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Now 11 Bishops Confirmed: Unprecedented Promotion of March for Life from Catholic Bishops

By Alex Bush and John Jalsevac

TORONTO, May 13, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Canadian March for Life is set to kick off on Thursday at noon, and so far 11 Canadian Catholic bishops have confirmed that they will attend the March. The show of support from the Canadian bishops is unprecedented in the 11-year history of the largest annual Canadian pro-life event.

Indeed, this year marks the first time that the March has been given the full, official support of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) - a decision that was made at last year's annual plenary in September.

The eleven Catholic bishops who will be in attendance are: Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins, Kingston Archbishop Brendan O'Brien, Pembroke Bishop Michael Mulhall, London Bishop Ronald Fabbro, Toronto Slovak Bishop John Pazak, Toronto Ukrainian Bishop Stephen Chmilar, Sault Ste-Marie Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe, retired Keewatin-Le Pas Archbishop Peter Sutton, and Alexandria-Cornwall Bishop Paul-André Durocher.

Just this past week The Register, Toronto's archdiocesan newspaper, interviewed Ottawa Archbishop Terrance Prendergast, who participated for the first time in the March for Life last year, about his experience. "I was delighted with my participation in it, I kind of wish I'd come up before," he said. The archbishop says that he has invited many of his brother bishops to also come out and throw their weight behind the pro-life cause.

Michele Boulva, director of the Catholic Organization for Life and Family, (COLF), an organization formed by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement in the lead-up to the March for Life.

In the last 40 years since abortion was legalized in Canada, she said, "We have collectively descended into an unresolved ethical schizophrenia where doctors employ their powers to save tiny premature babies in intensive care units while ending the lives of even more developed babies in the womb.

"We shut our eyes to the reality that while some mothers marvel at 4-dimensional ultrasound pictures of their unborn babies and follow their weekly development on pregnancy websites, others are told those same unborn babies are not yet human, do not have a right to life, and can be eliminated.

"We chant that abortion is a woman's right, but we ignore the witness of countless women who testify that abortion has ruined their lives."

"Now more than ever," she continued, "we need to reopen the public debate in Parliament, in the media, and in our communities."

Boulva says that speaking up for life "means not only engaging in verbal and written debate and contacting Members of Parliament, but becoming a visible and united front."

"This is why the Catholic Organization for Life and Family would like to strongly encourage all Canadians who believe in ending the juridical void in Canada over abortion to join in the National March for Life in Ottawa on May 14, 2009."

In addition to the eleven confirmed bishops that will be attending the March for Life, thousands of Canadian pro-life advocates will descend upon Ottawa, including over a dozen pro-life Members of Parliament.

To read this week's issue of the Catholic Register visit:
http://www.catholicregister.org/

Visit the Catholic Organization for Life and Family:
http://www.colf.ca/mamboshop/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1...

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