Somebody has said, “I like witnesses who get killed.” So do I but I have to confess that I belong to another ilk! Since history began there have been as many causes as there have been decades, and each cause produces its own heroes, its own witnesses who set no boundaries to the sacrifices demanded; men and women who are prepared to give personal proof of the perennial presence in the world of that “greater love than which no man hath.” It does not appear that we are all called to such heights. If all men stood at 6 ft., there would be no tall men in the world. We cannot all be Bobby Orr or Wayne Gretzky, but we can sit in the stand and cheer them on.
History’s heroes
Glancing back across the highways of history, one immediately picks out the people whose names are writ large on the pages of human annals, a Paul of Tarsus, a Charlemagne, a Thomas Becket, a Joan of Arc, a Thomas More, a Napoleon, a Florence Nightingale, a Winston Churchill to mention but a few. All these people were very different in time, appearance, character, conduct and cause. We may not agree with all the principles for which they stood. But, they all had one thing in common, total dedication to the cause in which they believed.
We have a hero
In the movement for the Right to Life of all human beings we have thousands upon thousands of ardent adherents. There are those who, figuratively speaking, stand 3 ft., 4 ft., 5ft. and 6 ft. tall. All are pro-life but the lengths to which they will go to achieve the final goal often differ considerably for various reasons, lack of total commitment, lack of time, lack of ability and even some confusion regarding the real issues at stake. But there is one man who towers above all of us in the Right to Life Cause. His name is Joe Borowski of Manitoba. Joe would be the first to smile at the suggestion that his name should be mentioned in the same company as Thomas More or Winston Churchill. But, if there is any measurement for commitment to a cause, in my book, Joe Borowski is in the front line.
Refused to pay taxes
Short of his life, Joe has given everything else in the cause of LIFE. He resigned his political position as Minister of Transport for Manitoba when the then NDP Government brought out their pro-abortion policy. He refused to pay his federal taxes because he would not subsidize the killing of unborn Canadians. For this he has been in jail four times! He fasted for eighty days to draw public attention to the seriousness of the cause and risked a breakdown in health. On May 9th, he began a long and fatiguing court case in defence of the unborn. Would Joe Borowski give his life if in doing so he could help the cause of the unborn? Men of Joe’s calibre do not set limits to their giving. I have as much doubt about the answer to that question as I have regarding a similar one asked about Mother Theresa, would she give her life for a leper?
Prayer
More than all else, Joe has prayed. He tells us that it is in prayer he finds his strength. St. Ignatius of Loyola once said, “Give me ten good men and I shall convert the world.” Canada does not need a million Joe Borowskis to turn the tide in favour of the unborn. Another nine would do!
