Denver Newsroom, Jan 27, 2021 / 03:25 pm (CNA).- Despite pandemic restrictions, thousands of pro-life advocates showed their support at the Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco on Saturday.
Eva Muntean, co-chair of Walk for Life, said she expected only a few hundred to attend the march because of the pandemic but was pleasantly surprised to walk alongside about 2,500 pro-life demonstrators.
“That pro-lifers would show up, and in numbers beyond our hope, in the face not only of Covid but also of threats of political unrest, shows the unshakable commitment pro-lifers have to protecting the littlest and most defenseless among us,” she told CNA.
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco and 12 priests began the event with the annual Walk for Life West Coast Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral. The church was filled to capacity under pandemic restrictions, and some worshipers prayed outside in the plaza.
The protesters gathered at Civic Center Plaza after Mass. While the San Francisco Police Department provided officers for safety, Muntean said, the Walk for Life was not intercepted by counter-protesters for the first time in 17 years.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the organization was unable to use buses to transport protesters nor was it able to obtain an event permit from the city. Without the permit, the group was not allowed to erect a stage or sound system.
During the event, Walk chaplain Father Joseph Fessio, who is also the founder of Ignatius Press, and Clenard Childress, senior pastor at New Calvary Baptist Church in New Jersey, addressed the crowd from the bed of a pick-up truck.
“You are the remnant…there has never been a more important Walk for Life West Coast!…This is a time of faith. That is why you are here right now. You did not come here because of circumstances. You are here because of justice” said Childress, according to Walk for Life.
Co-chair Dolores Meehan also spoke at the event. She discussed the walk’s annual theme “Abortion Hurts Women,” and expressed her gratitude for the safety provided by the local police force.
“You’re all standing in the breech for women who have been hurt by abortion, for all the kids who have died by abortion and for all those who need our help today,” she said.
“We are incredibly grateful to Our Lady and the San Francisco Police Department for giving us such a safe event.”
According to Walk For life, Meehan recognized the concerns about the coronavirus and political unrest, but she said the members of her team “discerned that continuing to stand as a peaceful, public witness to the harm that abortion has inflicted on our society, is as important today as it has ever been.” Participants were also encouraged to follow social distancing protocol and wear masks.
“We appreciate all of the pro-life warriors who supported us in prayer (from home) this year. Your contribution is essential and your pro-life commitment is unquestionable,” she added.
Muntean expressed the important impact Walk For Life has on the city and on the Christian community, especially under the current challenges. She said families have been isolated because of the pandemic and the pro-life community is now faced with a presidential administration that supports abortion rights.
She said, being able to gather again as a community, was revitalizing.
“Our presence on the streets of San Francisco, in the face of risk and in opposition to the most pro-abortion administration in American history shows: we will not compromise. We walked to bring unity and rejuvenation to the pro-life movement that so needs it under this new administration,” she told CNA.
“In 17 years I have never had so many people come up to me to say ‘thank you for doing this,’” she added.
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Homelessness in the USA asks, who will take care of and how will the children of homeless families be raised?
The United States spends near two thirds of a Trillion on arms to murder, exterminate, Genocide Millions of Humans military budget, much of used to exterminate Yemen alone, defiant to the Catholic Religion in every regard, in by Genocide, Unjust war. Defiant to prolife.
Who will educate the children, when orphanges across the US are closed as a cost savings, defiant to Pro Life, Education.
Yet the US has 5% of the world population, and 25% of the World prisoners..
Will women be jailed, if they have an abortion, as a punishment by the governemnt if they are illegal again?
What will be the fine, consequence in illegal abortion again?
Yet our government contributes to the Genocide of Millions in Yemen?
What about the genocide of 1 million defenseless and helpless humans aborted each year in the US? And our new president wants to have taxpayers contribute to that genocide as well.
from human rights watch website: According to the Yemen Data Project, more than 17,500 civilians were killed and injured since 2015
Stop with the repetitive stupidity and false accusations lyle. How many times do we have to remind you about this?
Lyle,
The fines and consequences of feticides if made illegal again will probably resemble the previous fines and consequences. Those affected the physicians or others who assisted, not the mother.
I think there were a few exceptions but it’s generally the party who performs the feticide who has broken the law.
If a women gives birth, puts the child in a garbage bag, ties it closed, pitches the bag-with-baby in the dumpster, and the baby dies, the mother will be hauled up on murder charges.
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If she had had an abortion a couple of days sooner, she has committed no wrong.
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Honestly, that does not make much sense to me.
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In neither case, I suspect, does it make any sense to God.
Imagine being so morally bankrupt that the hill upon which you stand and will attack other people at a rally is the right to kill your unborn baby. Let that sink in. As for Lyle, there is such a thing called ADOPTION. I know that personally, because I have two children who I adopted. There are many couples willing to adopt and so to pretend abortion is a woman’s only solution to pregnancy is a lie, flat out. The other option if you absolutely cannot find yourself pregnant is to abstain from sex to begin with. Believe it or not that is a legitimate realistic option and a lot of people are celibate with no problem. Not just nuns and priests but widows/widowers and younger people who chose this option for moral reasons. The media narrative that the alternative to legal abortion/infanticide is dead women in the street was not even true in the 50’s. That was an absolutely rare occurrence even then. Thinking twice before engaging in sex doesnt seem like a bad idea. Ask yourself if it is worse or harder than killing your child??
It’s worth noting that many married women have abortions, not just poor unwed teens, or rape/incest victims. They are usually middle to upper class women. It’s about convenience and materialism. It usually occurs when their contraception failed. And many Catholic women think birth control is just fine, and although they stop short of abortion, it still contributes to the overall decline of respecting life.
Humanae Vitae, anyone?
The number one reason for black murder in the US?
No, not gun shots, stabbings, overdoses.
The number one reason is ABORTION.
For more than 35 years I have put my money where my mouth is – by donating to 2 pregnancy clinics offering an alternative to abortion – last year they saved 134 children from abortion and their mothers a lifetime of regret and loss of the potential. They provide physical, financial, and emotional support to the woman and her family. They also counsel women who have had an abortion to heal them as well. It’s not much on my part – but it is everything for a woman caught up in this situation. I sleep better at night knowing I have made a difference.
Amen, Michael D,
I do the same thing. God bless you.
Our local pregnancy help center’s also a shelter for homeless expectant mothers and their children. The great majority are suffering from addictions and some additionally have been trafficked.