Denver Catholic

4 JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 8, 2019 | DENVER CATHOLIC A fter a cold, snowy morning, thousands of Catholics from the Archdiocese of Denver gathered Jan. 12 to participate in the Celebrate Life March at the foot of the Colorado State Capitol§— the§place that fi rst allowed for the legalization of abor- tion in the United States over 50 years ago§— seeking a renewed respect of the most fundamental right: the right to life. Calling to mind that Colorado became the fi rst state to legalize abor- tion, David§ Bereit, the event's emcee, and co-founder a nd former CEO§of 40 Days for Life, motivated the faithful to continue fi ghting to undo the evil that had begun in§ the§ same building that oversaw their gathering. "Even though lives continue to§ be lost to this very day, we have seen, through the prayers and e© orts of faith- ful people here in Denver, throughout Colorado and around the nation, the tide is turning for life," he said,§assur- ing§that from the 2,200 abortion clinics that were present in the country at the pinnacle of the abortion§ industry in 1992, fewer than 600 remain. 79 per- cent of abortion centers closed their doors and went out of business, in great§part due to the action and prayers of pro-life advocates. "The abortion rate continues to drop… Americans self-identify as pro-life by the largest majority since Roe v. Wade. More pro-life laws§ have§ been§ passed in§the States over these last three years than the previous 30 years before that… We realize that the days of Roe v. Wade are numbered. Abortion is going to end!§Our work is not yet done, and that's why we gather here,"§Bereit§continued. "What§began here in this place, must end here in this place." This year's Celebrate Life March also comes at an important time in the political realm of§the State of§Col- orado, as the November midterm elec- tions saw§the defeat of legislators who were in support of key areas of Catholic teaching regarding the dignity of life, the Archbishop of Denver Samuel J. Aquila assured. He urged the partici- pants to be a light in the darkness§in the public sphere to defend the dignity of life from conception§until§death. "In this past midterm election, some of those lawmakers who were in support of the Church's teaching in these key areas, failed to win their seats, which makes our task today of remaining vigilant and engaged§ all the more§important. And it is you,§the laity,§ who§ need to make your voices heard," he said. The prelate also called for the§repeal of the death penalty in Colorado, which he assured was unnecessary; and, quoting Pope Francis,§ spoke against the idea that§ the§ Catho- lic Church§ must§ accept§ the§ many of these§ laws§ under the banner of§progressivism. "'Precisely because this involves the internal consistency of our mes- sage, the message of the Church and of Christ, about the value of the human person, the Church cannot be expected to change her position in this question. It is not progressive to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.' Our legislators need to hear those words.§The Catholics in our pews need to hear those words. The media today would never report on those words of Pope Francis," Archbishop Aquila assured. The§ rally§ also§ counted with the presence of§ Elizabeth Felix, a col- lege student and leader of Students for Life, who§ insisted that being pro- life§meant§being pro-woman, pro-man and pro-child;§ the McGarity family, who§ spoke for§ the dignity of§ chil- dren with Down Syndrome;§ and Elías Moo, the Superintendent§ of Catholic Schools§of§the Archdiocese of Denver. In a bilingual§speech in English and Spanish, Moo§ highlighted the impor- tance of fi ghting for the right to life, especially for Christians. "Our duty to our neighbors, even those who disagree with us, is to serve the common good of our society by defending the most vulnerable and fi ghting against the culture of death. For we're fi ghting for the most funda- mental right of all, the base of all other rights: the right to life," he stated. "We love life because we love Christ." Around the Archdiocese 'Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that': Coloradans march to celebrate life BY VLADIMIR MAURICIO-PEREZ vladimir.mauricio-perez@archden.org Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila inspires the crowd at the Celebrate Life March on Jan. 12. Thousands of participants — many of them young people — turned out to celebrate life at the Colorado State Capitol earlier this month. PHOTOS BY BRANDON YOUNG | HARDSTEP DESIGN

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