"Today I Lost My Nobel Prize"

"Death to Lejeune and his little monsters!"  This was the slogan the Servant of God, Dr Jerome Lejeune had shouted at him by "pro-choice" women and men many times during his lifetime.  Those considered "little monsters" by these enlightened humanitarians, were people with Down Syndrome.  As you know, Dr Lejeune had discovered the gene which causes DS and while he spent the rest of his life not only looking for a cure to DS, but also caring for those men and women who had the condition, his life's work was used by doctors, scientists and those in the pro-abortion movement to identify children with DS so they could be aborted as soon as possible.  

As one would expect of a man who loved humanity, not just as a concept, but also those who make up humanity, regardless of their race, colour, ability or condition, the fact that his work was used for this evil caused him great distress, but also led him to speak up for people with DS, defend them and work against the pro-abortion movement.  It was following one of  his speeches, at a ceremony in which he was honoured for his work in genetics, that he told  his wife that his condemnation of abortion would mean he would never get the Nobel Prize.  He was right: his major discovery was ignored by the Nobel committee who, for many years also refused to consider Pope John Paul II despite numerous nominations for his work for peace. In Blessed john Paul's case the reason was, according to a Lutheran minister who sat on the committee (as I heard in an interview on RTE radio as number of years ago) the Church's teaching on sexual issues: "When he changes Catholic Church teaching, then we'll consider him".  With regard to Dr Lejeune I believe there is now a claim by some that one of those who worked with him actually discovered the gene, and they him Lejeuene of stealing this scientist's work and passing it off as his own.

Dr Lejeune is on the way to beatification, and I would like to share an interview with carried out with his Postulator in the National Catholic Register. It would be great if we could all keep his Cause in our prayers. Jerome Lejeune is a major pro-life figure, a man who endure hatred and physical attack for his defence of life, and in the midst of it all not only kept his peace, but grew in virtue. He is a model for the pro-life movement.