Is posted at The Catholic Register.
I've posted excerpts and links at Foolishnesstotheworld.wordpress.com
Had an amazing couple of days. Today I attended part of the youth conference Campaign Life Coalition organizes in conjunction with the March. To say I was blown away by the conference is an understatement.
Pam Stenzel spoke and what a message she had about abstinence and the consequences of sex outside of marriage.
You can get an idea of what hearing her was like by watching this video on YouTube and there are more if you Google her name.
She also shared that her mother was a 15 year old rape victim who decided not to abort her, but kept her pregnancy to term, then gave her up for adoption.
It was thrilling to hear such a hard-hitting, sobering message delivered with great force and humor.
Also speaking were Raymond De Souza (no, not Fr. Raymond De Souza) but a man from Brazil now living in Australia who works for Human Life International (HLI), and the new President of HLI, the world's largest pro-life organization, Fr. Shenan Bouquet who found an eager and attentive audience among the 800 or more young people from all over who came for this event. Fr. Bouquet gave me an interview and he stressed civility in our pro-life message, that no matter how the other side behaves, we must always "take the high road, the narrow road."
And, capping off the conference, Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth came to tell them about his Motion M-312 and explained that all he wanted to do was have a Parliamentary committee set up to examine the 400-year old definition of a human being found in the Criminal Code, in light of the latest scientific information.
The kids loved hearing him. And he didn't talk down to them. He explained that the biggest objection to his motion is this: that if people really examine this and figure out the baby in the womb is a human being then some Canadians might rethink their support for abortion. He also spoke about human rights as being inherent and inalienable and not something granted by governments or by the state that can be cancelled by fiat.
Great message. Shout out to all these folks and to Campaign Life Coalition (CLC). It's also great to see the young emerging leadership in the pro-life movement. Good things are on the move.
Oh, and last but not least, last night at the Rose Dinner, which also featured an outstanding speaker, Stephen Mosher on China's horrific one-child policy, CLC president Jim Hughes thanked Archbishop Terry Prendergast for the leadership he's shown in encouraging other bishops to participate in the March for Life.
That's why it is growing bigger every year, he said. Archbishop Prendergast received a well-deserved standing ovation. I'll post the picture when I download it.
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