Archdiocese of Detroit gives witness to the protection of all of God’s creation during 2019 March for Life in nation's capital
WASHINGTON — It was a day that started with a celebration of the sacrifice of the holy Eucharist in a downtown arena, and ended with a litany of the Mother of God’s titles on the crest of Capitol Hill.
All the while, Metro Detroiters gave witness that the 2019 March for Life was about all in God’s family deserving dignity.
It was 6 a.m. Friday morning when buses that were traveling all night rolled up next to the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., where students from high schools across the Archdiocese of Detroit walked out, ready to give witness to the most critical civil rights issue of the 21st century.
Rocco Glati, a student at De La Salle High School in Warren, explained why it was so important for him and his classmates to be in Washington for the march.
“We’re here for the March for Life in Washington, D.C., standing against abortion,” Glati told Detroit Catholic. “We got here on a bus around 5:30 a.m., driving through the night. It’s a very important thing, because many people in the world don’t realize the harm and problems that abortion causes. At the Collegiate (what De Le Salle students call their school), they teach we are brothers, and when we see abortion occurring in the U.S., there are many lives being taken away from the world.”
As students packed into the Capital One Arena, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, celebrated Mass, exhorting the youth to be witnesses for life and encouraging them to change the culture, such that it would be unthinkable that any mother would want to abort their child.
“I think it really matters to show how important this issue is, to get on a bus, not shower for three days, and sleep on a church floor. Because it doesn’t matter that much to go through a little discomfort for the greater good.” —Lauren Krill, Mercy High School junior
Lauren Krill, a junior at Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, returned to the March for Life for the second time, amazed by the even bigger turnout — with veteran marchers saying it is the biggest march in years — signifying how important the pro-life movement is across the country.
“I think the turnout says how important and relevant the movement is,” Krill said. “I always was pro-life, but seeing how big the movement is definitely shows how important it is to come back and see how strongly people feel about the topic. I think it’s very powerful to see how very peaceful the march is. It speaks to what we stand for, which is peace. And to see hundreds of thousands of people walking down the street, I thought that was really important.”
Krill noted that she and her fellow Mercy students were marching for something greater than themselves: sacrificing for the betterment of others.
“For some, the reason why they march is for religious reasons; for others it is about abortion, but it really is about the protection of all people, such as immigrants, victims of racism and other types of discrimination,” Krill said. “I think it really matters to show how important this issue is, to get on a bus, not shower for three days, and sleep on a church floor. Because it doesn’t matter that much to go through a little discomfort for the greater good.”
The youth Mass at Capitol One Arena fired up the students, as they headed down 6th Street to the National Mall, preparing for the march.
Along the way, seminarian John Carlin carried a Sacred Heart Major Seminary banner to represent his school and fellow seminarians marching for life in the wind and mud of a brisk January day in D.C.
“I have been to the March for Life for three years before beginning to study at the seminary,” said Carlin, a third-year theology student at Sacred Heart. “I remember my visits to the Verizon Center (the previous name for Capitol One Arena), seeing all of those young people who are all pro-life, thinking of how sacred life is.
“You see so much joy in the young people marching, sometimes in the cold, sometimes in the hard snowfall and the rain. But I don’t think this march is ever going to stop, even if Roe v. Wade gets overturned. We will come every year in joy, celebrating life.” —Seminarian John Carlin
“This is my fourth march,” Carlin continued. “Some talk about how we are marching to change the laws. But if the laws change, we won’t stop marching. We will have a celebration of life. You see so much joy in the young people marching, sometimes in the cold, sometimes in the hard snowfall and the rain. But I don’t think this march is ever going to stop, even if Roe v. Wade gets overturned. We will come every year in joy, celebrating life.”
As the marchers convened around the National Mall, singing praises for babies and families who choose life, pro-lifers around the country, of various denominations, were together to celebrate the conviction that life is sacred and there are millions of Americans ready to give witness to this truth.
Marchers were thrilled to hear U.S. Vice President Mike Pence greet the crowd, who applauded the dedication of the marchers, assuring them there were people in the federal government on the side of life, ready to defend the unborn and the rights of people who speak for the unborn.
For Fr. Jim Kean, pastor of St. Damien of Molokai Parish in Pontiac, the March for Life is a chance for all Catholics, both clergy and laity, to give witness to the truth that God’s image is imprinted into the very body and soul of all human life.
“We’re part of a group, Footprints for Life, who organize buses to come down from the Warren-White Lake area,” Fr. Kean said. “I’ve been coming to the March for Life for the last five years. We have to give a valid symbol to this important issue.
“I find it interesting that a huge contingent in our modern times relies on science, but the science backs up our pro-life position,” Fr. Kean continued. “And yet, as we see, the scientific equation is minimized by the secular voices of our culture. It is the religious who point out the uniqueness of our DNA; that is something that comes out of science.”
When the Rally for Life ended, it was time for groups from across the country, including from the Archdiocese of Detroit, to make their way down Constitution Avenue to the U.S. Capitol Building and the United States Supreme Court Building, where the infamous 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling took place.
“I’m here to support the unborn, so the community is aware of the voices of others,” said Janis Cornwell, a parishioner at Immaculate Conception Parish in Ira Township. “I’ve been to seven Marches for Life, and I come back here to give myself a boost with the others to support life. I wish there were more people here, loving, praying and being a witness with us, because that is where we draw strength.”
As the marchers from Detroit ascended Capitol Hill — with high schoolers from the archdiocese carrying a red Archdiocese of Detroit “Unleash the Gospel” banner for all the country to see the region’s commitment to evangelization — pro-life witnesses from the Motor City reflected on why they marched.
Michelle Schmidt, a member of Our Lady of Refuge Parish in Orchard Lake, became involved in the pro-life movement after choosing to have an abortion and feeling the tremendous pain, loss and abandonment that accompanied it.
That pain prompted her to become an advocate for life, so that no other woman would feel the same sense of despair.
“I started working as a director of Mother and Unborn Baby Care, a clinic in Southfield, after feeling the fallout from my abortion,” Schmidt said. “Women are more open, more honest with others who can relate to them and their lives, and it is important for me today to be here to share my story.
“I think about the child I lost to abortion,” Schmidt continued. “The nieces and nephews I’ve lost to abortion and the loss of human potential because of abortion. Abortion is the destruction of the image and likeness of God. So in that sense, it is a blasphemy. It’s important for people like me who know the sense of loss and guilt to grieve here, because the world does not recognize our grief.
“That’s why I’m here; that’s why we are all here, to show that abortion is wrong, and the pro-life cause is calling out that wrong,” Schmidt said. “We are here to show there is hope, there is salvation, a healing that comes from mercy. A mercy that we, along with God, can and will provide.”
Detroit Catholic reporter Dan Meloy writes from Washington, D.C.
See more photos of Detroit pilgrims participating in the 2019 March for Life on Detroit Catholic's Facebook page. Follow further updates on Twitter and Instagram.
