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January 27, 2022By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press
The possibility of overturning the U.S. Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal for the past 49 years was on the minds of many in the days leading to the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Bishop McManus offered a pre-March for Life Mass at St. Paul Cathedral in Worcester Jan. 20 for the intention that the U.S. Supreme Court will render a decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that would end legalized abortion. But even if Roe v. Wade is overturned, people must continue to march, pray and work for pro-life legislation and the conversion of the American culture, he said.
Local people were among the tens of thousands who marched in the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., last week. The march has been held since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
“What was different this year – all of the marchers were very excited” at the rally, said Kianna Landon, a ninth-grader at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Still River. “I think it’s because Roe v. Wade has a real chance of being overturned.… I think the senators being there to support the pro-life movement will help the states” if decisions about keeping abortion legal is left up to the states.
Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., of Boston, preached about the possibility of Roe being overturned, and others were also talking about it, said Deacon Derek Mobilio, who served with the cardinal at the Mass that ended the annual National Prayer Vigil for Life held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., before the march.
Deacon Mobilio, a transitional deacon preparing for priesthood in the Worcester Diocese, said his whole seminary, St. John’s in Brighton, goes to the march.
If Roe is overturned, the availability of abortion could vary by state, he said.
At the march, attended by many Catholics and other Christians, the discussion is never strictly political; “that’s not how we win hearts to Christ,” he said. Conversion of hearts and minds is needed, as is the promotion of life, adoptions and services for pregnant women.
One who is no stranger to providing help to pregnant women is Mary Beth Thomas of Christ the King Parish in Worcester. She said she’s missed the march only about five times. She started attending when she was 13, and took her oldest daughter, Therese, when Therese was 13. This year she drove to Washington with her son Andrew and met her daughter Rose and friends there.
“It’s always wonderful to see all the faithful Catholics – even with COVID,” Mrs. Thomas said. “The thing that struck me about this year’s march” was looking back, and seeing the huge numbers of people as in other years.
And, she said, at the rally she heard the best speech she’s ever heard there - by Katie Shaw, a woman with Down syndrome - who was articulate, engaging and “got the most cheers.”
Virginia Malm, a senior at IHM School and president of the school’s St. John the Baptist Pro-life League, said Ms. Shaw spoke about how disabled people’s lives are just as valuable as others’ lives.
“I think it’s really cool when disabled people speak out” for life, because they’re especially victimized by abortion, Virginia said.
Brothers and Sisters from the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who run IHM School, couldn’t attend the march last year because of COVID restrictions, according to Brother Thomas Augustine Dalton, principal. Instead, they prayed and processed to the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Worcester, he said.
This year the brothers took a bus full of chaperones and students – 55 people in all, he said.
The diocesan Respect Life Office did not send buses this year or last, because of the pandemic.
Some pro-lifers, however, gathered to pray, “sadly remember the 49th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision” and “publicly witness to the sanctity of life” outside the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Worcester on Saturday. U.S. bishops have declared Jan. 22, the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children, as a time to pray and sacrifice in reparation for sins committed against the sacredness of life, for the restoration of the legal protection of the unborn, and for a renewed culture of life.
The national march “was just a great experience this year – better experience than last year, which was just in Worcester,” Virginia said.
“It’s just really great that we all can come together and march for life,” said Patricia Duffy, an IHM senior who’s gone to the march since eighth grade. “It’s hopeful that, in our generation, there are many people that stand for what we believe in.… It seemed like a really big group.… It shows that the pro-life generation is growing, not decreasing.”
IHM sophomore Kate Coakley, treasurer of the Pro-life League, echoed that: “It’s really good that … most … are the same generation I am – the younger generation.”
“We were all there for the same reason – to stop abortion,” said Patricia’s twin, Maureen Duffy.
“We march for the unborn babies, who cannot defend themselves,” said IHM eighth-grader Ava Landon. “Every life is a gift from God … has value and needs to be cherished and protected.”
“The march is absolutely one of my favorite events of the year, because everybody’s got the right mindset – the joy of life,” said Deacon Mobilio, who started going with students from St. Mary’s School in Worcester, now closed, when he taught there some years ago.
Editor’s note: The Jan. 20 Mass in Worcester can be watched online at www.worcesterdiocese.org/january-events.
