Youth
rally to defend life
By NADIA MARIA SMITH
CS&T Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized
abortion 35 years ago, over 48 million lives have been lost to abortion
nationwide.
Now more than ever, young people are joining the pro-life movement,
says Judi McLane, director of Generation Life, an organization of young
people spreading pro-life and chastity messages to their peers.
Not only will they throng to the annual March for Life in Washington,
D.C., on Jan. 22, which draws hundreds of thousands of protesters, but
the new crop of activists will also make waves this month in Philadelphia,
McLane said.
The annual “Stand Up for Life” rally at City Hall at noon
on Friday, Jan. 18 will draw hundreds of young people in a public call
for an end to abortion, she said.
“We are there to make a stand for all the deaths that are happening
in Philadelphia, and to let our newly inducted mayor and other city
officials know that we would like to see the policies in Philadelphia
change and start respecting life,” McLane said.
Generation Life is sponsoring the City Hall event along with the Urban
Family Council, the Pro-Life Union and the Alpha Pregnancy Center. It
will feature the testimonies of women who grieve their abortions, as
well as speeches both by veteran pro-life activists and young people
following in their footsteps. The rally will also include a prayer service
for an end to abortion.
The event will allow those who can’t attend the March in Washington
to use their Friday lunch break to stand up for life, “especially
when, in the city of Philadelphia, there are 7,000 abortions a year,”
McLane said.
Those who cannot attend the City Hall rally can decide to sacrifice
some sleep on Saturday, Jan. 19 and join the Helpers of God’s
Precious Infants for 7 a.m. Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in
Philadelphia, and a pilgrimage to pray at a nearby abortion site.
Both the prayer vigil and the Mass, which will be celebrated by Cardinal
Justin Rigali, will be offered for an end to abortion and the healing
of all those victimized by it.
After the Mass, the Cardinal will expose the Blessed Sacrament for those
who are unable to attend the vigil outside a local Planned Parenthood
location.
The Cardinal will lead the rosary while processing to the center, where
women are making their way for abortions. After praying at the site,
the Cardinal and other vigil participants will return to the church
for Benediction.
Through prayerful witness and sidewalk counseling, the Helpers hope
to turn women away and lead them to the nearby crisis pregnancy center.
“Our faith demands that we stand firm in the resolve to protect
life,” said Eugene Kreuger, a member of the Helpers. “We
get up early on a Saturday morning because these children that will
be destroyed are children of God and deserve the same treatment and
protection that any other human being deserves.”
CS&T staff writer Nadia Maria Smith can be reached at npozo@adphila.org
or (215) 965-4614.
March for Life events
For those who will be making the trip to Washington, D.C., for the annual
March for Life on Monday, Jan. 21 and Tuesday, Jan. 22, the following
is a schedule of events in which the Cardinal will be participating,
and which each archdiocesan group is invited to attend.
Monday, Jan. 21
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Opening Mass will be celebrated at the Great Upper Church at the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Cardinal Rigali
will be principal celebrant and homilist.
10 p.m. to midnight
Confessions will be offered in the chapel to the left of the National
shrine’s Crypt Church.
10:15 p.m. to 11 p.m.
National Rosary for Life will take place in the Crypt Church.
11 p.m. to midnight
After the rosary, Night prayer will begin in the Crypt Church.
Midnight to 6 a.m.
There will be all night adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the
Crypt Church. Seminarians from across the country will participate
Tuesday, Jan. 22
6:30 a.m.
Morning prayer will be held in the Crypt Church.
7:30 a.m.
Mass will be celebrated in the Great Upper Church.
8:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Rally for Life and Youth Mass at the Verizon Center on F Street. Doors
will open at 7 am. Mass will be at 10 a.m. Celebrant will be Washington’s
Archbishop Donald Wuerl.
10:30 a.m.
Mass for Philadelphia pilgrims at St. John the Evangelist Church in
Silver Spring, Md. The principal celebrant will be Cardinal Rigali.
Noon
Rally begins at the National Mall. Philadelphia delegates will meet
at Constitution Avenue and 7th Street. Seminarians will carry archdiocesan
banners.