Posted on 06/08/2007 9:58:17 PM PDT by monomaniac
OTTAWA, June 7, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) Campaign Life Coalition, the organizer of last months National March for Life in Ottawa, has limited its June newsletter exclusively to coverage of the highly successful March events. The newsletter includes far more than the usual number of photographs. See the complete newsletter at http://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/national_news/2007/news_0607.html
The Interim newspaper has also produced an extensive March for Life photo report which will be on line soon at http://www.theinterim.com.
To complement the CLC newsletter release LifeSiteNews has also published today a four page photo report with 48 photos from the March and related activities. See this special section which begins at http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007_docs/2007OttawaMFLphotos.htm
In his letter accompanying the June CLC National News, national president Jim Hughes states, The entire event from prayer vigils and services, to the Parliament Hill rally, the March, Silent No More witness, Rose Dinner and Youth Conference was an outstanding success. We have never before heard so many compliments, expressions of gratitude and determination to bring along more participants next year.
The large number of youths was the most notable aspect of the March. Hughes states, :I guesstimate that 4,500 of the pro-lifers who attended the March for Life and related events were under 25 years of age.
June 2007 |
National March for Life 2007
Words cannot do the event justice. Nor can any amount of photos. There is nothing quite like being in Ottawa with nearly 7000 pro-lifers on the Hill and in the streets. The vast majority of the crowd, probably 75-80%, were high school and university students and they add a vitality to the March that is nearly impossible to describe. Many of the pro-life veterans I talked to say they were reinvigorated by the March and many teachers report that their students are on fire to take up the pro-life cause when they return to their schools. This years March for Life was our 10th annual one, which commemorates the May 14, 1969 Omnibus bill that legalized abortion, and by every account the March was a smashing success. The theme was Justice for the Unborn, a notion that infused speeches from the candlelight vigil held on the eve of the March through the speeches on Parliament Hill to the speakers at the Youth Conference the day after. There were also Masses and church services as well as the sold-out Rose Dinner. Officially, the March got underway the evening of May 9 with a Catholic Mass at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus church in downtown Ottawa. In his homily, Father Vincent Pereira said that life, once conceived, must be protected with the utmost care. He lamented that in Canada we boast of being a democracy, yet we extend no rights to the unborn child. The Mass is followed by a procession of several blocks to the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights Monument for a half-hour candlelight vigil just after dusk. Founded by the late Dr. Andre Lafrance, the vigil this year was led by young people from Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic church in downtown Ottawa. It is impossible to capture the moment on film as pictures depict circles of light in darkness, but the vigil is a moving remembrance of those who are sacrificed on the altar of convenience. Especially moving was Fred Schuberts reading of Sara Smiths abortion-survivor story. On the morning of May 10, there was another Mass at St. Patricks Basilica, a prayer service led by Pastor Marc Jagt of the Canadian Reformed Church of Ottawa, and an ecumenical prayer service at St. Georges Anglican Church led by John Counsell, pastor of outreach and discipleship at Bethel Pentecostal Church in Ottawa. The Mass at St. Patricks was offered by Fr. Frank Pavone of U.S. Priests for Life; the Mass was packed and hundreds were turned away at the door. There was also a press conference on May 10 with MPs Maurice Vellacott, Paul Steckle and Harold Albrecht, members of the Parliamentary Pro-Life caucus, focusing attention on the issue of sex-selection abortions. Vellacott decried the systemic violence against women, both pre- born and pregnant, through prenatal sex selection. Steckle said, Selecting pre-born girls for termination, simply because they are female, is an important example of the violence and discrimination that still exists against women and girls today. The main event, if you will, is the March. Busloads of high school students arrive just before noon and many leave before the Rose Dinner. Their numbers swell the crowd slowly over an hour before the March officially begins. The assembled listen to musician David MacDonald and associates. Scanning the throng you see banners from many schools as well as signs from the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Womens League, Physicians for Life, Lutherans for Life, LifeLine, St. Catharines, Ont. Right to Life, the National Campus Life Network, Guelph Youth for Life.
Between 12:30 and 1:00 pm, speeches commence. Brief presentations were heard from parliamentarians, Janet Morana and Angelina Steenstra of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, former MP Pat OBrien (now a consultant to CLC), religious leaders including Fr. Pavone, March co- chair Frank Mountain, and CLC National President Jim Hughes. Introducing them was mistress of ceremonies, 16-year-old Elizabeth Lemieux, daughter of MP Pierre Lemieux.
The huge crowd afterwards proceeded through the streets of Ottawa, led by a group of women from the Silent No More Awareness Campaign and Father Frank Pavone, the U.S. national director of Priests for Life, They were followed by large contingent of Knights of Columbus in full regalia. The throng held signs, prayed and chanted as they marched the approximately one hour route through the streets. They returned to the Hill to hear moving personal testimonials from the men and women of Silent No More women who regret their abortions and men who regret lost fatherhood. Abortion is a choice that often causes physical, psychological and spiritual harm and eight people explained the great costs they incurred for their choice. In the evening, about 1,000 people swelled a banquet room at the Hampton Inn for the Rose Dinner which was sold out weeks in advance. Attended by a number of MPs (Conservatives Rick Dykstra, Jason Kenney and Garry Breitkreuz, while Stockwell Day sent written regards) and the retiring Catholic archbishop of Ottawa, Marcel Gervais, attendees were treated to a delicious dinner (New York striploin) and video greetings from Father Ted Colleton, who was unable to attend the March in person due to health complications. The next day, more than 600 young people high school and university students of all ages, attended the youth conference held at the new Hampton Inn Conference Center where they once again heard from Severino and Verastegui as well as Stephanie Gray, executive director of the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, and Faytene Krysow, author of the book Stand on Guard: A Prophetic Call and Research on the Righteous Foundations of Canada. Jim Hughes offered opening remarks, while Samantha Singson, Joanna Miller and Theresa Matters shared emceeing duties. Sponsored by Niagara Right to Life, the conference featured music provided by Gethsemane Ministries and discussion groups facilitated by the National Campus Life Network.
Once again many in the media ignored the March for Life and many of those that reported on it got parts of the story wrong especially the number that attended. For dubious reasons most of the mainstream press chose to ignore the March or lowballed the numbers. The National Post gave it an eighth of a page but no photo and it undermined our estimate of 7000 participants by quoting a RCMP officer who eyeballed the crowd and said that it was half the actual number. For anyone at the March, 3500 was obviously way off; perhaps that is why the paper did not run a photo or else readers would realize the truth about the crowd. March for Life 2007 co-chair Frank Mountain called this years March fabulous as he described the great time and good crowd we had. Pro-life crowds are always happy. You dont get negatives at all Everything seemed to go smoothly, he told The Interim newspaper. The highlight? Everything. Even the weather was fine. It seems that every year the specter of rain is in the air but that the sun fights its way to shine through. This year was no different; at noon, the radio stations reported a storm watch for the capital region but we experienced no rain or thunder. Plans are already underway for the 2008 National March for Life. The organizing committee is considering keynote speakers and once again working with religious leaders to become involved. And while they are also working with high schools to increase the number of students, they are also working on ways of reminding pro-life veterans that they too must show up. Every year the March grows and gets better. It is a national pro-life witness that reinvigorates the movements and sends a signal to all of Ottawa that the pro-life movement is a force to be reckoned with. At 7000, the March is one of the largest events the city sees each year. Mark your calendars to plan to be part of an even bigger and better March in 2008. Yours for life and family |
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Thanks for the outstanding report. This is VERY impressive — quite an organizational feat, and good to see all the young pro-lifers. I’m encouraged about our neighbor to the north.
Does this mean you’re against the Pill (which does not prevent conception but prevents implantation)?
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