permanent UN Representative in New York. After the speech that our President Austin Ruse gave yesterday, I am sure you have a better understanding of our work.
One of the reasons they hired me is because, like you, I am young and passionate about life and have my ideals intact. I am only 25, and yet here I am, in close communication with the diplomatic elite everyday. On a day-to-day basis my job is really two fold. First, and most importantly, I am their eyes and ears on the UN floor. I do my best to catch any breaking news and to report on it back to C-FAM and then immediately to you, the public. I cover anything related to the international pro-life and pro-family agenda and focus on the UN. Secondly, I make friends with mission delegates and keep them informed on our issues. I mean that when I say it, my job is literally to make friends with UN delegates. In practice this means taking genuine interest not only in their country but also in developing a real relationship with them as people. But more about this later.
C-FAM believes in the importance of young people getting involved. This has always been part of our mission and over the years we have introduced thousands of people like you to the UN milieu.
The Edmund Burke fellowship, for example, is a program we designed to bring law students and select undergraduates into the heart of the UN. It is competitive, and those that are chosen are educated in the importance of the international debate at the United Nations. We normally bring them to UN conferences and give them first hand experience in important negotiations. The purpose is to bring young people into direct contact with the UN, and to give them experiences that prepare them for the future. Delegates really like to hear from young people and we are often more effective when it comes to getting their attention. We are a breath of fresh air.
The fellowship was started over 4 years ago but this past year we also established the IYC for the exact same reason, to bring young people into the international life and family debate. Last year was designated the “International Year of Youth” by the UN and the IYC was born to encourage youth participation at the culminating conference they held last July. By signing up for the Friday Fax you will have a direct line to everything happening with the Edmund Burke Fellowship and the IYC. We have created an international community of young people interested in these issues and we want you involved. This is our way of helping you to have a voice in the global community, which is the topic of today’s discussion.
But what does it mean to have a voice in the global community, anyway?
About two weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet with the Third Committee delegate of the Sri Lankan Mission to the UN. The delegate began the conversation by asking me what I thought about the criminalization of abortion. Before giving him an immediate response, I asked him to explain to me why he asked. “Because”, he explained, “in Sri Lanka, abortion is illegal in all cases except for when the life of the mother is at risk. But it in practice, abortion in Sri Lanka is rampant, and the law is not respected.” At that point I asked another question, “Well, what do you think the purpose of a law is?” To that he responded, “The law is to prohibit others from doing what those in power have deemed to be unlawful.” “For me,” I told him, “the law is not meant to be an arbitrary tool of power. It is born first from a culture, and it is meant to be the affirmation of that culture’s beliefs.” “If the culture’s beliefs do not reflect the law it is because the culture has changed, and this is the real issue that must be addressed.”
Friends, even if we are successful in changing laws internationally, we know that the real issue is the culture we live in. Internationally, our way of understanding life is unpopular because it appears to be incapable of fully and concretely addressing the real life problems people face with real solutions. It seems unreasonable. It is not simply that people just disagree, but that they do not share our experience. For example, a pro-life law in a country like Sri Lanka is seen as futile because it does not represent their cultural experience, not because International Planned Parenthood Federation does a better marketing job. For many, the dissonance between a pro-life laws and cultural experience only confirms that our worldview is naïve and myopic.
In other words, to begin to turn the tide, we must show that our way of thinking is reasonable to others. That it really makes their lives better, makes them happier. This begins first and foremost with out own lives. This is the only way to move beyond ideology. If we see in our own lives that our position really answers our needs and the needs of others and is not just something want to believe despite our actual experience.
The delegate I mentioned was very impressed with the way I talked about the situation. In fact, his next question caught me off guard. He said, “you are Catholic correct?” I said, that I was. And he said, “but I have never met a Catholic like you.” And I said “well, I am not the only one like me, I can assure you. Our faith is reasonable. Many people think it isn’t but this is a misconception. We believe that our faith is a way of knowing all of reality, that it actually expands our capacity to reason and allows reason to take in all of the factors present, ignoring nothing. That is why I can respond the way I did to your question.”
You see, we must not be afraid to be honest with the reality of the situations we face. Every moment, especially the difficult ones, is an opportunity for discovery. It is a chance to verify if what we have to say is true. Not just for others, but for us too. This is the only way we can be certain and it is the only way that in a world that isn’t certain of anything, we can become bastions of hope.
Our proposal for international society is more than just a law or a single issue. It does not start with abortion, but rather with the entire human person and his needs in front of the provocations of life. This is why we are attractive, because we know that the problem of abortion isn’t abortion itself, but life.
So keep the big picture in mind. We live in a culture that no longer understands how to meet its own needs, it has forgotten its humanity and what it is for. For us this is an opportunity because not knowing what the human being is made for is tiring. And people are tired. While they tire it is our opportunity to show them why we continue to thrive. Why we continue to build and live lives that are attractive. This is how a culture is converted and I believe this is what makes us relevant internationally.
For the
Dignity of the Born and Unborn,
Timmerie
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