BISHOP
KEVIN J.
SWEENEY
It was not my intention or plan to write on a similar topic or theme for two consecutive weeks, but as I was writing my column last week, I learned some news that caused me to change my plans. I decided that I should write about Joan (Andrews) Bell, her inspiring life and dedication to the pro-life cause, and her current “status” (in prison).
As I was writing my column last week, looking towards “Respect Life Month” and sharing my decision to celebrate a monthly “Pro-Life” Mass, followed by a peaceful, prayerful procession to a facility that promotes and/or performs abortion, I was in contact with Chris Bell (Joan’s husband). Just before contacting Chris, I “googled” Joan, remembering that she had been facing a trial in Washington, D.C. I quickly learned that, on Sept. 15, Joan and two others had been convicted on “federal charges for blockade at an abortion clinic.” An article in Catholic Review shares some details about Joan and the two others who were convicted. It says the following about Joan:
Joan Andrews Bell, 74, of Montague, N.J. — Bell gained fame decades ago for her participation in Operation Rescue and her willingness to endure long terms of incarceration, including solitary confinement, after clinic blockade and trespassing convictions.
Bell has been a Catholic activist since the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that declared abortion a constitutional right until the high court reversed its precedent in the June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. Bell is a veteran of the clinic “rescues,” serving jail terms in Baltimore, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh, as well as state prison in Pensacola, Fla.
Her husband, Christopher Bell, is president and executive director of the New Jersey-based Good Counsel Homes. Joan Andrews Bell declined a lawyer and represented herself in court.
Chris, Joan, and their children have been parishioners in our diocese for many years. I first remember hearing about Joan 30 or so years ago, when I first became involved in pro-life activities, as I shared last week. At that time, I also learned about Chris Bell, who, with Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., and others, had founded Good Counsel Homes, offering a loving and supportive environment where mothers with “crisis pregnancies” could live before and after the birth of their child. Click here for more information on Good Counsel Homes. When I was named bishop, Chris wrote me a beautiful letter welcoming me to the diocese. He has been part of a group of local pro-life leaders who have helped me and other diocesan leaders to plan and promote our diocesan “Respect Life Convocations.” We had the “first annual” Convocation last year and look forward to the “second annual” at the end of this month, on Oct. 28. Click here for more information and to register.
Chris had shared with me on a few occasions that Bishop Frank Rodimer had been one of the first bishops in the country to write in support of Joan and in support of “Operation Rescue.” I was grateful that Chris was able to share with me a copy of Bishop Rodimer’s column from The Beacon, written in May 1988. The column was titled “Joan Andrews” — she married Chris (and became “Joan Andrews Bell”) in 1991. Bishop Rodimer’s column began with these words:
It isn’t often we can say we are proud of priests who get arrested, but we are proud of two from our diocese who were among the 1,646 people arrested in May for blocking abortion clinics in New York. They included a bishop, 19 priests, a deacon, four nuns, 11 Evangelical Christian pastors, four rabbis, and Mark Bavaro, the New York Giants’ tight end.
They called it “Operation Rescue” and estimate that they prevented at least 100 abortions. They probably prevented many more and once again turned people’s attention to the horrors that go on daily in the abortuaries of our country. Many of those arrested were inspired by a Catholic woman named Joan Andrews.
In my column last week, I wrote about Msgr. Philip Reilly and his “founding” of a group called the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants. Msgr. Reilly had been very involved in “Operation Rescue” and had been arrested many times when he felt called to take another “approach.” The “Helpers’ approach” is a “prayerful presence” and offers “sidewalk counseling” outside of abortion clinics without breaking the law. While there are legitimate, different approaches to advocacy (and activism) on behalf of life and against legalized abortion, it is important to emphasize that those like Joan involved in “Operation Rescue” are choosing prayerful, non-violent, civil disobedience because they believe that conscience calls us to oppose an unjust law.
There are at least two reasons that I felt it was important for me to write about Joan at this moment. First, I wish to echo Bishop Rodimer’s request, once again requesting prayers for Joan. Second, I believe that it is important that we consider what it is like for someone to be willing to sacrifice so much for a “cause,” for what they believe God is asking them to do as they listen prayerfully to the voice of their conscience. As mentioned, Joan is 74 years old, and she is now facing the possibility of being sentenced to prison for 11 years. When I asked Chris how Joan was doing, here was part of his reply: “… She’s been able to call every day. She’s in good spirits. She and I accept this time for her as an opportunity to pray and do reparation for our sins and the sin of abortion.”
We live in a complicated world. As people of faith, hopefully, we each strive to prayerfully be guided by a well-formed conscience, and (hopefully) we are striving to support one another, especially in moments when we feel called to make great sacrifices.
Before realizing that I should write about Joan, I had been thinking about a topic for my column. I was reflecting that in addition to October being “Respect Life Month” and the month of the “Holy Rosary,” in this October of 2024, the “Synod on Synodality” is beginning in Rome. I hope to write more about the Synod in the coming weeks, but we know that part of the reason for the “Synod on Synodality” is that Pope Francis is inviting us to be better “listeners” as individuals and as a Church.
I believe that Joan Andrews Bell, her voice, example, and witness, are worthy of our consideration and prayerful “listening.” As we pray for Joan and all working to build a culture of life, we might reflect on the Third Luminous Mystery of the Rosary, given to us by Pope Saint John Paul II, “Proclamation of the Kingdom of God.” We pray for Joan and all of those who make a sacrificial witness for life. Proclaiming the Kingdom is the work of the Church that encourages all living with fear or despair to embrace God’s gift of life with confidence and gratitude. As we join in prayer on behalf of life and for the Synod, we share the gift, as the Body of Christ, of standing alongside the fearful and confused as the living light of the gospel.