‘No sacrifice too great’ for pro-life cause, says
March for Life head
By Carol Zimmermann and
Katie Talalas
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The polar vortex couldnʼt
chill the ardor of thousands of participants who dem-
onstrated their determination to continue speaking out
against abortion at the annual March for Life and rally
Jan. 22 in Washington.
Temperatures went briefly into double digits but
hovered around 8 degrees.
At the rally, speakers highlighted the tenacious de-
termination of the crowd -- dressed in coats, scarves,
hats and gloves -- huddled together on the snow-cov-
ered National Mall. They likened the crowdʼs bravery
to the firm resolve they have shown in their efforts to
change abortion laws and promote a culture of life in
the U.S.
The rally began at noon, prior to the crowdʼs march
to the U.S. Supreme Court to protest the courtʼs 1973
Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, and it had a
different feel this year, not simply because of the cold
but in the variety of speakers.
Only three members of Congress addressed the
crowd, instead of several, although a handful stood
on the mallʼs stage. No Catholic leaders addressed the
crowd either, but Catholic bishops joined Orthodox
leaders for the rallyʼs opening prayer given by Greek
Orthodox Archbishop Demetrios.
Under a blue and sunny sky, Christian singer and
songwriter Matt Maher attempted to warm up the crowd
while playing a guitar with fingerless gloves. “Weʼre
all really cold,” he acknowledged, adding that the rea-
son they had gathered was to “demonstrate to the world
how much we need God.”
Patrick Kelly, chairman of the March for Life, told
the crowd filled with young people that they were
“freezing for the best cause in the world.” Jeanne Mo-
nahan, March for Life president, thanked the crowd for
“braving the extreme elements today.”
“No sacrifice is too great for this cause,” she added.
A few times during the hourlong rally, she also ad-
vised participants suffering in the cold to visit one of the
first-aid warming tents.
Kelly and Monahan stressed a new aspect of
this yearʼs march: tweeting about it with the hashtag
#marchforlife or #whywemarch. Marchers cheered as
Monahan read a tweet from Pope Francis: “I join the
March for Life in Washington with my prayers. May
God help us respect all life, especially the most vulner-
able.” She urged the crowd to retweet his message.
The theme of this yearʼs march was “Adoption: A
Noble Decision.”
“When a woman makes a choice to be a birth moth-
er, she embraces motherhood in its most heroic sense,”
said Monahan, who also offered support for women
who have not chosen life in the past. “For any woman
who has had an abortion, you have to know there is
hope and healing.”
In his remarks, Kelly noted that the March for Life
has a new staff, logo and website and also aims to have
a vital social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram. The goal, he said, is not just for participants
to be here once a year but to be in touch with one anoth-
er “365 days a year to build culture of life in America.”
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia said
the marchersʼ endurance not only gives “voice to the
cause of protecting life” but also shows that they are the
“strongest weapon” of the pro-life movement. He said
he was confident pro-lifers would win the culture war,
because the right to life “is a moral truth written at the
hands of our Creator.”
Last year, the House passed the Pain Capable Un-
born Child Protection Act, and Cantor cited it as an ex-
ample of changing public opinion on abortion. He ex-
horted the rally-goers to continue the battle. “We cannot
allow the opponents of life to weaken the moral fabric
of this country.”
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., criticized President
Barack Obamaʼs Affordable Care Act “for its insurance
plans that include abortion,” but he also stressed that
“the pro-life movement is alive and well and making
serious, significant and sustained progress.”
“In the last three years alone, a record 200 pro-life
laws have been enacted in the states,” he noted. “By the
grace of God -- and because of you, your prayers and
hard work -- we are winning.”
He also echoed a theme of the day, telling youths
in the crowd: “Never quit or grow discouraged, your
generation will end abortion.”
The Rev. James Dobson, an evangelical Christian
leader and founder of Focus on the Family, said, “Young
people, you are the future of the pro-life movement. We
will win this fight.”
Rep. Vicki Hartzler, R-Mo., encouraged leaders to
support alternatives to abortion. “Or society must stop
upholding abortion and start encouraging adoption.”
That message resonated with Nicole Peck, president
of
Silent No More
.
Speaking about her abortion, Peck said, “They took
my money, my baby, and my self-respect.” She even
lost her opportunity to experience childbirth: “I would
never conceive another child.”
Nicole and her husband later adopted two children.
“Their mothers are our heroes.”
Many of the freezing marchers had traveled for days
to get to Washington.
Jennifer Camilleri, a freshman at Franciscan Uni-
versity at Steubenville, Ohio, came with hundreds of
students from her university. She said that she believed
that the Holy Spirit was working through people to en-
courage them to support life.
Monica Stephens, a 17-year-old student from Kan-
sas, came with her parish ministry group. When asked
why she came, Stephens told
Catholic News Service
:
“You have to stand up to help the babies. Apparently, it
wonʼt happen by itself.”
Kaleb Owen, 22 months old, sits on mother Rachel
Owen's lap and plays with her rosary while she prays
during a pro-life youth rally and Mass at the Verizon
Center in Washington Jan. 22. Thousands of young
people gathered at the arena to rally and pray before
taking part in the annual March for Life, which this
year marked the 41st anniversary of the Supreme
Court's Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion
across the nation.
CNS photo/Leslie Kossoff
OLG C
hoir
From page 6
This point of the trip was also the highlight of choir
member, Brother Eduardo Baldioceda, whom had visit-
ed Rome prior to this trip due to the Brothers of the Sa-
cred Heart having their motherhouse located in Rome.
Says Baldioceda, “The experience broadened my sense
of spirituality. We experienced the Catholic faith as
lived in a very old city and in a very different culture.”
The trip was very successful and the OLG choir
made a great representation of their Parish and commu-
nity. Godʼs presence and the choirʼs sense of spiritual-
ity was broadened and remained intact as they safely
returned home.
Says Jasper, “During the whole of this pilgrimage, I
felt the presence of the saints who had preceded us over
the last two thousand years and this brought me a great
sense of fulfillment spiritually.”
This significant trip could possibly open up the door
for future trips to Rome but as for now they are still
basking in the magnificence of one of their greatest
achievements as a whole and as a parish.
Gulf Pine Catholic
•
January 31, 2014
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