St. Stephen's parishioners join 2018 March for Life

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Early on Friday, Jan. 19, a group of parishioners from Warwick's Roman Catholic Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr joined in the 45th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.
The annual pro-life rally protesting abortion is traditionally held on the anniversary of the decision in the United States Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.
Sanctity of Life DayThis year the March for Life drew hundreds of thousands of citizens to Washington, D.C., drawing special interest because President Donald Trump would be the first sitting president to address the rally via a live video from the Rose Garden.
The president proclaimed Jan. 19 as National Sanctity of Life Day.
He also said that "under my administration, we will always defend the very first right in the Declaration of Independence and that is the right to life."
An early beginning, a late returnThe St. Stephen's marchers departed the church at 4:30 a.m. and returned shortly after 11 p.m.
The event was organized by the Parish Respect Life Committee and supported in part by the Warwick Valley Council 4952 of the Knights of Columbus as well as individual contributions by those who joined the march.
The first stop in the Capitol for the group, led by St. Stephen's Deacon Thomas Mac Dougall, was to attend a Mass in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Roman Catholic church in the United States and North America, and is one of the ten largest churches in the world.
The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Edward Burns of Dallas, the chairman of the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
'Thousands of marchers'Much of the large turnout this year can also be credited to the good weather since many of the marchers from all 50 states and other countries had travel considerations that had often caused delays and cancellations in the past.
"There were thousands of marchers," said Miriam Muse, a member of the St. Stephen's group, "mainly young people from such places as Bismarck, North Dakota, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. However, I also saw senior citizens and many physically challenged persons. It was a very diverse gathering."
- Roger Gavan