WASHINGTON (CNS) — Americans “as a people are pro-life” because life and liberty “are intertwined and form the core of our national character,” House Speaker John Boehner told the crowd, including many from the Diocese of Rockville Centre, gathered on the National Mall Jan. 23 for the 39th annual March for Life. “God who gave us life gave us liberty,” said the Ohio Republican, who is a Catholic. He added that his pro-life stand isn’t political, “it’s just who I am.” He and the other members of Congress who spoke at the rally said they were proud they had passed the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act and the Protect Life Act and voted to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and defund Planned Parenthood. But now, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., “we must work to change the Senate and reclaim the White House which not only obstructs pro-life legislation but has for the past three years advanced abortion in so many ways, while not even attempting to appear to be working to make abortion ‘rare’ and offering support to women to choose life.” Smith, a Catholic who is chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, told the rallygoers that they were “an important part of the greatest human rights movement on earth — the selfless struggle by prayer, fasting and works to defend and protect all weak and vulnerable persons from the violence of abortion, infanticide and euthanasia.” He also told the crowd, “The violent destruction of a child in the womb is not an American value.” More than an hour before the rally kicked off, thousands of pro-life marchers, the majority of them high school and college-age youths from across the country, began to fill in the space around the speakers’ platform under overcast skies. The temperature hovered in the high 30s. Intermittent rain forced marchers to put on ponchos and assorted rain gear and pull out their umbrellas. The wet weather left the National Mall a soggy and muddy patch, which marchers slogged through after the rally as they headed to Constitution Avenue, past the Capitol and up to the Supreme Court.
Catholics in the Public Square:
Newly-installed Cardinal Dolan to speak at diocesan Public Policy Convocation
Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan will be the keynote speaker at the diocesan Public Policy Convocation on March 3 at Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, Hicksville.
The Cardinal’s theme will be “On the HHS Mandate: How Catholics Can Make an Impact.” Bishop William Murphy will be the principal celebrant and homilist of the event’s opening Mass. Beginning with registration at 8:45 a.m. and running through 1 p.m., the convocation will include a panel discussion on the New York State bishops’ 2012 legislative agenda which counts respect for life, Catholic education and protection for the poor and vulnerable among its priorities.
The event is free. Registration is required. Online registration is available on the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rockville Centre’s website www.catholiccharities.cc/ or by calling 516-733-7078.
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