Office Depot Refused to Print Pro-Life Prayer-Resolved!
Summary of eRumor:
An Office Depot employee refused to print an anti-abortion prayer.
The Truth:
An Office Depot employee did refuse to print an anti-abortion prayer, but the company later backed down and offered an apology.
An Office Depot employee turned a woman from Rolling Meadows, Illinois, who wanted to print 500 copies of “A Prayer for Planned Parenthood.” The flier includes a prayer by the Rev. Frank Pavone, the national director of an anti-abortion group called Priests for Life, that reads:
Lord for whom all things are possible, We are confronted once again today with the evil of the abortion industry and the corruption found in the world’s largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood. Lord, we pray for all who plan to be parents, and we ask your mercy on those who teach others to reject parenthood. In light of your Word, Lord, we affirm today that children are a blessing from you, and that the origin of all parenthood is likewise in You, the God of life and love. Therefore, Oh God, we stand against the evil that has been exposed in Planned Parenthood and in the entire abortion industry. We stand today for the triumph of truth over falsehood, of light over darkness, and of life over death. Bring an end to the killing of children in the womb, and bring an end to the sale of their body parts. Bring conversion to all who do this, and enlightenment to all who advocate it. Close the doors of the death camps in our midst, and open the doors of your mercy and healing! Close the grisly trade in baby body parts. And open the abundant gifts of your salvation and life! Hasten the day when our land will no longer be stained with innocent blood, and when the bodies of all your children will be raised from the dead and set free forever. We pray in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen!
The Office Depot employee declined to print it “on the fact that it contained certain words and phrases that could be construed as graphic or advocates the persecution of groups of people,” a company spokesperson said, but the company reversed that decision after further review.
Office Depot CEO Roland Smith issued an apology a day later, and invited the woman back to the store, if she still needed copies made.