WASHINGTON – Thousands of pro-life marchers are expected to
rally in Washington Jan. 22 to commemorate the 36th
anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision
legalizing abortion, just days after President-elect Barack
Obama is inaugurated.
Abortion opponents also will hold multiple events in the
nation’s capital and throughout the U.S. the day before and
the day of the official 2009 March for Life, as well as the
following days.
The Arlington Diocese will be well represented at all of
these events. Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde will be the
celebrant and homilist at the closing Mass for the Pro-Life
Prayer Vigil Jan. 22 at 7:30 a.m. at the National Shrine of
the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
In addition, Father Jerome Magat, parochial vicar at St.
William of York Church in Stafford and founder of the
Guadalupe Free Clinic, a free medical clinic for the poor in
Colonial Beach, will be among those honored by the Filipino
Family Fund and Culture of Life Foundation at the third
annual “Champions for Family” awards reception Jan. 22 at the
Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington. Other honorees include U.S.
Rep. Joseph R. Pitts, R-Pa.; and Dr. Rene Bullecer, who heads
Human Life International in the Philippines.
The main event will begin with a noon rally on the National
Mall, followed by a march along Constitution Avenue that will
end at the U.S. Supreme Court. From there, participants are
encouraged to meet with members of Congress to lobby on
abortion-related issues.
“The first session of the 111th Congress will convene in
January, with all newly elected members of the House and many
newly elected members of the Senate,” organizers of the march
wrote on the official Web site, www.marchforlife.org. “We
shall be a large group of Americans to bring our prayers and
our important simple pro-life message to this new
administration and new Congress.”
With millions expected in Washington for inauguration events
the week of Jan. 19 and the thousands of participants
anticipated for the march and related activities, organizers
said it will be a “crazy week” in the nation’s capital.
The theme of this year’s march is “Remember – The Life
Principles Mean ‘Equal Care’ With No Exceptions,” meaning the
intentional killing of even one unborn human is never
justified or necessary, the Web site said.
Organizers are also stressing that the U.S. must provide
equal care for both a pregnant mother and her unborn child.
The National Prayer Vigil for Life will begin an all-night
vigil at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at the National Shrine and conclude
with the 7:30 a.m. liturgy Jan. 22 celebrated by Bishop
Loverde. The celebrant of the Jan. 21 Mass will be Cardinal
Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the U.S. bishops’
Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
For the first time since the all-night vigil has been held,
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will direct people
who won’t fit into the basilica for the events to similar
Masses within walking distance, said Deirdre A. McQuade,
assistant director for policy and communications for the
USCCB’s Office of Pro-Life Activities.
“We estimate that 12,000 people were at the vigil last year,”
McQuade told Catholic News Service Jan. 5. “If we have such a
crowd this year, we may not be able to accommodate everyone
in the basilica. So, we’re making sure they have a place to
worship close by. We want everyone to have an opportunity to
participate.”
Earlier on Jan. 21 the Sisters of Life will host an afternoon
of prayerful remembrance and intercession at the Crypt Church
of the basilica from 1-4 p.m. to allow men and women whose
lives have been affected by abortion to pray and seek God’s
healing and forgiveness, McQuade said.
Several other events will take place in Washington and around
the country to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s
1973 decision.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 21 the Cardinal O’Connor
Conference on Life will be held at Georgetown University in
Washington; the conference is intended to educate college and
high school students.
On the morning of the annual March for Life, the Washington
Archdiocese expects more than 20,000 Catholic teens and young
adults from all over the U.S. to attend its youth rally at
the Verizon Center, Washington’s largest sports arena, from
7:30-11:30 a.m., with a 10 a.m. Mass celebrated by Washington
Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl.
On Jan. 23 the American Life League will hold a conference
from 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel in
Washington, followed by a 6 p.m. concert sponsored by
Students for Life of America and featuring Barlow Girl and
Laura Ingraham.
Speakers at the conference will include Judie Brown, American
Life League president; Catholic political commentator and
sometime candidate Alan Keyes; and David Bereit, director of
the nationwide 40 Days for Life campaign that combines
prayer, fasting, vigils and community outreach in 204 U.S.
cities and 49 states, said Marie Hahnenberg, project director
for the Jan. 21-23 “training and activism week” sponsored by
the American Life League in Washington.
“David Bereit is a hero in the pro-life movement,” Hahnenberg
said in a statement. “His dedication to ending abortion
through regular, peaceful presence outside of Planned
Parenthood facilities and other abortion clinics has sparked
a passion in thousands of people for protecting and defending
the pre-born.”
Events across the U.S. will include the ringing of all
Catholic church bells within the Diocese of Wichita, Kan., at
3 p.m. Jan. 22, said Tama Dutton, director of the diocese’s
Respect Life and Social Justice Office.
“We hope that as the bells are ringing that the faithful will
stop to pray for all the women, fathers and families who have
been affected by abortion,” Dutton said.
The Walk for Life West Coast will be begin at 11 a.m. Jan. 24
at the Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco. The 2.5-mile
journey will end at the city’s Embarcadero’s Marina Green.
Founded in 2005, the event drew 25,000 people from across the
country last year. The Walk for Life West Coast group was
promoting the 2009 walk with a 20-foot-by-60-foot billboard
in front of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, said Eva
Muntean, who co-chairs the event.
“San Francisco is a beautiful city, but there is a lot of
sadness beneath the surface,” Muntean said. “Until recently
we had more abortions than live births, and a high percentage
of our population has experienced abortion. We need to reach
those women and men who are hurting, and this seemed like the
most effective method.”
