CNA Staff, Feb 1, 2021 / 04:28 pm (CNA).- Upon receiving a lifetime achievement award from the March for Life, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus reflected on the accomplishments of the pro-life movement and emphasized four of its pillars.
Anderson spoke during the virtual Rose Dinner Gala Jan. 29 after receiving the 2021 Pro-life Legacy Award
“I am very honored to receive the March for Life lifetime achievement award and to have the opportunity to speak to you about this great cause,” he said.
His commitment to the pro-life movement began over 50 years ago as a college student. Even though abortion had not yet been made legal, he said the abortion lobby had a strong influence and was backed by organizations such as American Law Institute, the American Public Health Association, the American Medical Association, and The New York Times.
After finishing law school, he came to Washington D.C. in 1976 and advocated for life alongside Nellie Gray, who launched the annual March for Life in the U.S. capital, and former Congressman Henry Hyde, who introduced the Hyde Amendment to stop the use of federal tax dollars to pay for abortions.
As the counselor to the Under Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, he said the HHS was able to pass legal protections for new-born infants with disabilities.
During his time in the White House staff under President Ronald Reagan, Anderson also helped develop and implement Reagan’s Mexico City Policy, which prevents American foreign aid dollars from promoting abortion overseas.
“We have accomplished much since that time. These are just a few examples of how far we’ve come through the dedicated action of so many – many of whom are no longer with us. But I am always aware of their presence and the power of their prayers,” he said.
“All of us have our own reason why we are part of this great pro-life cause. For me, it’s best summed up by the saying: ‘whoever saves one life, saves the world.’”
Anderson emphasized four pillars that are essential for the success of the pro-life movement. He pointed to the movement’s continued commitment to justice, truth, kindness, and democracy.
He said the right to life is at the heart of the U.S. justice system, but abortion has been veiled under a false language of freedom. If a government will sanction the deaths of innocent children, he said, it is capable of sanctioning anything.
He said the abortion movement is based on the lie that the decision of Roe v. Wade provided women with more respect. He said pro-life advocates must insist that governmental institutions provide the entire truth to the public and resolve pro-life concerns. He said the Supreme Court failed this test in 1973.
“The Supreme Court said it did not need to resolve the question of when human life begins. Then it went on to act as though human life only begins at birth. Falsehoods and misstatements of history riddle the Court’s opinion. But this one is the worst.”
“If courts refuse to recognize and respect the reality of the objects in the case before them, then justice becomes impossible, since it is impossible to know that to which the parties in the case are entitled.”
He also said a pillar of the pro-life cause is compassion and generosity. He said the pro-live movement should be committed to view strangers as neighbors and neighbors as family, especially those who are suffering.
He said that during his experience in pregnancy counseling centers and other pro-life programs he has seen numerous women supported through post-abortion trauma.
“The strength to offer a helping hand and the courage to love another especially when that person is in need is often hidden from public view, but it is nonetheless very real. A culture of compassion and love quietly permeates the pro-life cause. It is the wellspring from which all else flows,” he said.
He said all the legal progress for the pro-life movement has been conducted through the exercise of constitutional rights, such as peaceable assembly and petitions for elected officials.
While political tides ebb and flow, he said, it is a mistake to believe the pro-life movement is not alive today. He said unjust laws are only temporary.
“After nearly 50 years, Roe v. Wade and its supporters have failed to convince the American people that the decision is something other than ‘an exercise of raw judicial power.’ And it shows that Roe v. Wade is not settled law,” he said.
“No matter how entrenched, no matter its claim to stability, in America no unjust law is sustainable.”
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Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, processes out of the Church of Our Lady of Providence after Mass during a Rise Up Encounter of World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, on Aug. 4, 2023. / Credit: Giulio Capece/EWTN News
Washington D.C., Jan 14, 2019 / 02:47 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy See has granted that a plenary indulgence may be obtained by those who participate in the National Prayer Vigil for Life or other sacred celebrations surrounding the March for Life, being held Jan. 18 in Washington, D.C.
“The Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See has granted a plenary indulgence that may be obtained, under the usual conditions, by those who participate in the sacred celebrations carried out on January 17 and 18,” Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington said in a statement on the March for Life. “The elderly, sick and homebound may also gain a plenary indulgence if they spiritually unite themselves to these events and make their prayer and penance an offering to God.”
Kat Talalas, assistant director for pro-life communications at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that “the Vatican has granted that a plenary indulgence may be obtained under the usual conditions by participating in the National Prayer Vigil for Life, as well as the other sacred celebrations surrounding the March for Life.”
An indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to sins which have already been forgiven.
The usual conditions for a plenary indulgence which must be met are: that the individual be in the state of grace by the completion of the acts, have complete detachment from sin, and pray for the Pope’s intentions. The person must also sacramentally confess their sins and receive Communion, up to about twenty days before or after the indulgenced act.
The National Prayer Vigil for Life will be held Jan. 17-18 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The vigil begins with a Mass said by Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the US bishops’ pro-life committee. It continues through the night with confessions, rosary, Compline in the Byzantine rite, Holy Hours, Lauds, and Benediction. The vigil concludes with a Mass said by Bishop Barry Knestout of Richmond.
The March for Life, an annual peaceful protest against abortion, will take place at the National Mall Jan. 18. The 2019 march’s theme is “Unique From Day One: Pro-Life is Pro-Science”.
The march is held to oppose publicly the US Supreme Court’s Jan. 22, 1973 Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion across the country. It remains one of the largest political protests in the United States today.
In addition to the March for Life, Bishop Burbidge noted the Diocese of Arlington’s Life Is VERY Good Evening of Prayer, Rally, and Mass, being held Jan. 17-18 in Fairfax.
Along with the March for Life, the US bishops’ conference is promoting 9 Days for Life, a Jan. 14-22 novena.
“Even if you cannot attend the Prayer Vigil or the March, you can always remain united in the cause of life through prayer,” Talalas said.
Bishop Burbidge wrote that January “provides us with opportunities to express our belief in the dignity and value of all human life and to provide public witness that we will not be silent when injustices like abortion continue to have a place in our society. Each year, people from around the country gather in our nation’s capital for the March for Life. I take this opportunity to thank all who travel from great distances to take part in public action on behalf of those who cannot speak out for themselves.”
“I pray that one day we, united in prayer, and persistent in our advocacy for the unborn and the vulnerable, will root out any instance of injustice or violence again human life,” Bishop Burbidge wrote.
Father J.J. Mech, rector of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, stands next to the life-sized statues of the apostles that have now been installed in the cathedral’s worship space, along with first-class relics of each apostle. The “Journey with the Saints” pilgrimage, which will be dedicated Feb. 8, 2024, in a special ceremony with Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, is part of the cathedral’s ongoing transformation into an “apostolic center for the arts and culture.” / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Detroit Catholic
Detroit, Mich., Jan 29, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
At the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, the band is getting back together. The band of Christ’s 12 apostles, that is.
On Feb. 8, Detroit’s mother church will publicly unveil its long-awaited “Journey with the Saints” project, a permanent installation of 14 “larger than life” statues accompanied by first-class relics of each apostle, the latest accomplishment in the cathedral’s ongoing mission to turn itself into an apostolic center in the city of Detroit.
Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron will join Father J.J. Mech, rector of the cathedral, to dedicate the new installation during a special event at 7 p.m.
From its central perch on Woodward Avenue, the looming gothic cathedral of the Archdiocese of Detroit stands out in its neighborhood. Following Vigneron’s instruction to turn the church into a “cathedral of the arts,” Mech has spent the last several years converting the cathedral into a hub of missionary activity and beauty, drawing people to the faith via “shallow entry points.”
“Our goal is that we are going to be more accessible to people off of Woodward,” Mech told Detroit Catholic. “We want this to be a flexible public space, maybe even a community hub for not only spiritual enrichment but cultural enrichment, and it will be a safe place, and we will have security and all of that.”
St. Simon, St. Thomas, and St. Matthias are pictured in their permanent fixtures atop the pillars inside the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The statues and relics of the apostles will be officially unveiled Feb. 8, 2024, as part of a permanent pilgrimage experience at the cathedral, “Journey with the Saints.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
The name “Cathedral of the Arts,” Mech explained, is a reminder that the proof of God is beauty — a principle that guides each of the new initiatives he and his team have undertaken on the cathedral’s campus.
The latest project, the installation of the seven-and-a-half-foot-tall statues and relics encircling the cathedral’s interior worship space, is the crowning jewel of those efforts, transforming the cathedral into a permanent pilgrimage site, guided by the men who knew Christ most intimately during his time on earth.
Complete with first-class relics, the new installation is among the first of its kind in North America bringing together all 12 of Christ’s apostles for veneration, and the only exhibit in the world with the relics accessible in this way.
The 14 statues — including two eight-foot angels — each were carved from a single tree trunk in St. Ulrich Groeden, in modern-day Italy, in 1927. The statues were rescued from St. Benedict Church in Highland Park, which closed in 2014. After undergoing extensive restoration, the statues were installed in the cathedral’s nave in December.
The statue of St. Andrew. Each of the statues were carved from a single tree trunk and rescued from St. Benedict Church in Highland Park, which closed in 2014. After undergoing extensive restoration, the statues were installed in the cathedral’s nave in December 2023. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
The statues include two angels, 10 of the original 12 apostles, St. Paul, and St. Matthias, the apostle who replaced Judas. Mech discovered that he had relics corresponding to the 12 saints, part of a collection of nearly 200 relics owned by the cathedral, all of which he hopes to be able to one day put on display.
The relics and the signage were installed beneath each statue beginning on Jan. 8, in time for the dedication and blessing of the new reliquary pilgrimage on Feb. 8.
“I am so excited about the transformation that is happening,” Mech said. “When you come in, there will be three main signs that tell you how to go on a pilgrimage, what the goal of a pilgrimage is, and how to interact with these relics. [Pilgrims] are going to walk away transformed, different, and they are going to enter through prayer.”
“Journey with the Saints” is much more than a museum of Church history, Mech said, but a rare opportunity to invoke the help of Catholicism’s greatest saints.
“It’s not just about looking at a pretty statue and touching some bones. [Pilgrims] are going to have a purpose when they walk away,” Mech said. “People can decide what they want intercession for, what they are hoping for when they pray to a particular saint, and when they walk away, they’ll keep praying for that.”
Keith Calleja began installation of relics on Jan. 8, 2024, starting with the relic of St. Philip. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
Mech said those whose prayers have been answered through the intercession of the saints will be invited to return to the cathedral and contribute a tile to a mosaic art piece that will be installed to show how God is answering prayers through the project.
While the saints and relics are the culmination of a long-sought project, it’s all part of a greater vision for Detroit’s cathedral, Mech said.
Another piece of the puzzle will be dedicated on May 12, when Archbishop Vigneron will unveil a new outdoor grotto at the cathedral in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, as the archbishop emotionally addressed the faithful during a livestreamed Mass from the cathedral, he entrusted the archdiocese to the protection of Our Lady of Lourdes and pledged to build the grotto “as a perpetual reminder” of her care and in memory of the lives lost to COVID-19.
Under the guidance of the archbishop, the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament finished a majority of the work on the grotto this fall, including statues of St. Bernadette Soubirous and Our Lady, whose face will reflect the one St. Bernadette saw in Lourdes, France, in 1858.
The first-class relics are among nearly 200 relics currently housed in the cathedral, which Father Mech hopes to find a way to display. The gold reliquaries are installed beneath each of the apostles’ statues. January 2024. Courtesy of Detroit Catholic
“People are already presently coming to pray [at] the grotto with the Blessed Mother,” Mech said. “We put some beautiful landscaping in this fall so people would feel welcomed, and in fact, we have used the site in a couple of ways for prayer services already.”
The grotto will also connect seamlessly with a garden walk that is being created around the cathedral’s plaza lawn, which will include art, benches, solar charging stations, a dog park, a bird sanctuary and pollination habitat.
Working alongside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the cathedral’s co-director of family ministries, Christine Broses, is spearheading the transformation of two previously empty lots on the corner of Trowbridge and John R Streets into green space for wildlife to thrive.
“We learned that the city of Detroit is a north, south, east, and west crossing for bird migration,” Broses said. “So a lot of birds fly over the city of Detroit, but they don’t have anywhere to stop and rest because there isn’t a lot of green space. Creating green space is really important for the city and for wildlife in general, and research shows hearing birds and having green space in neighborhoods helps improve people’s mental health.”
Last spring, Broses oversaw the planting of native flowers in the area, and the next step is to let the space grow wild, which will inevitably attract birds and bees over the coming years. Broses said the final step will be to add educational plaques and pathways to make the spot accessible to schools and families.
Mech wants the garden spaces and pathways to be welcoming and intends to build benches — something the neighborhood is currently lacking.
The statues, pictured in their final fixed locations above the cathedral’s pillars, are just one piece of an ever-developing project to turn the cathedral into a true apostolic center in the heart of Detroit, Father J.J. Mech said. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
“We did a study of our neighborhood and found there is not a single park bench in any of the parks in our area,” Mech said. “We want to have park benches so people can come and rest and enjoy themselves. This will be a place where community can be built, and people will realize that the cathedral is not a fortress; we are actually unleashing the Gospel.”
And there is more.
In June, construction began on the Cathedral Arts Apartments, which will include four stories and 53 two-bedroom housing units for low-income Detroiters. The $19.7 million project is the joint effort of the Archdiocese of Detroit; MHT Housing, Inc.; and the city of Detroit and will include a community space and workforce training center.
At the end of the day, the vision of a “Cathedral of the Arts” — like the cathedrals of old — is about listening to the Holy Spirit and making a difference from the very small to the large scale, so that everyone who steps onto the property is transformed, Mech said.
“When we get people onto the campus, they start to see what we are doing, and they get involved,” he said. “Then, the Holy Spirit does the rest and helps them to get to know Our Lord in new and wonderful ways.”
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