Rally, Mass, March participants reminded ‘cause for life is not just ours, but God’s’
Participants from throughout the state share joy and pro-life messages as they walk along Meridian Street in Indianapolis during the Indiana March for Life on Jan. 22. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)
By Natalie Hoefer
At a rally outside the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis on Jan. 22, the facts Marc Tuttle shared with roughly 1,400 Indiana March for Life participants from throughout the state were as harsh as the 7-degree windchill.
“Over 63 million children are estimated to have died from abortion [in the U.S.] since 1973,” the executive director of Right to Life of Indianapolis said, referring to the year abortion was legalized through the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. (Related: See a photo gallery from the event | More photos)
“So, 63 million is a hard number to get our heads around. But if you picture the population of the city of Indianapolis, 63 million is about 30” times that size.
Honoring those lives is one purpose for the annual Jan. 22 day of remembrance. But there are other reasons, too. Bishop Joseph M. Siegel of the Evansville, Ind., Diocese, shared those reasons in his homily during the Mass for Life celebrated prior to the march.
‘Cause for life is not just ours, but it is God’s’
A record number of an estimated 1,700 people worshiped at the Mass, which was celebrated in the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
At the beginning of the Mass, principal celebrant Archbishop Charles C. Thompson reminded those present to “keep Christ at the center” of the day’s activities.
“That’s why we do everything around this altar with the Eucharist—the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ, the living Word of God—made available to us to carry with us,” he said.
He also introduced the two bishops concelebrating the liturgy—Bishop Siegel and Bishop Timothy L. Doherty of the Lafayette, Ind., Diocese. The state’s two other bishops were unable to attend.
In his homily, Bishop Siegel recognized the “terrible tragedy that legalized abortion has been in our country as millions of children have been denied the right to be born, to live lives of wonder, joy and hope.”
But there were additional reasons for the solemn day of remembrance, he said, including “the countless men, women and families who continue to endure guilt, grief and pain, which is a bitter aftermath of abortion.”
There was cause for prayers of thanksgiving, too, Bishop Siegel noted—for the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and “that our own state has enacted some very strong protections for the unborn.”
Still, Bishop Siegel said, there is “much work to do to help change the hearts and minds of many of our fellow citizens to recognize and respect the dignity of the child in the womb, so that abortion becomes unthinkable in any circumstance.”
He listed facets of such work “central to us who strive to be apostles of the gospel of life,” including: supporting pregnancy care centers; accompanying women in a crisis pregnancy who might otherwise seek abortion; supporting pro-life legislation; serving the needs of society’s most vulnerable people; and devoting time for prayer.
Bishop Siegel reminded those present that “all human life is sacred. It must be protected and respected, including the unborn, the sick, the elderly, those with special needs, the poor, the imprisoned, refugees and victims of violence.”
“We have to remember that the cause for life is not just ours, but it is God’s,” he said. We are called to trust “his power to overcome the darkness with his light and life, … that we who celebrate God’s wonderful gift of life may receive and use well the many talents and gifts we need to build a culture of life in our families, our parishes, our communities, nation and our world.”
‘Something we all can continue to fight for’
Among those worshiping at the Mass were Michael and Amy Pavey of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis and two of their five children. Their son Dominic, an archdiocesan seminarian at Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis, assisted with the Mass.
They came to honor lives lost to abortion, but also “to embolden these young people [who are the] future of our society,” Michael said. “It’s about creating a culture of life.”
Before the march—with a record crowd of about 1,400 participants—several high school students from the archdiocese noted the importance of their generation’s role in the pro-life cause.
“We are showing hope in that the younger generation is very involved in this movement,” said Olivia Leising, a sophomore at Oldenburg Academy of the Immaculate Conception in Oldenburg. “It shows that there’s a lot of strength in younger members in the Church.”
Charlie Baker, a junior at Roncalli High School in Indianapolis, agreed.
“Us being here, especially as schools coming in as groups, it’s like a sign that young people haven’t given up on this cause,” he said. “It’s something that we all can continue to fight for, like the new generation wants the same thing as the older generation.”
Blake Konger was impressed by the friendliness and enthusiasm of the youths gathered for the cause.
“If we just take that friendliness outside this convention center, out to people that aren’t pro-life and share that with them, it’d bring great hope,” said the senior at Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis.
As the joyful, pro-life chanting multitude made their way along the city streets, a man in a parked car took a video of them with his phone, a wide smile on his face.
“I see the march on the road, and I have to stay and see,” said Nelson Joseph, who recently moved to Indianapolis with his wife and two small children. He called the march “very, very, very, very good. When you protect the baby, it’s a wonderful cause, because God says, ‘don’t kill.’ ”
Joseph looked forward to showing the video to his wife, who is six months pregnant.
‘Couldn’t do it without all of you’
Pro-life flags and banners rippled in the cold wind as the marchers reached the south steps outside the Indiana Statehouse for a rally.
In addition to memorializing the 63 million lives lost to abortion, “We also march for the women,” Tuttle told the bundled crowd. “We march for the pregnant moms. We march so that no woman has to feel alone, no woman has to feel abandoned.
“We march so that there will be a day that every child is welcome, and every mom recognizes that she has help, that she has support, that she has community there to gather around her, no matter her circumstances.
“We march for a day when we’ll look back and we’ll look at abortion similarly that we look to slavery, of an injustice that we just can’t imagine was allowed. Until we hit those points, we’re going to continue to march and continue to be out here every January 22nd—no matter how cold, no matter the weather.”
Eleven speakers addressed the crowd during the rally.
Tuttle, whose organization coordinates the Indiana March for Life and rally, took special note of one of them: Indiana’s newly-elected governor Mike Braun. This year marked the first time a governor addressed participants in the event’s eight-year history.
Braun recalled the days after the Dobbs decision in June 2022.
“There were some legislators here that, when [abortion law] finally came back to the states, had to exercise some real fortitude to be the first state that came out and said we were going to practice what we preached as a state and get a law out there that reflects that sanctity of life,” he said. “We must do everything in our power never to backslide to where we were before.”
State Rep. Joanna King, author and co-author of several pro-life bills, also addressed the crowd.
“Passing bills is very difficult,” said King. “We most certainly couldn’t do it without all of you fighting for us and making sure that everybody knows and understands the value of a human being.”
When State Rep. Becky Cash invited the crowd to look up at the statehouse windows where “the legislators are watching you” and “scream as loud as you can,” the crowd happily complied, shouting, waving and tilting their signs for the unseen legislators to read.
On a more serious note, Cash cautioned those present.
“Please do not be out there saying things like, ‘Well, now that Roe vs. Wade has been overturned, now we need to help pregnant women and babies.’ Because I know that you’ve already been out there doing that,” she said. “And [opponents of the pro-life cause are] trying to imply that that’s not what’s been happening. Don’t let them take the narrative back from you.”
During his address, State Treasurer Daniel Elliott called out particularly to the men present.
“We need our young men to know, preparing for fatherhood is going to be the most important thing you will ever do,” he said. “If it’s planned, amazing. And if it’s not, you can still be an amazing father.”
His closing comments were for all those gathered.
“You have done so much,” he said. “But remember, this battle is not over, and we need everybody to step up and continue to protect the children, the unborn, who cannot protect themselves.” †
Related story: Speakers at youth rally call teens from across the state to ‘live an abundant life’
