April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
PRO-LIFE PILGRIMS
Diocese represented at March for Life
Many said that learning they're not alone in being pro-life gave them the courage to carry the torch for the cause.
Kylie Spinelli, an 18-year-old from Our Lady of the Annunciation parish in Queensbury, said her first time at the event taught her "just to not give up when it seems like you're the only one, because there are other people who share your opinion. And you can't make a difference unless you stand up and make a statement."
More than 140 local Catholics traveled eight hours each way to attend the annual event in bitterly cold weather, joining between 500,000 and 650,000 others from across the country to march along Constitution Avenue to the U.S. Supreme Court building. The day, usually held Jan. 22 to commemorate the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion, was postponed because of the presidential inauguration. This year is the 40th anniversary of the Roe ruling.
Need to be there
A group from Otsego and Delaware Counties stayed overnight with cots and sleeping bags at a Knights of Columbus building in the suburbs.
Kylie, who rode down with parishioners of St. Mary's Church in Glens Falls, said she became active in the pro-life movement two years ago because she "saw the need for young people to become more involved."
She speaks out about abortion in her ethics class at Queensbury High School and has helped St. Mary's fundraise for a crisis pregnancy center. She thought the march would be "a good opportunity" because "there's no way we can end abortion if we're quiet about it."
Kylie and others said the March for Life's accompanying youth rally - which features Mass, charismatic speakers, Christian rock music and more - was especially inspiring. Watching an eight-minute procession of priests and bishops during Mass at the rally resonated with her: "You hear about the priest shortage. It was so nice to see so many people who have given their lives for God and who have now stood up for the lives of the unborn."
David DiNicola, a catechist at St. Thomas the Apostle parish in Cherry Valley along with his wife, Sandi, recalled when Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York asked those in religious life or in formation for it to stand at the end of Mass. He asked the same of attendees feeling called to religious life, and hundreds rose. "That absolutely brought tears to our eyes, because there's hope," he said.
Look at that
Mr. DiNicola felt the same way about seeing young people, particularly when seeing them line up in droves for the sacrament of reconciliation.
"Their very visible and tangible support for life just shined through," he said. "Seeing them living out their faith loudly, but doing it in a respectful fashion...it gives me a sense of hope for the way the next generation is going."
The March for Life, he explained, aims "to open the eyes of those around us to the fact that terminating a life in any way, shape or form is wrong. [We have to] develop awareness for people who right now don't want to be aware.
"I think a woman has a right to choose, but the choice is not after; it's before. If it's easy to have an abortion, then relationships are very casual. It's an individual who's acting on their most base needs and desires as opposed to the way we're called to [act]."
Six people from St. Thomas the Apostle parish traveled with a contingent leaving from St. Joseph's/St. Michael the Archangel/Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Amsterdam. The group included Frances Bukovsky, a 16-year-old Catholic who's used to being a minority at her public high school. Seeing 17,000 people fall silent after communion at the youth rally Mass reminded her she's in good company as a person of faith.
Life lessons
"It was overpowering - kind of indescribable," she told The Evangelist. "It gives me reassurance that [my faith is] not something that's just dying out in society. It validated my decision to be confirmed. While I don't really base my decision off other people, it kind of gave it more meaning."
Frances said she learned that 55 million abortions are reported to have been performed since the procedure was legalized. "It's very surprising and kind of disheartening to know that many children are killed," she said.
Christi Eichinger, a St. Joseph's/St. Michael's/Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishioner, spent her third trip to the march with her nine- and seven-year-old girls in tow. She said they were "really excited to be around other kids" at the rally.
For Mrs. Eichinger, who prays outside abortion clinics for counselors and mothers, the march "is one of the more moving things that you see in your life," she said. "It sends a message when over half a million people show up to march on a snowy day. If everybody just threw in the towel, then this whole fight to end this would end."
She and others expressed a sentiment about future marches that teen participant Kylie summed up perfectly: "If it has to happen again, I'd love to go."[[In-content Ad]]
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