An Italian delegation in the Washington March for life

Washington, Sunday, January 27th 2008 (ZENIT.org). – An Italian delegation joined marchers at the annual March for Life, held on Tuesday, January 22nd, in Washington, D.C. (United States).

Despite the harsh weather, the annual gathering of pro-life advocates brought together over 200,000 people who marched along Constitution Avenue, between the National Mall and the U.S. Supreme Court, where the March for Life was born thirty-five years ago on January 22nd, 1973.

On that day, the US Supreme Court pronounced its ruling on Roe v. Wade, thereby legalizing abortion in the United States. Since then, this judgment has condemned 48 million victims. Every day, 3000 children become fatalities of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy.

Nelly Gray, founder of the March, reminds us that the event is intentionally held on a weekday, in the midst of Washington, D.C.’s institutions of power, so as to cry out loud and clear to the “white collars” of all branches of government– legislative, executive and judicial—that abortion is an intolerable infamy

Italy was represented at the demonstration by the group “Voglio Vivere” (I Want to Live), as well as by a large delegation from the Lepanto Foundation, led by its president, Professor Roberto de Mattei.

When interviewed by Zenit, Professor de Mattei stated, “in 1973, on the wake of feminism and the sexual revolution of ‘68, abortion was deemed an irreversible ‘civil victory’ whereas, today, antiabortion sentiment continues to grow in United States.”

The Lepanto Foundation president pointed out that, “for a growing number of young people abortion is always and in every case evil.” In fact, according to a 2003 Gallup-Newsweek poll, one out of every 3 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 believed that abortion must be considered illegal in all circumstances; 72% considered it “morally wrong”. Washington Times columnist Steve Chapman summed up this trend in his January 23rd column: “The prevailing view used to be: Abortion may be evil, but it’s necessary. Increasingly, the sentiment is: Abortion may be necessary, but it’s evil.”

The battle cry of the March for Life, “No Exception, No Compromise”, was proclaimed by individuals, families, groups, lay people and religious coming from all over the United States, as well as abroad, such as the French group led by European Deputy Bernard Antony and the association Droit de Naître (Right to be Born).

The March for Life was preceded by three days of pro-life events and ceremonies where participants could exchange information and share their experiences. Among the outstanding services were a grand Mass celebrated in the Sanctuary of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception by Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia and a Eucharist celebrated according to the Ancient Roman Rite in the standing-room-only Church of Saint Mary, by Abbott Trauchessec, priest of the Institute of Christ the King, .

Statements prepared by Pope Benedict XVI and President George W. Bush were presented to the marchers.
Professor de Mattei noted that the ” distinct message that the March for Life delivers is that is it not possible for society to habituate itself to the slaughter of the innocent. Abortion is a social wound that does not heal and cannot be regarded as a “choice”, or an individual problem of conscience limited to the mother and the physician.

“The social consequences of this crime are immense and they dictate a public reaction”, emphasized the Lepanto Foundation president.

The history professor noted that “there exists a common bond between those who rallied on St. Peter’s Square in Rome on January 20th to demonstrate their solidarity with Benedict XVI as secularists try to silence him, and those who marched in the heart of Washington on January 22nd in order to speak on behalf of the children silenced by abortion.”
“In both cases,” stressed de Mattei, “people from all walks of life and, above all, young people, refused to be isolated and marginalized and, instead, descended upon the plaza to defend liberty and the moral, natural and Christian order.”