Clareni Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I have always been suspicious of the Right to Life movement in that it seemed to tainted by crazy extremism. However, coming to the Catholic church late in life, I felt it was time to reconsider this opinion in the light of the church's teaching and the involvement of so many committed Christians. Hearing Father Pavone of "Priests for Life"speak at the parish just last week where I am now undergoing RCIA convinced me to go the the March for Life and see for myself. It was an intense experience and I am still processing it all. One thing that struck me however, was the overwhelming Catholic identity of the march. I was doing my best to document it all and so after walking at the front of the march for a while, I stopped and watch the whole mass of people go past. I counted exactly three non-Catholic groups - Orthodox Presbyterians for Life, Lutherans for Life, and an impressive Russian Orthodox contingent lead by two bishops. Where were all the other pro-lifers, especially fundamentalist evangelical types that the media is always covering? It certainly looked like this important political expression of the movement to stop infanticide was essentially all Catholic. Why is this so? <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEdgU2OovpU> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Secular Pro-Life was at both marches (D.C. and west coast march). I saw pictures of "Gay and Pro-Life" groups at the D.C. march. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmom Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Just because they aren't carrying a banner or that you didn't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clareni Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Secular Pro-Life was at both marches (D.C. and west coast march). I saw pictures of "Gay and Pro-Life" groups at the D.C. march. Granted there were other groups and individuals participating, but it appeared to me that the "99%" here were Roman Catholics. Has the march always been like this? It takes dedication to come all that way and march in the cold and if that comes almost entirely from Catholic parishes, high schools, colleges, seminaries, religious orders, fraternal groups, etc., that is certainly fine by me. I was just struck by the anomaly of the intense fundamentalist support for Right to Life and the almost total absence of evangelical groups participating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Granted there were other groups and individuals participating, but it appeared to me that the "99%" here were Roman Catholics. Has the march always been like this? It takes dedication to come all that way and march in the cold and if that comes almost entirely from Catholic parishes, high schools, colleges, seminaries, religious orders, fraternal groups, etc., that is certainly fine by me. I was just struck by the anomaly of the intense fundamentalist support for Right to Life and the almost total absence of evangelical groups participating. I realize that you are talking about evangelical Christian groups, but perhaps some groups are put off attending as a whole because there is a lot of religious activity going on. if the pro-life wants to continue to grow, they need to continue to reach out to groups and people who aren't religious (considering this generation is one of the most pro-life and the most non-religious). also, hsmom's post is spot on. also consider that even from before Roe vs Wade/Doe vs Bolton became law, the Catholic Church was pretty much one of the only groups (as a whole) that was standing against abortion. many of the evangelical groups were not. that's probably why there is always (and always will be) a large Catholic presence at pro-life events and marches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Opposition to abortion is primarily rooted in a Christian understanding of the dignity of the person. The root of the pro-abort argument is that there are people who are superior and have more dignity than other people - therefore their life is more important than the life of another person. This justifies mass murder (communist regimes), abortion, slavery, and infanticide. The life of the mother is more important than the life of the baby in her womb. She has the right to kill it for any reason - especially for hedonistic reasons. It is possible for non-Christians to be rooted in this one truth about the dignity of the human person while rejecting the Gospel, so we do have and welcome groups like secularists for life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clareni Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Just because they aren't carrying a banner or that you didn't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. I certainly wasn't carying a banner, or with a group, and since I am only in RCIA, I probably don't count as Catholic either. However, all those groups with banners represented a massive organizational effort to get people to travel to DC for this event. Without such an effort, protests in the nation's capitol would be miniscule. Now to all those groups marching behind their banners let's add all the other individuals not in groups who were carrying rosaries, or crucifixes, or the national flags of Catholic countries or of the Vatican. I think it is indisputable that the people who participated in the 2013 march for Life were overwhelmingly Catholic and something tells me that every national Pro Life march has probably been the same. Why is this so? Given the wide range of people involved the anti-abortion movement, why weren't there more evangelical or secular organizations stepping up to make this happen? In a weird bit of political symmetry, the same thing happens at Ft. Benning, Georgia every year at the SOA prote4sts targeting the training of army officers from Central and south America. The crowds are smaller, but my collegues who attend tell me that it is the liberal Social Justice wing of the Catholic church that comprises the bulk of the demonstrators. As a simple, wanna be Catholic, I am perplexed by this sharp political/cultural divide in the church between Right to Life and Social Justice activists that both share an absolute commitment to their respective causes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissyP89 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) Many Protestant groups today actually consider abortion a private, but available option for their members. The Episcopal church, Presbyterian church and certain traditions of Lutheranism are some of the bigger names. You can read more about it at the National Right to Life Commission's website. http://www.nrlc.org/news/1999/NRL199/sween.html You're right, it is an unusual cultural divide. I'm not sure why we Catholics are an overwhelming majority, considering so many of our Protestant brothers and sisters are often very vocal for life. But here are some personal guesses: * The Catholic Church is one of the only churches to retain its stance on birth control, abortion, homosexual relationships, etc. * Because it is so overwhelmingly Catholic, maybe some of those other groups don't feel comfortable there. * We're just large. We have lots of highly organized groups and associations. It's probably simpler for us to show up in droves. * Similarly, those secular or non-Catholic organizations probably have smaller pro-life groups. You can slip through the cracks in a crowd that large. * Not everyone has affiliations or banners. I think it would be amazing for the March to have a bigger variety of folks, and for those other groups to be more prominent. I think in general, the March's Catholics are just large and vocal, that's all. :) Edited January 28, 2013 by MissyP89 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anastasia13 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) There were some of the Orthodox Church of America there. http://oca.org/media/photos/metropolitan-tikhon-leads-orthodox-christian-witness-at-dc-march-for-life Edited January 28, 2013 by Light and Truth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolmom Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I certainly wasn't carying a banner, or with a group, and since I am only in RCIA, I probably don't count as Catholic either. However, all those groups with banners represented a massive organizational effort to get people to travel to DC for this event. Without such an effort, protests in the nation's capitol would be miniscule. Now to all those groups marching behind their banners let's add all the other individuals not in groups who were carrying rosaries, or crucifixes, or the national flags of Catholic countries or of the Vatican. I think it is indisputable that the people who participated in the 2013 march for Life were overwhelmingly Catholic and something tells me that every national Pro Life march has probably been the same. Why is this so? Given the wide range of people involved the anti-abortion movement, why weren't there more evangelical or secular organizations stepping up to make this happen? In a weird bit of political symmetry, the same thing happens at Ft. Benning, Georgia every year at the SOA prote4sts targeting the training of army officers from Central and south America. The crowds are smaller, but my collegues who attend tell me that it is the liberal Social Justice wing of the Catholic church that comprises the bulk of the demonstrators. As a simple, wanna be Catholic, I am perplexed by this sharp political/cultural divide in the church between Right to Life and Social Justice activists that both share an absolute commitment to their respective causes. The DC March for Life is not the only event. Maybe Evangelicals take a different tactic and attend in larger numbers at their state March for Life (believing that they can make a greater difference locally). Could just be a difference in strategy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anastasia13 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 (edited) The DC March for Life is not the only event. Maybe Evangelicals take a different tactic and attend in larger numbers at their state March for Life (believing that they can make a greater difference locally). Could just be a difference in strategy. There is some kind of Walk for Life on the West Coast. I just found it today. Might be interesting to compare who attends. Do all states a local March for Life? I wonder if there is ever one in my part of the state. Edited January 29, 2013 by Light and Truth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FutureSister2009 Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 I'm sad I didn't tune in to it this year but in the past I have seen Jewish people there which I think is fantastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archaeology cat Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Baptists and Lutherans were definitely at our local march. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriela Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 I've been told there are often Orthodox Jews there (though I didn't see any this year), and I'm pretty sure I saw some Muslims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now