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RALEIGH, May 29, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bishop George E. Lynch, former auxiliary bishop of Raleigh and a pro-life activist during his retirement, died May 25, 2003, four days before the 60th anniversary of his ordination. He was 86 years old. Working with Operation Rescue, the bishop was arrested more than 21 times.  His silent prayers said while sitting or kneeling in front of abortion centers served to change the minds and hearts of many mothers contemplating aborting their children.  A Memorial Mass will be celebrated by Raleigh Bishop Joseph Gossman on Tuesday, June 10, 4:30 p.m., at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Raleigh.  In 1995, Bishop Lynch was charged with violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (FACE) by blocking access to the Women’s Medical Pavilion, an abortion clinic in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. It was the ninth civil action brought by the Department of Justice under FACE nationwide, and the first such civil suit by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. In July 1996, a federal judge refused to impose statutory damages against the bishop.  During his frequent arrests, Bishop Lynch often suffered police brutality, but these hardships never arrested his zeal to offer himself for to promote the culture of life.  See the Raleigh Diocese news of his death:  https://www.nccatholic.org/news.php?ArtID=988