Say It Ain’t So, Joe . . . Pro-Life Hero Joseph Scheidler Dies At 93
By REY FLORES
(Editor’s Note: Dexter Duggan is also writing a commentary on Joe Scheidler’s life and legacy. Duggan’s article will appear in next week’s issue.)
- + + After having spent his life saving countless lives from the scourge of abortion, our dear friend Joe Scheidler was called home for eternity. It is difficult to begin writing about a man like Joe Scheidler because there is so much to say, but not enough words to say it. I guess I could start by sharing my own personal experiences with this great legend of a man.
In and around 2000, I was introduced to Joe for the very first time at one of the many prayer vigils he and the Pro-Life Action League organized at one of the abortion mills in the Chicago area. There stood a tall commanding figure with his trademark cowboy hat and trench coat. “Nice to meet you,” he said. Little did I know that this man would become such a great hero to me and I’m sure many others.
“Good to meet you.” I responded, as we shook hands like men are supposed to shake hands, firmly and looking at the other person directly in the eyes. Something struck me immediately that moment. One look in his eyes and I knew I was meeting an incredibly special person. A kind, humble man whom everyone seemed to love, except the abortion industry and other radicals in support of the systemic slaughter of innocent babies.
While everybody loved Joe on our side, his enemies, our enemies too, saw him as one of the greatest threats facing them. The pro-aborts must have had nightmares about him, but only the ones who did not ever meet him personally.
At a March for Life rally in Chicago, I forget exactly which year, I saw Joe talking with a group of pro-abortion counterdemonstrators and boy was it a sight to see! While I was too far away to hear what they were talking about, these girls were smiling, laughing with Joe, not at Joe. I believe one of them even took one of those yellow “LIFE” balloons with which a pro-life youth group from St. John Cantius would flood the streets of downtown Chicago. Only a guy like Joe could pull that off.
Joe leaves behind a legacy which will live for generations to come. Joe was a huge part of what I call the first generation of pro-life warriors like national March for Life founder Nellie Gray and American Life League’s Judie Brown. Some of the finest human beings I’ve been blessed to have known and met!
As it goes, Joe was the greatest supporter of my efforts back in 2010 and 2011 as the director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) in Chicago. As most of you know, the CCHD had a horrible reputation for taking annual donations from church pews to the tune of millions of dollars since the early 1970s.
The CCHD for decades has given grants from the collection to many radical community organizations who claim to help the poor, but instead support everything from abortion, so-called gay marriage, and socialism. My goal was to turn that around and award grants to nonprofits like Pro-Life Action League and other more deserving nonprofits who were also helping the poor in a truly genuine Catholic way.
It was a tough sell to many Catholic conservatives, but after having presented my plan to Joe, he even went out of his way to record a Pro-Life Action League hotline message asking people to support the CCHD that year, given that we were finally reforming that program.
Of course, the social justice secularists like ACORN and others were upset at changes we were implementing at the CCHD that would finally end their gravy train from the generosity of many misled Catholics.
Joe took a lot of criticism for that, but I did manage to get the late Francis Cardinal George to sign off on grants giving the Pro-Life Action League a CCHD grant in the thousands of dollars. That year Aid for Women, the Women’s Center, and other deserving nonprofits got a grant as well for their fine work.
After I lost that job at the archdiocese, my family and I were struggling to make ends meet. But my friend Nic Costello and Joe Scheidler helped organize a fundraiser for us. Joe was never known to not offer his time and effort to help anyone in need.
It will be a strange world without Joe, but his wife Ann and son Eric I know can continue to do the great work that Joe will remembered for. Not once did I ever hear him utter a negative word, even about the pro-aborts whom he fought against ceaselessly.
Joe was a strong and powerful man, but never a bully or egotistical. Joe had one of the greatest personalities I’ve ever known. You could never mistake his kindness for weakness, because that’s the last thing Joe could be accused of. No, Joe was a strong man of character, charisma, and wisdom and a very devout Catholic.
Joe’s strength came from his faith and from his loving family and friends. Long live your spirit in all of us, Joe. You were a great man and I and many others were blessed tremendously by having known you. May you rest in peace eternally in God’s presence and may your life’s work continue to inspire us all to keep fighting to end the scourge of abortion in this world.
In lieu of flowers and in honor of Joe, please prayerfully consider donating to the Pro-Life Action League and support your local crisis pregnancy center. Visit www.prolifeaction.org/donate/. - + + (Rey Flores writes opinion and book and movie reviews for The Wanderer. Contact Rey at reyfloresusa@gmail.com.)