Requiescat in Pace
Joe Scheidler
9/7/1927 – 1/18/2021
Founder of the Pro-Life Action League
“TAN Books grieves the loss of a dear friend, Joseph Scheidler, author of Racketeer for Life: Fighting the Culture of Death from the Sidewalk to the Supreme Court.
Joe was a man of the Beatitudes. His willingness to suffer joyfully is a reminder to us all.
He was poor in spirit, approaching God like a beggar, begging for strength to continue his fight, begging for the lives of the unborn.
He was meek, for he could have used his talents for financial success, but chose to serve the lowliest of the low – the unborn.
Joe mourned for the sacrificed children, for their mothers, AND for the abortionist.
He hungered and thirsted after justice, like a desolate man in the desert – and he shall have his fill.
Joe showed mercy to countless young women walking down the sidewalk into the clinic – women who had been scorned by their families, abandoned, threatened, abused, cursed, raped. Joe, with his enormous, masculine body, mercifully leaned down to thousands of women and showed them the face of Jesus. Joe, you shall obtain mercy.
He was clean of heart, with pure intentions. Joe was undefiled by the publicity he received. He met with the most influential people in the world, such as Justice Scalia, Francis Cardinal George, Ronald Regan, and Saint Pope John Paul II. But he only directed this spotlight to shine on the unborn.
Joe was a peacemaker, despite the allegations by Planned Parenthood and others to the contrary. They have claimed that Joe incited violence. But when asked whether he consorted with pro-life violent extremists, he had to answer yes . . . for he went to their prisons and preached non-violence to them.
And finally, if anyone suffered persecution for justice’s sake, it was Joe Scheidler. He had been in court for 30 years, facing false accusations, defamation, and financial hardship. Joe and his family have suffered persecution . . . and theirs will be the kingdom of heaven.
In short, Joe was a living, breathing, walking, fedora wearing example of the Beatitudes. Joe lived the Gospel in a way that so few of us ever will.
We at TAN Books pray for his departed soul, and ask his intercession for us upon his reception of the Eternal Reward.”
—From Conor Gallagher, CEO of TAN Books
