Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, attends the 50th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2023. / Katie Yoder/CNA
Washington D.C., Jun 22, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).
March for Life President Jeanne Mancini opened the Celebrate Life Conference with an impassioned speech calling for pro-life advocates to embrace a new season of fighting for the unborn.
At the event held at the Westin Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C., Mancini shared her recollection of the moment she first discovered that Roe v. Wade had been overturned.
“I was interviewing on CBS the moment the decision came down, and I’ll never forget how my interviewer was not pro-life,” she shared as the crowd laughed, “She was shocked as I was bustling and so happy, thinking of all of the marchers over the years, the collective millions that have made this moment possible.”
Mancini then became choked up as she recalled the second the news truly sunk in later that same day, stating: “I don’t think in my lifetime I thought Roe would be overturned, and to consider that it was overturned in our lifetime is just unbelievable. It is so easy to forget what a massive victory that was.”
Mancini acknowledged on the eve of the second anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade that the pro-life movement has since faced some setbacks amid a climate of “cultural confusion.”
Calling the enshrinement of abortion “rights” in Michigan and Ohio “tragic,” Mancini urged those attending to keep up the fight for the unborn.
“While we have had some losses, it is not an option for us to abandon this fight. It is absolutely essential for pro-life leaders, for lawmakers and citizens, to educate their neighbors on the harms of these ballot initiatives and what they do,” Mancini continued, “We are in the single-most significant human rights battle of our time, and we’ve got to dig in.”
The March for Life organization has implemented state capital marches in 17 different states since 2019.
Sharing her experience of attending a Mass at the 2023 Michigan March for Life, Mancini repeated the words that Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, shared in his homily: “On a day like today, you want to fight like hell. But you have to fight like heaven… we are called to fight with love at the heart of [the movement].”
She called on audience members to “pray and ask God for what He wants from you in this new season,” and to “embrace your given pro-life mission.”
Additionally, Mancini cited a 2023 Charlotte Lozier study that found among women who had had abortions, 60% would have preferred to give birth if they had received either more emotional or financial support.
“I feel like this season is about addressing that 60%,” Mancini shared, before emphasizing the importance of promoting pregnancy care centers and maternity homes throughout the country.
In closing, Mancini called on pro-life advocates to, “Persevere, persevere, persevere.”
“Dig your heels in as change takes time. We are in this for the long game, so persevere. You were made for such a time as this, now get out there and keep doing it,” she urged.
The Celebrate Life Conference is sponsored by the Pro-Life Women’s Conference, the National Sidewalk Advocacy Center, and Students for Life among other organizations. The event will continue through the weekend with various other keynote speeches, breakout sessions, and the Celebrate Life Rally at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, June 22.
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The Catholic faithful gathered in the Cenacle in Jerusalem for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David’s tomb here and over the centuries Jews and Muslims have leveraged this to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deemed sacrilegious. / Credit: Marinella Bandini
Jerusalem, Mar 28, 2024 / 17:15 pm (CNA).
On Holy Thursday, the doors of the Cenacle in Jerusalem were opened to welcome the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land. In this “Upper Room,” called the Cenacle in the Holy Land, Jesus had his Last Supper, washed his apostles’ feet, and instituted the Eucharist.
It was here that the Franciscans celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, reenacting those same gestures. (At the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, however, the celebration is held on Thursday morning due to the Status Quo. Here is Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa’s homily from that Mass.)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, kisses the feet of a Franciscan friar during the “Washing of the Feet” ritual at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Thursday. The celebration is held on Thursday morning due to the Status Quo. March 28, 2024. Courtesy of the Custody of the Holy Land
The custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, presided over the Eucharistic celebration at the Cenacle. In his homily, before washing the feet of six teachers and six students from the Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem, he emphasized the value of the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his apostles here: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (Jn 13:34).
“To love means to give oneself and to serve,” he said. “In this celebration, we want to nourish ourselves with Jesus because if he is alive within us, then we too will become capable of loving one another as he loved us. And we also want to learn from Jesus not to be served but to serve.”
Some students from the Terra Sancta School in Jerusalem who took part in the “Washing of the Feet” ritual during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle in Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. Addressing them specifically in his homily, the Custos of the Holy Land emphasized the value of the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his apostles here: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Credit: Marinella Bandini
Holy Thursday is the only day, along with Pentecost Sunday, when the Franciscans have the right to gather in the Upper Room to pray. Usually, it is a liturgy of the word, but since 2021 they have celebrated Mass. Outside, Israeli Army personnel ensure security.
The Cenacle is at the center of strong tensions and disputes regarding ownership and rights of access and celebration. An ancient tradition places King David’s tomb here, and over the centuries, Jews and Muslims have leveraged this place to first expel the Franciscans and then to prevent Christian worship, which they deem sacrilegious.
Father Narciso Klimas, historian and archivist of the Custody of the Holy Land, explained to CNA: “The Custody has all the documents confirming our ownership of Mount Zion.” Even today, traces of Christian presence are visible, both in the architecture of the place and in some symbols.
“The presence of the Franciscans at the Cenacle,” Klimas explained, “dates back to 1342, but as early as 1333, the rulers of Naples, Robert of Anjou and Sancha of Majorca, acquired the land and donated it to the friars. This was the first headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land.” To this day, the official title of the Custos of the Holy Land is “Guardian of Mount Zion and the Holy Sepulchre.”
Father Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, incenses the altar at the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper that the Franciscan friars celebrated inside the Cenacle in Jerusalem on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. This is the only day, along with Pentecost Sunday, that the Franciscans have the right to gather here to pray. Usually, it is a liturgy of the word, but since 2021 they have celebrated Mass. Credit: Marinella Bandini
In 1421, a rabbi submitted a petition to the local emirs, claiming the right for Muslims and Jews to this place due to the presence of King David’s tomb. One hundred years later, Klimas continued, “the Ottomans used this argument to gradually expel the Franciscans, until in 1551 the sultan decreed the total expulsion of the Franciscans from Mount Zion.” The Cenacle first became a mosque and later, in the lower part, also a synagogue.
“Since then,” Klimas recounted, “the Franciscans have never stopped attempting to regain possession of the Cenacle. The friars have always tried to ensure a presence, at least on Holy Thursday and Pentecost, sometimes even with methods that are not exactly orthodox (such as bribing the local guardian).”
Something began to change in the 19th century, during the time of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid. Since then, the Franciscans have had the right to pray at the Cenacle on Holy Thursday and Pentecost. After a failed attempt in the 1930s to regain control of it, the friars managed to purchase adjacent land where they built the convent of San Francesco “ad Coenaculum” (next to the Cenacle).
In 1948, with the founding of the State of Israel, the entire Mount Zion came under Israeli control, and until today, the Israeli state owns the entire complex of the Cenacle. The neighborhood has a strong Jewish religious character and is characterized by the presence of synagogues and rabbinical schools.
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle. Here, the friars commemorate the hospitality they received here in the 16th century. After being expelled from the Cenacle, the Franciscans were welcomed by the Armenians for seven years while the convent of St. Saviour was purchased, to this day the headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land. March 28, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
“Even if the Cenacle cannot return to our hands,” Klimas explained, “we ask at least to celebrate regularly, even with pilgrims, without the need for special permits.”
Negotiations on these matters (taxation and property) have been ongoing for over 25 years between the Holy See and the State of Israel, following the signing of the Fundamental Agreement in 1993 and the agreement recognizing the legal personality of the Catholic Church in Israel in 1997.
Despite the slow pace of diplomatic negotiations, some practical progress can be observed informally. The ability to celebrate Mass on Holy Thursday at the Cenacle is among these developments. Permissions to access the site on other special occasions are usually granted without significant issues as well.
After the Mass at the Cenacle, as tradition dictates, the Franciscans proceeded in a procession to three churches in two other symbolic places: the Armenian churches of St. James and of the Holy Archangels (of the Armenian Apostolic Church), and the Syro-Orthodox Church of St. Mark.
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Armenian Church of the Holy Archangels in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle on March 28, 2024. Friars and faithful pray together and receive the blessing from the representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Credit: Marinella Bandini
This yearly visit commemorates the hospitality the friars received in the 16th century. After being expelled from the Cenacle, the Franciscans were welcomed by the Armenians for seven years while the convent of St. Saviour was purchased, to this day the headquarters of the Custody of the Holy Land. Friars and faithful prayed together and received the blessing from the representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The Syriac Orthodox Church of St. Mark is said to be built on the house of Mary, the mother of the evangelist Mark. According to Syriac tradition, this is the place where Jesus had the Last Supper. Here as well, those present prayed together and were able to listen to the Lord’s Prayer sung in Aramaic by one of the monks, who then gave a blessing.
The Franciscan friars and the faithful in the Syro-Orthodox church of St. Mark in Jerusalem after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrated at the Cenacle on March 28, 2024. According to Syriac tradition, this is the upper room where Jesus had the Last Supper. Here as well, those present pray together and listen to the Lord’s Prayer sung in Aramaic by one of the monks, who then gives the blessing. Credit: Marinella Bandini
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1 Comment
“Voice for the voiceless” – from the LIFESITE group Lifesite League: the message about human life and personhood at conception, the reality of conception, is never out of place and never out of time, nor is it ever outmoded or secondary to something else.
God bless you pro-life USA. The Hand of God is on you!
“Voice for the voiceless” – from the LIFESITE group Lifesite League: the message about human life and personhood at conception, the reality of conception, is never out of place and never out of time, nor is it ever outmoded or secondary to something else.
God bless you pro-life USA. The Hand of God is on you!