For those who have never been to Washington, D.C.‘s March for Life, they may not be aware of just how much pro-life activity is going on around the city in the days leading up to the actual March, which takes place following a noon rally on Monday. Several Register staff will be in attendance at the March, and various other events, blogging, Facebooking, and Tweeting live as possible. Register editors Tom Wehner and John Burger will be in attendance, as will writers Steven Greydanus and myself. In fact, believe it or not, while I’ve been a Catholic journalist for nearly 12 years, this will be my first time attending D.C.‘s March for Life. I’ve attended our local March for Life in St. Paul many times, but never the one in D.C.
To give you some idea of the scope of all of the supporting events taking place, here are just a few.
TODAY
Today, the 12th Annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life takes place at Georgetown University, sponsored by Georgetown University’s Right to Life, Georgetown University’s Knights of Columbus, the University’s Catholic Daughters of America, and the University’s Faculty for Life. The Conference features an amazing lineup of speakers, including a keynote by Live Action founder Lila Rose, Register and National Review writer Kathryn Jean Lopez, Population Research Institute’s founder Steven Mosher, and others. A panel discussion will feature: Helen Alvaré, Mother Agnes Mary Donovan of the Sisters of Life, Diocese of Bridgeport Bishop William Lori, Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, and Rev. Joseph Koterski, S.J.
In addition, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Pro-Life Activities has invited pro-life leaders to an afternoon Mass, celebrated by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, at the Catholic University of America, followed by a reception. This is the third year that the Committee has hosted this event specifically for pro-life leaders.
All day, the March for Life Convention takes place at Washington’s Hyatt Regency Hotel.
Between 3-5 p.m., a Mini-Rally takes place outside the White House. This was a new addition to the activities, beginning last year.
The National Prayer Vigil for Life begins in earnest at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception this evening with Opening Mass in the Great Upper Church at 6:30 p.m. Cardinal DiNardo will also be the principal celebrant and homilist at this Mass.
Following the Opening Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered between 10 p.m. and midnight in the Basilica’s Our Lady of Hostyn Chapel. A National Rosary for Life takes place in the Crypt Church between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Night prayer takes place in the Crypt Church between 11 p.m. and midnight, followed by Holy Hours for Life with pro-life seminarians from across the country from midnight until 6:30 a.m.
MONDAY
The day of the March, Monday morning prayer takes place in the Crypt Church at 6:30 a.m., followed by a Closing Mass in the Great Upper Church at 7:30 a.m., celebrated by Bishop William Lori.
Meanwhile, because not everyone can fit in the Basilica, which is usually filled to overflowing, the giant Youth Rally and Mass for Life takes place at the Verizon Center between 7:30 - 11:30 a.m. Most of the Catholic universities have hundreds of students who attend this. As an example, Franciscan University of Steubenville expects at least 800 students, faculty, and friends to attend the March. The students alone are filling seven buses and vans. At Christendom College, in Front Royal, Va. the entire college takes the day off so that students and faculty can attend the March.
Father Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life, is delivering the homily at a pro-life service on Capitol Hill between 8-10 a.m. as part of “The National Clergy Conference for the Pre-Born and their Mothers and Fathers” at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Room HVC 201. Visitors are welcome to attend, but should read the details regarding security procedures.
At noon, the Rally for Life on the Mall takes place, followed by the March for Life, which begins between 1-1:30 p.m. The March goes along Constitution to the Capitol building and ends at the Supreme Court.
Another first, for this year, is the National Pro-Life Youth Rally taking place after the March, between 2-5 p.m. near Union Station. This Rally will include the band Barlow Girl, and speakers such as Bella star, Eduardo Verastegui, Dr. Alveda King, former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson, 40 Days for Life director David Bereit, Lila Rose, and others.
At 6 p.m., the 29th Annual Rose Dinner takes place at the Hyatt Regency.
For a more complete listing of all of the activities taking place in D.C., visit the Students for Life of America website. I haven’t even mentioned all of the various Marches and Rallies taking place elsewhere across the country. Stay tuned to the Register’s website and blog, as well as Facebook and Twitter for more updates.
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This is awesome.I wonder how it feels to be a part of all these. This doesn’t happen in my country (the Philippines) because abortion is ILLEGAL! To all of you there, keep on the fight.. May you all succeed in your one goal.. I’ll be keeping an eye on what’s happening there.. Best of Luck..I believe that all the angels and the saints with His mother will be marching with you till the end..
Some suggestions for all pro-lifers: 1) Use the term “preborn” instead of “unborn”. No one has sympathy for a “bum”, while they do have sympathy for the “homeless”. Words and terms matter, plus “preborn” is accurate, “unborn” is not. In order for something to be undone it must first be done. Many computer applications have an “undo” button to reverse the last operation, but the operation must have been performed already. For someone to be “unborn”, they would first have to be born and then shoved back into the womb. “Preborn” is the right term. 2) Talk DNA, DNA, DNA. A preborn child is a unique and distinct individual human being and DNA proves it! If any liberal talks to you about abortion, suggest a DNA comparison test between the mother and the preborn in order to prove once and for all if the preborn is a unique individual or part of the mother’s body as liberals assert. Make is so that no one can talk about abortion without DNA coming up. 3) Don’t use religion as a pro-life argument. No matter what your argument is, The First Amendment will keep it from being successful. As long as liberals can frame pro-lifers as simply religious fanatics, they win. Keep your religion, but use the DNA argument instead of a religious argument for the pro-life cause. 4) And finally, I’ll agree to ban the death penalty if liberals will agree to ban abortion.
@Tom Norris—I agree—good advice—-words do make a difference today. People can easily twist things around. Pro-life is not just people of religion; many non-religious people are against abortion also. I extend all in the MARCH FOR LIFE, my prayers for success and their safety.
I am pleased to see that part of the Shrine’s schedule includes Compline and Lauds, presumably from the LOTH.
Unfortunately, I’ve noticed two tendencies on the part of pro-lifers (we’re all presumably hardcore pro-life, but I refer here to people for whom it’s the first priority of their Catholic life):
1. An indifference to questions liturgical. Some of the worst liturgies I’ve seen (as far as indifference to/rebellion against the rubrics) are pro-life liturgies.
2. A somewhat strained relationship with Traddies. Part of bridging this gap is to emphasize good liturgy as part of a pro-life apostolate.
The Right to Life is one of the “Blessings of Liberty” that the founders enshrined in the Constitution for themselves and their “Posterity”.The word “posterity” means offspring,children.
Insofar as life is continuous from one generation to the next(Sperm and Ovi are alive),the joining of these two parts conceives a new individual at the point of conception.
The new individual is The sum of the parts contributed by a Male and a Female.
The Science is well understood that this new individual is a human being at conception and is therefore a Person.Indeed,Ovi,if you were not aware have already been “born”. Females are born with every ovum that they will ever have. The ovi mature during puberty.This has ramifications in that
50% of the contributory parts of the sum individual,the Ovum,has already gone through “Birth”.
It is with that said that Roe v. Wade is not Constitutional and cannot be upheld. Any law that is “Repugnant to the constitution is null and void”
See Madison v. Marbury,SCOTUS,(1803) as well as Miranda v. Arizona,SCOTUS:
“Where Rights secured by the Constitution”(The RIGHT to Life)“are involved,there can be no…legislation that would abrogate them”.
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