News

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

OTTAWA, April 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Eight Canadian Catholic bishops are set to take part in this year’s Canadian March for Life, which will take place on May 14 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. This is the first year in the March’s 11 year history that the March has been given the full support of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). (For more info about the March: https://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/march2009/index.html)

Deborah Gyapong of Canadian Catholic News said that she expects this to be, “the biggest and best March for Life ever,” with at least nine bishops confirming their attendance, as well as thousands of pro-life Canadians of all and no religious denominations.

“We want to support it because it is a good thing,” said Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) president Archbishop James Weisgerber after discussion among bishops at last year’s annual plenary, which was held September 22-26.

St. Catharine’s Bishop James Wingle first raised the idea of mass mobilization for the March for Life on the part of the Catholic bishops and he received strong backing from Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet and Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, who will both be present at this year’s March.

Campaign Life Coalition president Jim Hughes welcomed the news of the participation by the bishops.

“That’s powerful,” Hughes said. “That’s probably the best news I’ve heard in 2009. It’s always wonderful to have the spiritual leadership and support of the bishops of Canada and we welcome this initiative on their part and we look forward to a long and growing relationship with them.”

Archbishop Weisgerber designated Archbishop Prendergast, who was the first Canadian bishop to attend the March for Life last year, as the coordinator for the bishops’ initiative.

Neil McCarthy, communications director for the Archdiocese of Toronto, said his diocese will have a strong presence at the March.

“The March for Life provides an ideal opportunity for the Catholic community to come together in support of life,” McCarthy told the Catholic Register. “Archbishop (Thomas) Collins will be attending this year’s march and the Office of Catholic Youth will be organizing buses to Ottawa so that our young people may join with others from across the country at this important event.”

As well as Bishops Collins, Ouellet and Prendergast, the other bishops that will be at the Ottawa March for Life this year are: Most Rev. Stephen Victor Chmilar of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto; Most Rev. Michael Mulhall, Bishop of Pembroke, Ontario; Most Rev. Ronald Peter Fabbro, C.S.B., Bishop of London, Ontario; Most Rev. John Stephen Pazak, C.Ss.R., Eparchial Bishop of the Catholic Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite in Canada; and Most Rev. Jean-Louis Plouffe, Bishop of Sault Ste-Marie, Ontario.

This year’s event mourns the 40th anniversary of legalized abortion in Canada. Organizers of the March are encouraging pro-life Canadians to go out of their way to attend the landmark event.

This year’s theme is Exodus 2009 – A Future without Abortion. Events begin on Wednesday, May 13th with a Mass at St. Theresa’s Parish at 7:30 p.m. followed by a Candlelight Vigil at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights Monument in the nation’s capital at dusk.

On May 14th there are a number of ways in which Christians of various denominations might spiritually prepare for the day’s events. At 10 a.m. there is a Mass at both Notre Dame Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Basilica, a Prayer Service at St. George Anglican Church, and a worship and meditation service hosted by the Canadian Reformed Church at the Merivale United Church.

At noon, the gathering begins on Parliament Hill with the introduction of dignitaries and select speeches. The March will begin at 1:30 p.m. and lasts about an hour. When people return to the Hill, the Silent No More Awareness Campaign will make a presentation at 2:45 p.m. The Eastern Catholic Chaplaincy of Ottawa will lead a closing Prayer Service at 4 p.m.

To thank the bishops for their support, click here for e-mail addresses:  https://www.cccb.ca/site/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,1211/lang,eng/

Details of this years March are available at the Campaign Life Coalition website: https://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/march2009/index.html