Fr. Jim Hewes, a 77-year-old senior priest at Saint Mark’s in the Diocese of Rochester, New York, is an unapologetic and inspirational champion for life. Unafraid to live out and preach about his pro-life beliefs, Fr. Jim has spent nearly the entirety of his priesthood prioritizing the sanctity of life. His tireless work teaching about the humanity of the preborn baby and saving not only their lives but the lives of their mothers and fathers has spanned decades.
It all began when Fr. Jim was in the seminary in the 1960s and a fellow seminarian asked him to attend a talk on abortion. Not knowing much about abortion, Fr. Jim agreed. He said that when he saw the images of the preborn baby and of aborted babies, his “jaw dropped.” The talk, given by the pro-life duo Jack and Barbara Willke, was one of the pivotal points in his life, and he remembers, “It grabbed my heart.”
He was so inspired and encouraged by what he had seen that, along with some new pro-life friends, he started Rochester Right to Life.
But it wasn’t just the preborn baby Fr. Jim was concerned about. He wanted the mom to feel cared for and valued as well, as he worried what would happen to both her and her baby after the baby’s birth. This led to the creation of the Human Life Commission and a beautiful Pledge for Life. In this pledge, each pro-life volunteer promises to help moms in a crisis pregnancy with whatever they need—from talking with parents to finding resources to adoption and more. They want no mom to feel abandoned or helpless.
Healing and forgiveness
About 10-12 years after becoming involved in the pro-life movement, Fr. Jim was called to the NICU by a couple he had married. Their son had been born very prematurely at 22 weeks, and they wanted Fr. Jim to baptize him. He explained that the baby was so tiny that he could have held him in his hand, yet he was fully formed and absolutely beautiful. Because of his fragile state, Fr. Jim baptized him with an eyedropper.
Afterward, as he left the hospital, the realization hit him that somewhere in that hospital, a baby that same age could be killed in an abortion and that the only difference between those two babies was that one was wanted and the other was not. He lamented, “If that’s the basis of life, we’re in trouble.”
Fast forward a few years to a new assignment. Fr. Jim was now a college chaplain, when an acquaintance called him saying she and others were trying to form a post-abortion healing ministry; she asked for his help. Though he was still passionately pro-life, he explained that he just didn’t have the time. But her relentless attitude persuaded him to attend just one meeting. That one meeting turned into 18 years as the director of Project Rachel.
In that ministry, he saw the devastation of abortion and how it affected both the mother and the father. He said that every single woman who went to one of their retreats was “crushed” by her decision to abort her baby. And the men were equally as distraught. But through God’s grace and mercy, he also saw the healing, as the moms and dads allowed God to forgive them and started to forgive themselves.
Fr. Jim knows that these experiences were all gifts from God and that God was placing him exactly where He wanted him. But he said that something recent was “one of the most profound life-changing” things he has ever been involved with. And that is an ultrasound van.
Tiny images
Just prior to the COVID pandemic, Fr. Jim had the privilege of touring an ultrasound van and was “blown away” by how welcoming and comfortable it was for moms. He could see what an immense gift it is for moms to see their growing child. Once he saw that van, he wanted one in his diocese. Always a man of action, Fr. Jim set to fundraising, and within the span of just a few weeks, he was able to raise enough money to purchase one.
It’s all God’s work, he says. He is just part of the plan.
Though Fr. Jim is retired, he fights for the babies every moment that he can. In addition to his work within St. Mark’s parish, Fr. Jim educates those in his community. In fact, he collected over 550 pro-life books and donated them to the library at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry.
He also works with the superintendent of Catholic schools in his diocese and has donated over 20 children’s pro-life books to all 13 diocesan schools.
He also gives pro-life homilies, has written numerous online articles, writes posts for his parish’s bulletin, and works to give priests and deacons the tools to speak to parishioners with conviction and compassion. He does this because, as he explained, many priests don’t know how to address the topic of abortion with parishioners or are often afraid to speak out. To help them know what to say, he has come up with four talking points that he uses to teach the truth about abortion.
First, he describes the nonviolent teaching of Jesus and explains the philosophy that it’s easier to kill someone if you make him an object, which is what the pro-abortion movement does with babies. Second, he talks about Project Rachel and forgiveness. Third, he talks about the science of embryology and the development of the preborn baby. He shows slides of growing babies and discusses what they can do at each stage.
Finally, he introduces a book entitled Redeemer in the Womb, which draws from “scripture, the Church Fathers and chief Doctors, Christian philosophy and theology, liturgy, poetry, and iconography” as it discusses the growth of Jesus as a preborn baby.
By giving these pro-life tools to men in Church leadership positions, Fr. Jim hopes that they will become more comfortable teaching these truths, as the humanity of the preborn baby is something that should be discussed more frequently from the pulpit.
Fr. Jim Hewes is truly an inspiration to those of us in the pro-life movement, and he serves as a shining example of moral courage, pro-life enthusiasm, and strong Catholic leadership. Over 50 years ago, the love of preborn babies grabbed his heart and never let go. We are so glad it did. And so are countless mothers and babies who owe their lives to this priest who is never afraid to stand up for truth and the sanctity of life.
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God bless Fr. Jim Hewes and his powerful witness. When I saw the headline the thought occurred to me that the article would be about another powerful witness for life who passed away on November 30th, Monsignor Phillip J. Reilly, founder of The Helpers of God’s Precocious Infants. He led the practice of vigils through the streets, often involving local ordinaries, from local churches to nearby abortion mills, establishing a constant prayer presence, and, to the degree the law allowed, sidewalk counseling. We did get a number of abortuaries closed in the New York area.
I neglected to note that Monsignor Reilly’s vigils were conducted all over America and in places in Europe and Africa.
Monsignor Reilly’s first visit to the Seattle area was in November 1997 where a chapter of the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants was then formed.
He remarked that he had begun daily witnessing and street counseling ten years earlier, because it seemed that legislative or judicial action would never happen. His method included silence and prayer, no megaphones or agitation, unobtrusive one-on-one counseling, plus watching the back doors to abortuaries….If the girl or woman was inside less than 15 minutes he knew that she had escaped the big lie, and by his count the Helpers had helped save some 10,000 babies in those ten years.
About abortuaries closed in New York area, he noted that God works in His own time and His own way. Having had no luck in one prayerful and repeated presence, he received a phone call from a group in Los Vegas. He agreed to take a break and travel another site.
The short story is that the Los Vegas abortuary was then closed by the state health department because it was not sufficiently equipped to handle medical complications. And, two other such clinics–in what was a chain ownership–were also closed. And, one of these was the resistant clinic O’Reilly had left behind in Manhattan! Reilly’s message was there is nothing God cannot handle, that He works in concrete ways, but again that He does things in His own time and way.
Instead of one clinic, a threesome! And, most certainly a role for the anonymous Helper’s in the eventual Supreme Court reversal of the 1973 Big Lie called Roe v. Wade.
Please publicize this video in youtube from Dr. Anthony Levatino M.D. Gynecologist Obstetrician and former abortionist detailing the horrors of abortion procedures at the different stages of pregnancy. Show it especially to young women who are not told in school the true details of abortion at the different stages; in this video age this is a most effective way to combat the killings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFZDhM5Gwhk&t=269s
Oh my gosh that video is so disturbing. Young girls do need to watch this to know the truth. This would change the minds of so many and save babies lives. Thank you for your comment.
Everything you say here about Fr. Jim Hewes is understated. He is even 200% more pro-life, more committed, more passionate. Thank you for sharing this information. Hopefully it will inspire other priests: “Do not be afraid’.
This is a wonderful article about a wonderful pro-life priest! I am so happy to read that he has been promoting the pro-life choice of adoption as a loving option for an unplanned pregnancy. Dear fellow pro-lifers, please remember and pray for over one million frozen unborn children who are “orphans” and can be adopted. The Catholic Church has not prohibited prenatal adoption! Please tell your friends and family members that IVF is a grave sin while embryo adoption is a loving work of mercy. These frozen embryos are the least of our brothers and sisters and what we do for them we do for Jesus. We must actively discourage IVF but encourage adoption of orphaned embryos. Also, any remaining frozen embryos should not be killed: they can be placed for adoption. Contact the National Embryo Donation Center in Nashville, TN. Adoption means love!