Bishop Anthony B. Taylor celebrated Mass for a record 1,650 Catholics before they joined the annual March for Life in downtown Little Rock Jan. 18.
The congregation at the Statehouse Convention Center ballroom included more than 710 teens and their chaperones who participated in the diocese’s Weekend Extravaganza. The Mass was youth oriented, with young singers and musicians from Christ the King Church and Catholic High School in Little Rock providing the music, both contemporary and Latin hymns. Bishop Taylor said he was hopeful for their “youthful witness.”
“All life is sacred, not just innocent life in the womb,” Bishop Taylor proclaimed in his homily, “and ignoring — or worse, compromising — this truth in one area of life hurts our efforts in all areas.”
He said some Catholics might believe the Iraq war is the biggest pro-life issue today, especially when one takes into account that 54 percent of Catholics voted for President Barack Obama.
While there are many pro-life issues to promote, Bishop Taylor admitted, “not all pro-life issues are of equal weight” and “we lose far more lives through abortion than we do through war.”
“The recognition that all life is sacred, not just innocent life, is what makes us pro-life and not just anti-abortion,” he said.
Saying “all human rights and human dignity issues are pro-life issues,” the bishop encouraged the congregation from across the state to battle the war, domestic violence, racism and poverty as well as the traditional pro-life issues, including abortion and euthanasia.
Bishop Taylor said the Freedom of Choice Act, which likely will be reintroduced before Congress, poses the biggest threat to the pro-life movement. He said the U.S. bishops congratulated the president on his election in November, but reminded him that “the 2008 election was not a referendum on abortion and that on this topic we will oppose him every step of the way.”
Preparation for the Mass began at 7 p.m. the night before when Catholics began praying at the Cathedral of St. Andrew for nearly 13 hours of adoration. An hour of adoration and praying the rosary also preceded the Mass.
During the offertory, hundreds of women, men and teens brought up red roses to represent a child who had died for any reason. Laverne Stovall, a member of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Morrison Bluff, came to Mass with her daughter from Charleston. The Mass each year can be emotional for her.
“I had abortion,” she said, recalling the event that happened 25 years ago. “It makes it all crash in on me. I know that I am forgiven, but it is such a loss. It is always on my heart. I know that I would never have an abortion again.”
She said she had heard of the diocese’s Project Rachel support group but has not been able to attend because she works evenings.
About 5,000 participated in the march from Capitol and Louisiana streets 13 blocks to the state Capitol steps. The pro-life marchers had to pass about 20 pro-choice protesters who stood at the corner of Capitol and Victory streets, carrying “My Body, My Choice” signs.
Bishop Taylor offered the opening prayer, saying participants gathered with repentance, resolve and rejoicing. He quoted Dr. Martin King Jr.’s niece, Dr. Alveda King, who said, “Pro-lifers must promise to redouble our efforts to resist anti-life proposals, speak up for the babies, and, above all, pray. We must pray with persistence and love that, in God’s time, what is now deemed unthinkable will become reality — that all our brothers and sisters, from conception to natural death, will be protected in law and welcomed in society. The elections are over. The pro-life battle begins anew.”
While the march is sponsored by Arkansas Right to Life and is not a religious event, many participants carried signs with religious messages and this year’s speaker, Julie Mayberry, encouraged everyone to pray for the movement. Mayberry, a former KATV anchorwoman who was pro-choice in her 20s, said she was glad she had become pro-life before she learned that her second daughter, 7-year-old Katie, would be born with spina bifada. Her doctor suggested an abortion could be performed if Mayberry didn’t want to keep her unborn child.
“All life is precious no matter the packaging,” she said. “She has taught me more about faith than any other person on this earth.”
Among those joining the march were former Gov. Mike Huckabee, a presidential contender, and Rep. Dawn Creek more, who is the main sponsor of House Bill 1113, known as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban bill.
