“Tradition, Family and Property”, January-February, 1994 (www.tfp.org)

“Thou Shalt Not Kill”

On January 21, the American TFP once again took part in the Washington, D.C. annual March for Life. This year's march was the twenty-first since the 1973 legalization of abortion.

As in past years, TFP members distributed a flyer addressing an important aspect of the continuing pro-life effort. [See below for its full text.]

The flyer stresses the urgent need to form our youth in the ways of morality if we are to guarantee another generation of pro-lifers who will faithfully carry on this most noble cause.

A large banner carried by TFP volunteers during the march summarized the flyer's message. Portraying a young child, the banner read: "This child, who is alive today because he was not aborted, could become an abortionist tomorrow. To prevent this we must instill in our children the principle of respect for life as commanded by God: Thou Shalt Not Kill!"

Ad to levavi oculos meos. Let us raise our eyes to heaven and beseech the Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States, that she soon bring an end to the abominable crime of legalized abortion, which has stained our Nation's honor for so many years.

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Guaranteeing the Next Generation of Pro-lifers

America's Future Lies in the Hands of Her Youth

How do We Ensure They Will Respect Life?

Imagine a baby born in 1973: the year of the Supreme Court's infamous Roe v. Wade abortion edict. His mother—rejecting the unnatural sin that cries to God for vengeance—gave him life and nurtured it: the labors of her love. Escaping the destiny of prenatal death—the fate of so many of his contemporaries—he is an adult today.

Given this chance to live, will he be found—as an adult— in the ranks of pro-life Americans? Or is he (or she) an abortionist, one of those whose hands are stained with the innocent blood of a million and a half babies a year?

Spared from being a victim of abortion, he should be a defender of life. Indeed, it is his only legitimate choice: to follow Natural Law and obey the commandment given by God Himself: "Thou shalt not kill."

But what will prevent a child, any child—even the child of pro-life parents—from becoming an abortionist (or a defender of abortionists) once infected with the moral relativism that permeates our society as a cancer?

In order for this child to grow up with the respect for life its divine creation commands, the ambience of the home must be imbued with the morality inscribed in the Ten Commandments. The parents' example must be the guiding light that shows the child the way to responsible adulthood—amid the snares of hedonism along life's path.

For only when fortified with moral fiber will he or she be strong enough to resist being "one of the crowd" whose moral relativism ultimately leads to justifying the "right" of the strong to murder the weak: the mother her unborn baby; the son, his frail and elderly mother.

As we march for life, let us remind ourselves that the fight for life is not simply to stop today's generation of abortionists, but to guarantee the next generation of pro-lifers, by instilling in our children a reverence for life, whose only sure foundation is living a life of moral virtue in obedience to God's commandments.

And if the child whose future formed the basis for these reflections should, alas, be an abortionist today, to him, we address these heartfelt words:

"Once you were an enchanting child, as all babies are. Today you are an abortionist: a killer of babies. Do you not regret your wicked deeds? Do you not see the innocent blood of our children that stains your hands and cries out to God? Have you no shame as did our first parents when they sinned against God? Why do you not turn to Him today, seek His forgiveness and His strength never again to murder the innocent? Would you not rather bring children into the world than destroy them? Children you could raise with respect for life to take the place of those you robbed from God?"

The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property

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The American TFP

The American TFP has participated in the annual March for Life in our Nation's capital since the first one in 1974.

Every year, fellow marchers—seeing our distinctive red capes
and tall red standards emblazoned with a golden lion—ask us about ourselves.
Accordingly, we present a brief description of our principles, symbols, and history.

Principles We Defend

Tradition. Colonized by England, France and Spain, our country inherited habits, customs and a Christian way of life. These gave rise to wholesome American traditions wrought from a more ample and universal tradition which is Christian civilization.

Today, more than ever, this common spiritual patrimony is being deteriorated by destructive factors. These elements have eroded the psychological, sociopolitical, artistic and religious spheres. If we hope for the survival of our valued traditions and of our nation itself, we must fight these tendencies.

To do this, the American TFP studies both the foundation of our traditions in order to invigorate them and the components of disintegration in order to counteract them.

Family. The family is tradition's most dynamic element. It is the basic living cell of Christian civilization. A true civilization cannot exist without sound families.

Unfortunately, the family in America has been largely reduced to a mere remembrance from yesteryear. Abortion takes the lives of its youngest. Euthanasia claims its sick and aged. Waves of drugs, perversion and pornography corrupt both adolescents and adults. We cannot fold our arms in the face of such devastation.

Property. The institution of the family and of property are related. The existence of the domestic patrimony is a requisite of the vigorous development of the family.

In the absence of private property, there is little freedom and no free enterprise. People become slaves of an omnipotent State and victims of the apathy characterizing the socialist regimes of the past seventy years.

Moreover, the legitimacy of private property is guaranteed by two commandments of the Law of God: "Thou shalt not steal" and "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods."

The Standard. Our red standard with its gold lion and lettering symbolizes our ideological fight for the principles of tradition, family and property. The lion is a symbol of the cardinal virtue of fortitude. The gold symbolizes the nobility of our cause, and the cross on the lion's chest is the sign of Christendom. The red field stands for dedication.

The Cape. The red cape worn by TFP members distinguishes them and projects their historic principles before the public.

Our History

Founded in 1973 in New York State, the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) is headquartered near York, Pennsylvania.

Born of concerns arising from the moral, religious, political and economic crises shaking the Western world, it is one of 25 autonomous TFPs across the globe: the world's largest anticonnunist/antisocialist network.

The TFPs are civic organizations whose work is inspired by the traditional teachings of the Supreme Magisterium of the Catholic Church. They share the same ideal: to safeguard Christian civilization. To this end, each TFP works to defend its respective nation against the disintegrating elements in society by upholding—through peaceful and legal means—the principles of tradition, family and property.

Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira founded the first TFP in Brazil in 1960. A distinguished Catholic leader, Prof. Corrêa de Oliveira has dedicated his life to the ideological battle against communism and socialism: the bitterest adversaries of tradition, family and private property. A renowned author, his books and articles have been published worldwide. His work Revolution and Counter-Revolution and his exemplary witness continue to inspire the TFPs throughout the world.

Undertakings of the American TFP include petition drives in defense of the national flag (over 120,000 signatures collected) and in support of Lithuania's independence from the Soviet Union (5.2 million signatures worldwide, 830,000 in the U.S.); campaigns against public blasphemy on the occasion of Planned Parenthood's cartoon of Our Lady (1978), the film Hail Mary (1985) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988); and the mass distribution of publications like "The Downing of the Korean 747: A Deadly and Telltale Thunderbolt," a 1983 denunciation of Soviet atrocities.