Abortion the Silent Holocaust

by John Joseph Powell

A gentle and loving, yet strong and persuasive look at the issue by bestselling author John Powell.

183 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1981

About the author

John Joseph Powell (aka John Powell) was a Jesuit priest and author, and brother of Rita Donlan and William Powell.

He received elementary-school education at the John B. Murphy public school in Chicago. In June 1943, Powell graduated from the Loyola Academy in Chicago. In August 1943, he entered the Society of Jesus at Milford, Ohio. In the fall of 1947, he began a three-year course in philosophy at West Baden College, and enrolled in Loyola University, where he took a Bachelor of Arts degree the following June. He began graduate work at Loyola in 1948 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1956.

Powell worked at West Baden University (1961-1965), the Bellarmine School of Theology of Loyola University (1965-1968) and Loyola University (1968-2001), where he became an associate professor of theology and psychology. Powell was a proponent of humanistic Catholicism and wrote many books mostly dealing with psychology and Catholic theology, and conducted spiritual retreats along with his counseling work. He later retired in Michigan and allegedly died with Alzheimer's disease.



(Arabic: الأب جان باول اليسوعي)

Reviews

[Tracy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written by a celibate man who will never have to actually watch his own child suffer. It is a book professing it is best to allow a child to suffer anything - no matter how bad - than show mercy. As a parent who ended a very much wanted pregnancy when given information that there was absolutely no hope of my child living more than a few minutes (and suffering the entire time, suffocating to death beginning right after birth), I took great offense to the idea that we made the choice lightly. I took offense to the idea that this man thought God had given him the right to make a judgement about how much suffering my innocent child should endure. I took offense that he knows God's mind. I read the entire book, waiting for answers to who would care for children he, himself, referred to as "unwanted". I waited to hear how many infants he had adopted. I read on to hear what he saw as God's vision for the half a million "unwanted" children who are already in foster care, half of whom, at any given moment, are adoptable - but he ignored the facts. He saw only to the point of birth, there was nothing practical from him about what happens to these children after birth. He also threw in a smattering of end-of-life care for the elderly. Never once, did he take into account that an adult might actually *want* to end their life for any number of reasons. The entire book endorsed the taking of free will from adults and giving it to men like him. The author never recognized that Bible verses might be interpreted differently by different people (or even denominations) and he certainly never recognized that there are religions outside Christianity that exist in the world. Of note, I am reviewing this book 36 years after it was written; there are a number of predictions about what will happen to future society - none of which have come true (slippery slope arguments - indeed, the opposite has happened in some cases). He claims that his own depression and anguish led him to write the book - Heaven knows how he would have reacted if God had actually placed him in a situation to truly see the outcome of his own preaching.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on the topic of Abortion in America. It is a very well written pro-life book supported by many facts and figures. Do not let that scare you though, as this book is easy to read and the very personal stories help to engage you and draw you into the book. This should be a must read for all who are interested in the pro-life cause.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thought provoking.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

SOmewhat dated but still relevant. It is the content that counts.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An old book, I first read this in high school. I still remembered some of the more powerful parts.