Some of Canada’s most outspokenly pro-life bishops are urging the Bishops of Canada to attend the March for Life en masse with representatives from each diocese. The 2009 March for Life, to be held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 14, will mark 40 years since the omnibus bill of Pierre Trudeau which opened the floodgates to abortion in Canada.
A Catholic Register report from Deborah Gyapong of Canadian Catholic News detailed the discussion among bishops at the meeting of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (CCCB) 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 and he received strong backing from Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet and Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast.
Bishops at the meeting mentioned the US March for Life in which the Bishops of the United States participate in large fashion. There are regularly over 50 bishops present, hundreds of priests and tens of thousands of faithful from dioceses across the nation. With the massive support of the US Catholic Episcopate, the US March swelled to nearly 200,000 participants last year. In comparison the Canadian March for Life achieved its largest attendance last year with 7,800 participants.
CCCB President Winnipeg Archbishop James Weisgerber said that the Permanent Council of the Bishops’ Conference could examine a motion on the matter at their November meeting.
Organizers are hoping for over 10,000 this year, especially since it marks the 40th anniversary of the legislation. Mary Ellen Douglas, national coordinator for Campaign Life Coalition, which organizes the annual March for Life, was very pleased to hear of the initiative of the bishops.
“I’m delighted that the Bishops are taking a proactive stand to ensure that as many people as possible attend the 2009 March for Life on Parliament Hill,” Douglas told LifeSiteNews.com. “We hope and pray that this 40th year will mark the end of the killing. We’ve been in desert of the culture of death for forty years and its time to come to the promised land of the culture of life.”
IMPORTANT LINKS:
See numerous photos of 2008 Canadian March for Life
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008_docs/OttawaMFL2008/2008OttawaMFLphotos1.htm
March for Life: “I Went to get out of Class; I Came Back Pro-Life”
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/may/08051605.html
See photos of US March for Life 2008
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008_docs/Marchphotos.htm
and 2007 Prayer Vigil for Life that is part of US March for Life activities every year
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007_docs/2007Vigilforlifephotos.htm
History and Details of the US National Prayer Vigil for Life
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/mar/07030112.html
Pro-Life Mass Packed to the Rafters with over 8000+, 400+ Priests, 34 Bishops, 6 Cardinals
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08012310.html
