Pro-life advocates still soldier on

Catholics involved with the anti-abortion campaign were confronted this month with a two-fold challenge to their resolve, local activists report. A president with strong pro-choice voting record will be inaugurated next week and Roe vs. Wade will mark its 36th anniversary on Jan. 22. 

"We can't be discouraged," said Mickey Palmieri, parishioner at St. John the Evangelist in Schenectady. 

In the Roe vs. Wade decision, the Supreme Court of the United States legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. The Catholic Church considers abortion an intrinsically evil act and a grave sin and encourages all to work against what Pope John Paul II called "the culture of death." 

New day
"Catholics have to wake up," said Mrs. Palmieri, who is vice president of New York State Nurses for Life. "Join a pro-life group, write letters to editors, visit your legislators, and encourage your pastors to educate parishioners on prolife issues."

Local activists will travel to Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life, whose organizers are stressing that the U.S. must provide equal care for both a pregnant mother and her unborn child. 

Brittany Cooke, a parishioner at Annunciation Church in Ilion, said she hopes that "participating [in the March] will help me grow closer to God and to fight for what I believe in." 

For 19-year old Martin Morales, a parishioner at Sacred Heart Church in Cairo, his past participation in the Washington rally emboldened him to witness at abortion clinics. He encouraged other Catholics to put aside their fear of speaking out: "Jesus tells us, 'Be not afraid.'" 

In Washington, the National Prayer Vigil for Life will begin with a 7 p.m. Mass Jan. 21 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, and conclude with a 7:30 a.m. liturgy Jan. 22. 

Among other local events in the diocese, St. Madeline Sophie Church in Guilderland is holding a Holy Hour for Life in the evening of Jan. 22, according to Theresa Schweigert, a parishioner who helped organize it. 

"To think that in 36 years, we have seen the deaths of 50 million pre-born American children," said Mrs. Schweigert. She is also a founding member of Citizens Concerned for Human Life, a non-denominational coalition involved with street advocacy and education. 

In the flesh
"It is unfortunate that the death toll is just a statistic," said Mrs. Schweigert. "But when you stand out in the street and watch mothers go in to have abortions, it becomes real to you."

She maintains that street advocacy must be done in a loving way. "We are witnessing for Christ," she said, "and we must behave accordingly." 

Paul Testa, parishioner at St. Anthony's Church in Schenectady, has been praying at abortion clinics for over 20 years. "I always hope I'll save somebody so she doesn't make that drastic mistake," he said. 

Mr. Testa said the effort can pay off, and that a woman once showed him a baby's photo on her cell phone. "'Thank you so much,' she told us. 'Because you were here my grandson is alive today.'"

Mrs. Palmieri said she, too, has seen people change their minds. "Women are looking for someone to tell them not to have an abortion," she said. 

Mrs. Schweigert counseled perseverance. "We have to do as much as we can," she said. "Seek all avenues to save the babies. That's how we change the culture of death into a culture of life." 

(CNS contributed to this article.)

(1/15/09)