Tea at Trianon: Legacy of Healing

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Legacy of Healing

From Catholic Herald:

She has met two popes and was known for her pro-life work, particularly for founding Project Rachel, a ministry focused on healing for post-abortive women. Vicki Thorn, 72, died of a massive heart attack Wednesday, April 20. She was a member of St. Catherine Parish, Milwaukee, and is survived by her husband of 50 years, Dr. William Thorn, six children and 19 grandchildren. She leaves behind an inspiring legacy of healing. In 1976, Thorn began serving as director of the Respect Life Office in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Since beginning Project Rachel in 1984, this ministry of the Catholic Church has provided healing for those impacted by abortion. It is a diocesan-based network of specially trained priests, religious, counselors and laypersons who provide a team response of care for those suffering in the aftermath of abortion. Project Rachel is found in more than 110 dioceses in the United States and provides confidential and skilled help to anyone coming to the ministry, and is open to women, men, parents, grandparents, siblings, friends and others whose lives are affected by abortion. (Read more.)