(LifeSiteNews) — It was with sadness that I received the news of the death of pro-life hero Monsignor Philip Reilly. He was best known as the creator and leader of the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants which spearheaded numerous rallies and sidewalk counselling at abortion mills in the New York area.
My first memories of Monsignor Reilly were made when I was a young pro-life foot soldier in the early 1970s. I saw him as one of the few priests willing to engage with pro-life people and stand with the unborn. At the time he served in the NYC Borough of Queens (Diocese of Brooklyn), and from the very beginning of abortion in New York in 1970, he was frequently seen in the company of the great pro-lifer Dr. Ada Ryan, who was from the same borough. That is the same borough that birthed Donald Trump and me. When Long Islanders like myself supported pro-life events in New York City, we usually saw Monsignor Reilly and Dr. Ryan.
In later years he supported Operation Rescue, fearlessly rescuing and accepting imprisonment with Bi-state Operation Rescue Network (BORN) in the New York area of the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was then, as the Long Island leader for BORN, that I got to know him better. In the 1990s Monsignor Reilly, with Father Benedict Groeschel, also of blessed memory, met with BORN leaders, asking our support for his new initiative — Helpers of God’s Precious Infants. Naturally, he received our support.
RELATED: Monsignor Philip J. Reilly, founder of Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, has passed away
As the old man who loves to tell pro-life stories from way back, I promise to share with all of you in the near future the humorous story I call “My Brush with Pro-Life Greatness.” It involves Monsignor Reilly as one of the two pro-life heroes (the other being Dr. Monica Miller) who bawled me out within a 24-hour period. This was for completely contradictory reasons: one thought me too soft, and the other too harsh. Ah, well.
We lose more of these originals every day, it seems. My sadness at is passing is a little selfish, of course. I will miss him, but I am thrilled just knowing the reception of joy this noble man received as he passed the gates to our Home.
Dear Lord, please receive this good and faithful servant.
John Hinshaw is serving a custodial sentence for attempting to save the lives of babies in a late-term abortion business in Washington, D.C., an undertaking a court found was in violation of the FACE Act. Letters to John should be addressed:
JOHN HINSHAWRegister #93685-509FMC DevensFederal Medical CenterP.O. BOX 879Ayer, MA 01432