Holy Family University to Participate in March for Life

Holy Family University

Holy Family University will once again participate in the March for Life event, a demonstration in Washington D.C. recognizing “the more than 55 million Americans who have been lost to abortion,” according to the organizations' website.

March For Life 2016

On Friday, January 22, campus chaplain Father James MacNew, OSFS, students, and other University representatives will journey to the capital for a day of worship and peaceful reflection. Buses will leave the Campus Center parking lot at 6:15 am. Upon arrival, participants will stop at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, participate in a Mass celebrated in the Great Upper Church, and then join the march to the Supreme Court. Dinner will be provided courtesy of the Campus Ministry. The bus will return back at Holy Family University by 9:00 pm.

The theme of this year’s event is “Pro-Life and Pro-Woman Go Hand-in-Hand.”

"We go to the March for Life event to 'incarnate' the love of God for the human person and to put church teachings into action,” Rev. MacNew said. “We recognize that the law itself is a teacher and so, if what the law permits is immoral, we are obliged to take action to change the law and to protect the most innocent among us. Nonetheless, the students and other members of the Holy Family community journey to Washington D.C., attend the liturgy with Archbishop Chaput in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and venture forth to embrace the cold and the elements, not primarily as political activists, but rather as men and women of faith, responding to the call of God's love for each unique and irreplaceable human person.”

According to the organization’s website, “The March for Life began in Washington, D.C., as a small demonstration and rapidly grew to be the largest pro-life event in the world. The peaceful demonstration that has followed on the somber anniversary of Roe v. Wade every year since 1973 is a witness to the truth concerning the greatest human rights violation of our time, legalized abortion on demand.”

Senior Psychology major Christopher Rocks, one of the student organizers of the trip, believes the event will be meaningful to those who attend.

“This is an important event for students to participate in because it is a day that helps bring students together, as well as help to bridge the gap between our students and our society,” he said. “Most importantly, it helps each individual become closer to God.”

Speakers at the March for Life event include Matt Birk, former Baltimore Ravens player and Super Bowl Champion; Sue Ellen Browder, Author, Subverted; Jim Daly, President, Focus on the Family; Dr. Margarite Duane, MD, Co-founder and Executive Director, FACTS; Jewels Green, Silent No More campaign; Nathan Grime, Student, Concordia Lutheran High School; Caitlin Jane, Christian Music Artist; and Shawn Welcome, Performance Poet.

“More than ever, in this sacred year, it is incumbent on us, men and women of faith, to lovingly proclaim the truth of God's loving mercy as we work to change the law so that it might become a beacon of justice for all," Father MacNew said.

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