Be Our Guest / Nancy Shields

Phyllis Schlafly: A pro-life Catholic we should know

(The following column was written to coincide with Respect Life Month, which is celebrated by the Church each October.)

I learned about Phyllis Schlafly (1924-2016), who would have celebrated her 100th birthday this year, from a book about my family tree.

We share the ancestry of Catholics whose persecution in England led them to flee to Maryland, eventually settling in Missouri to build Catholic communities where they could freely practice their faith. There are hundreds of books, articles, videos, interviews and debates (she was a formidable debater) available that represent her incredible body of work.

Aside from being a conservative icon, she worked tirelessly for pro-life and pro-family ideals. She spearheaded the grassroots movement STOP ERA (Stop Taking Our Privileges Equal Rights Amendment), later named the Eagle Forum.

Schlafly roused people of all religions to astonishingly put an end to the ERA in the late 1970s. She felt strongly that the innocuous title of the amendment belied a danger that, if passed, would sweep away legal protections of gender-specific privileges enjoyed by women, including “dependent wife benefits” under Social Security, separate restrooms for males and females and the exemption of women from the military draft.

She believed that American women are a privileged group, beneficiaries of a tradition of respect for women which dates from the Christian age of chivalry and the honor and respect paid to Mary, the mother of Christ.

In 1973 when Roe v. Wade legalized abortion on demand, it was a seminal moment for church-going Americans. Christians began to listen to Schlafly.

Believing that the traditional home was being attacked by organized feminism, she and Eagle Forum members organized a counter-conference during the 1977 National Women’s Conference in Houston. Held in Houston, the counter-conference was packed with pro-life, pro-family supporters whose agenda was to protect and promote family values in American politics. Historians agree that this event had a monumental impact in dividing and defining the pro-life and pro-abortion movements.

My interest in Schlafly led me to want to know about her faith and what gave her the strength to fight.

I spoke to her daughter Anne Schlafly Cori, who has continued her mother’s work. She told me this story: although her mom was born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart on Aug. 14, 1924, she claimed her birthday as Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a detail of special importance to her.

She had a deep love and devotion to Our Lady and prayed her rosary daily. Those close to her knew the Memorare was a favorite prayer of hers.

Of the many gifts she gave her six children, one was her love of the parable of the talents found in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 25:14-30). She brought it up often and wanted to ingrain in them that it is a privilege to be entrusted with God’s gifts, resources and opportunities to work toward God’s purposes in the world. And she taught them her motto to live by, “faith and fidelity.”

Schlafly worked almost up until the time of her death on Sept. 5, 2016. Her funeral was held at The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis in St. Louis. She liked to say she was “hatched” (baptized) by her devout Catholic parents, “matched” (married) in 1949 to John Frederick “Fred” Schlafly, Jr., her most staunch advocate and supporter, and would be “dispatched” (rite of Christian burial) from the basilica.

Her Eagle Forum, which is still going strong, earned its name from a passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah: “Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint” (Is 40:31).

In searching what gave her the strength to fight, these beautiful facts answer my question perfectly.
 

(Nancy Shields is a member of Christ the King Parish in Indianapolis.) †