IMAGE: CNS photo/Karen Callaway, Catholic New World
By Joyce Duriga
CHICAGO
(CNS) — Dana Mentgen donned six layers of clothing and made the trek downtown
to Chicago’s Federal Plaza Jan. 17 because he felt it was important to witness
for life against the “culture of death.”
“I
think the majority of people are pro-life. It’s just that we’ve been silent too
long. We have to speak out,” said Mentgen, a parishioner at St. Raphael
the Archangel Parish in Old Mill Creek.
Mentgen
was one of thousands of “pro-life popsicles,” as organizers called
them, who came from around the Midwest and braved below-zero wind chills to
participate in the 11th annual Chicago March for Life. About 3,000 people from around
the Midwest turned out for the event. Besides Illinois, pro-lifers came from Indiana,
Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio and Michigan.
Because
of the extreme cold, organizers condensed the speaker portion of the event.
Those
who turned out for the march carried signs with pro-life messages in English
and Spanish and listened to speakers including Chicago Archbishop Blase J. Cupich;
the Rev. Corey Brooks, pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago; and abortion
survivor Melissa Ohden.
“No
child should be told that there is no room for them. The womb should not be the
child’s tomb,” Archbishop Cupich told the crowd. “We just celebrated
Christmas, the season that features the birth of a child, a season of new life
and new beginning. A child, like no one else, creates and fosters hope in our
world. We need to make room for the child just as we need the hope a child
brings. What we do today is about making room for hope in our world.”
Rev.
Brooks called on the crowd to carry the pro-life message to the
African-American community, which he said is unfairly targeted by Planned
Parenthood. The African-American community makes up 13 percent of the U.S.
population yet has a third of all abortions, he said.
Ohden
shared how she was aborted and left to soak in a burning saline solution for
five days — a process intended to kill her. Her mother was forced to undergo
the abortion against her will. Ohden called for support for women who feel
forced to have abortions and said pro-lifers aren’t just “pro-baby”
but “pro-women.”
Once
again, youth from St. John Cantius’ Crusaders for Christ brought their
trademark yellow “LIFE” balloons and drumline to the event. The
noticeable group of young people wearing yellow sweatshirts with the word “life”
printed on the back walked to Federal Plaza from St. Ignatius College Prep,
where they participated in a morning rally and Mass for youth sponsored by the
Archdiocese of Chicago’s Respect Life Office. About 200 young people attended
the event, a first for the pro-life office.
A
new addition to the Crusaders this year was a yellow Chevrolet Super Sport
Roadster owned by Markie and Steven Works from St. Peter Parish in Volo. The
truck matched the yellow balloons with black magnets spelling out the world “life”
on the trunk and doors.
After
hearing the speakers, participants marched through the Loop past City Hall and
the James R. Thompson Center, which houses state offices. Organizers said the
route was intended to represent the three levels of government being urged to
restrict abortion: federal, state and municipal.
It
was the first Chicago March for Life for Jane Wytaniec, who attends Mass at
Marytown in Libertyville. She participated in a pre-march Mass and brunch
benefiting Aid for Women, a non-profit that offers counseling and housing for
pregnant women. That event was one of several Masses and events held around the
city that day, which was associated with the march.
“All
my life I wanted to be involved in this but for some reason it hadn’t occurred
until now,” Wytaniec told the Catholic New World, Chicago’s archdiocesan
newspaper. “I am more than elated to be here. It is humbling. I praise God
that he brought me here.”
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Duriga
is editor of the Catholic New World, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
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