The crowd at the 2018 March for Life in Washington, D.C. / Jonah McKeown/CNA. See CNA article for live updates.
Washington D.C., Jan 20, 2023 / 07:11 am (CNA).
The 50th anniversary of the March for Life kicks off today, Jan. 20, approximately seven months following the supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case which legalized abortion across the nation.
Follow along here for live updates of the march, all times are in U.S. Eastern Standard Time:
Jan. 20, 10:10 a.m.
The crowd is slowing increasing by the March for Life rally stage, while people from pro-life organizations are walking around and handing out signs to marchers.
The crowd size slowly begins to increase approximately 3 hours before pilgrims begin to march during the 2023 March for Life. Katie Yoder
Jan. 20, 9:55 a.m.
Pilgrims don’t begin marching until 1:00 p.m., however crowds begin building much earlier than that. What is usually one of the coldest weeks in the year for the Washington D.C. area, the weather is about 49 degrees and comfortably sunny, but with some wind chills.
Jan. 20, 9:44 a.m.
Media begins to circulate online of groups en route and arriving at the March for Life.
As pilgrims and visitors prepare to march on Washington D.C. in support of life, some have wondered why the March for Life still continues despite the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Did you know that the March for Life has aspirations not only for pro-life laws but a pro-life culture? You can read more about that here, and 7 other interesting facts pro-lifers should know about this year’s March for Life.
Jan. 19, 5:00 p.m.
Thousands of pilgrims from across the nation gather at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. for the opening Mass in the National Prayer Vigil for Life. The main celebrant of the Mass was Bishop Michael Burbidge of the nearby Arlington Diocese.
Burbidge was recently elected to chair the U.S. Bishops Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
Pilgrims gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. on Jan. 19 to pray for the unborn. Lauretta Brown
The basilica was filled with young people, including loads of high school and college students, many of whom have traveled to the basilica in preparation for the march.
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Sacramento, Calif., May 2, 2019 / 05:06 pm (CNA).- Catholic Charities of the East Bay (CCEB) in California is remaining firm in its conviction against referring teenage victims of sex trafficking for contraception and abortions at a new facility, while emphasizing that medical care is not the new facility’s primary mission.
“We are not licensed to provide medical services,” said Mary Kuhn, spokesperson for CCEB. “We provide therapeutic services, shelter, case manage, and make sure the girls are getting either homeschooling or the right school, all of that…We’re not involved in their medical decisions.”
Catholic Charities is planning to open a home for teenage victims of sex trafficking, but has faced opposition from neighbors and critics who oppose the Church’s teaching on contraception and abortion.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the planned home will house up to 12 teenage sex-trafficking victims, ages 12 to 17, in Sequoyah, a forested neighborhood of the eastern Oakland hills. The facility, a former rectory, is still awaiting state approval to begin operations.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley had approached the diocese with an initiative to tackle human trafficking in the area. The new facility will be named “Claire’s House,” after O’Malley’s mother.
Kuhn told CNA that the biggest problem faced by social services agencies and advocacy groups for victims of sex trafficking is a lack of supportive homes, and Claire’s House is intended to fill that need.
The district attorney approached Oakland Bishop Michael Barber in 2015, along with other faith-based agencies in the area, asking for their help in addressing the problem of sex trafficking.
“There’s a lot of support for this program in Alameda County and the greater Bay Area,” Kuhn told CNA.
“Unfortunately there are a few people that are, quite understandably, nervous or opposed because they really just don’t want this near where they live.”
The president of the Coalition of Residents Protecting Sequoyah, the neighborhood where the home will operate, has expressed concern about human traffickers coming to the neighborhood looking for girls they have abused.
“Claire’s House is not a safehouse, and it’s not a shelter,” Kuhn clarified.
“And that’s really important…a safehouse means you’re hiding from someone, and a shelter means you’re getting a bed, but little else. Claire’s House is a home, and it’s a home for healing. It’s a home for girls who have already been separated from their exploiter,” she said.
The young people that the house will be serving will primarily be referred to the house by the county social services agency, and will be children that are already in the foster care system.
Without a place like Claire’s House, Kuhn said, they could be placed in a foster home with a family that “really isn’t prepared to provide the sort of therapeutic services and support that they need, because of their experience [of being trafficked].”
“They’re not coming in as an emergency placement or a crisis situation, so there is an assessment process. So they’re at a place where they are contemplating where to go next in their lives, and they just don’t have housing and they don’t have a place where they can be kids again.”
In alignment with Catholic teaching on the immorality of artificial contraception and abortion, the facility will not make appointments for clients at clinics that provide contraception or abortion and will also not provide transportation to those facilities.
Instead, the home will post a sign in a common area that explains the teens’ medical options. It will be up to the teens’ parents or guardians to arrange for abortion or contraception if they so choose.
“We are not a provider of medical services,” Kuhn clarified.
Per the house’s licensing, they contract with a third party medical provider who Kuhn said is equipped to work with the vulnerable group that they serve.
If there are conversations or decisions regarding abortion or contraception, that would be between the girls, their doctors, and their guardians. She said the house will likely not talk to the girls much about those topics, but that pro-life pregnancy resources are a service Catholic Charities of the East Bay would like to provide in the future.
“They do have access to third-party medical care providers,” she said.
“Of course, we’ll talk about health and hygiene, life skills, things like that. But our goal is to get them stabilized, enable them to pursue their education, get them the therapeutic services they need, and enable them to start participating in things kids do.”
The overarching Catholic values that come from their work help the teenagers to heal, she said.
“A lack of supportive homes for children who have left their exploiters— that is the single biggest problem that’s faced by social service organizations and advocacy groups, and Claire’s House fills this desperate need,” she reiterated.
The survivor led-community is supportive of the house, she said, and she said she hopes that other Catholic Charities organizations around the country can follow the same model.
“We are a national system, and we have deep experience serving people on the margins,” Kuhn said.
“And other entities would have a difficult time matching what Catholic Charities is able to do.”
The home plans to begin accepting its first clients as soon as the state approves a care license for the facility. Kuhn said Catholic Charities of East Bay will not be publicly announcing when they begin their services out of respect for the privacy of the children.
Joe Biden has won the 2020 presidential election, media outlets reported Saturday morning, after five days of counting in several tight races across the country.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey walks across the campus of St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts, on April 9, 2024. / Credit: Screenshot of St. John’s Prep Facebook page last visited April 19, 2024
Boston, Mass., Apr 23, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).
Pro-lifers in the Archdiocese of Boston are criticizing Cardinal Seán O’Malley over two recent appearances at Catholic education events by the pro-abortion governor of Massachusetts.
Earlier this month, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat who supports legal and publicly funded abortion and who has taken steps to make abortions easier to obtain, spoke at a fundraiser for The Catholic Schools Foundation, which raises money for Catholic schools in the archdiocese and helps poor students attend.
O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, is the chairman of the board of trustees of the foundation, though he was in Rome at the time of the gala and did not attend it.
Healey also recently visited a Catholic school north of Boston, speaking to students and answering questions.
C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, called Healey’s appearances “a grave scandal.”
“Cardinal O’Malley should be ashamed of himself. Is Maura Healey an inspiring role model for Catholic students?” Doyle said.
Thomas Harvey, chairman of the Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortions, called including Healey at the Catholic events “really disgraceful,” and he placed the blame on O’Malley.
“Maura Healey is a huge proponent of killing babies in the womb, in direct defiance of Catholic teaching, and yet here she is being presented to impressionable Catholic students as if she were a Catholic role model,” Harvey told the Register by text. “And the clear message being sent to Catholic students here is that killing babies in the womb is just not that big a deal.”
In June 2004, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a document called “Catholics in Public Life,” which states: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
Terrence Donilon, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston, pointed out that Healey was not an honoree at the gala or during her earlier appearance at the Catholic school.
Since Healey is the governor of the state, Donilon said, Cardinal O’Malley has worked with her “on a number of issues important to Catholics and the wider community,” including public funding for the archdiocese’s charitable work providing “basic needs assistance, job training, child care services, and immigration and refugee assistance to thousands of residents,” as well as building “badly needed affordable housing” and trying “to stem gun violence.”
“At the same time, the cardinal has been a leader in the pro-life movement for over 50 years and his commitment in being a staunch promoter of life is well known and unwavering,” Donilon said.
O’Malley, 79, a Capuchin Franciscan, has frequently attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and has spoken at pro-life rallies. Last week, The Boston Globe published a column by O’Malley urging state legislators to oppose a bill that would legalize physician-assisted suicide.
But critics such as Doyle claim that O’Malley during his time as archbishop has seemed to mix easily and uncritically with abortion-supporting Catholic politicians, including the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (whose funeral Mass he celebrated), the late Boston mayor Thomas Menino, former Boston mayor Marty Walsh, and the current governor, Healey, with whom he co-authored a column in The Boston Globe in September 2017 on immigration.
Donilon, O’Malley’s spokesman, addressing Healey’s participation in The Catholic Schools Foundation gala last week, said that “the governor has been a vocal supporter of Catholic education. … Our Catholic schools save cities and towns hundreds of millions of dollars in education costs. Our families benefit from an outstanding education based in an excellent faith-based environment.”
Gov. Maura Healey speaks to students at St. John’s Prep on April 9, 2024. Credit: Screenshot of St. John’s Prep Facebook page last visited on April 9, 2024.
Who is Maura Healey?
Healey, 53, was elected Massachusetts attorney general in 2014 with an endorsement from Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund. She served two terms as attorney general before being elected governor of Massachusetts in November 2022.
As an elected official, Healey has frequently supported public policies that clash with Catholic teachings on life and sexuality.
She has verbally attacked pro-life pregnancy centers, steered state government money to private abortion funds, and, in April 2023, quietly arranged for the flagship campus of the state-run University of Massachusetts to purchase 15,000 doses of abortion pills.
Healey’s administration in June 2023 successfully proposed a curriculum framework for public schools that calls for teaching between third and fifth grades “the differences between biological sex and gender identity” and “how one’s outward behavior and appearance does not define one’s gender identity or sexual orientation.”
Healey appeared Thursday, April 11, at the annual gala of The Catholic Schools Foundation at a hotel in Boston.
“So I didn’t have the benefit of going to Catholic school,” Healey said, according to a text of her remarks provided by a spokesman. “My mom went to Catholic school, and my nephew goes to Catholic school; we have priest[s] at the dinner table every Sunday. But I do know, both having been your attorney general and now as your governor, what your work means. And I can see that experience firsthand.”
She also said she wants to find ways “to partner” with the foundation “in the important work that you [are] doing.”
“And I want you to know that, as governor, I value our vibrant mix of education, our public schools, our private schools, and our religious schools,” Healey said.
Two days earlier, on Tuesday, April 9, Healey spent about 50 minutes with a group of 120 students at St. John’s Preparatory High School, a Catholic boys’ school founded by the Xaverian Brothers in Danvers, about 18 miles northeast of Boston, according to a description of the visit published on the school’s website. The school is in the Archdiocese of Boston, though it is not run by the archdiocese.
Healey had never visited the school before, “but it was quickly clear her personal values are closely aligned with those of the Xaverian Brothers,” the school’s write-up states.
Healey emphasized leadership and empathy during her remarks. The governor also told the students that while she believes in civil discourse, “there are some basic values that have kept our society intact,” and she told students they should “call out hate when you see it.”
“We can have differences of opinion on things,” Healey said, according to the school’s write-up, “but, to me, equality has got to abide. Respect for the dignity and worth of each person is something I call on people to really adhere to.”
Robert Joyce, a lawyer and member of the board of the Pro-Life Legal Defense Fund, which provides legal representation for pro-lifers, said that St. John’s Prep last fall turned down an offer he made to provide a pro-life assembly for students featuring a canon lawyer, a physician, and a vocations director. (The head of school, Edward Hardiman, did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.)
Joyce called Healey’s recent appearances at the gala and at the school “abominations for Catholic education.”
“They send the clear message to Catholic students and parents that critical, fundamental precepts of the Catholic faith are not all that important. In simple terms, they declare that protection of innocent unborn life and the defense of traditional marriage are negotiable with these Catholic educators,” Joyce indicated.
Healey is also a featured speaker at the annual Spring Celebration of Catholic Charities Boston scheduled for Wednesday, May 29, at the Boston Harbor Hotel in Boston. O’Malley is expected to receive an award at the event for his work in welcoming immigrants.
Healey and the Catholic Church
Healey does not often talk about religion in public, but she occasionally identifies herself as a Catholic.
In October 2018, when she was state attorney general, she led off a brief column in The Boston Globe with the words: “As a member of law enforcement and as a Catholic …”
In April 2022, when Healey criticized Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester for calling for a Catholic school to take down a rainbow flag, she added, according to MassLive.com: “And I speak as a Catholic …”
In October 2022, during a debate while she was running for governor, Healey used a Catholic reference while defending herself from a claim by her Republican opponent that a bill she had supported effectively legalized infanticide, as the National Catholic Register subsequently reported. “You know, my mom goes to Mass every morning,” Healey said.
Healey is widely thought of as a potential candidate for other offices. She would be an obvious Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts if either of the two incumbents (both in their 70s) leaves office.
Additionally, just hours before her appearance at The Catholic Schools Foundation gala, Healey participated in an event at Northeastern University in Boston honoring former Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. The moderator floated Healey as a potential future candidate for president of the United States, to applause from the audience.
This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.
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