March for Life 2009 Seminarian Andrew Kishler
O
n January 22, 2009, just two days after the election of our nation’s most pro-abortion President ever, a crowd of over 300,000 assembled on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life. Christians and others who affirm the sacredness of human life gathered once again to remember the millions of unborn children who have lost their lives since the tragic Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade in 1973. The purpose of the March is also, of course, political. The marchers’ intent each year, in the words of the March organizers, is to “remind their elected leaders that the indiscriminate destruction of preborn babies is not only an unmitigated tragedy of moral indifference, but a reprehensible legacy of shame for future that each one of us may bear that Divinity within generations.” ourselves and be deified and sanctified.” His Beatitude spoke of creating a culture where the murder of unborn children is no longer a thinkable option and of the importance of coming to the aid of the many women who think they have no other choice than to abort. He also encouraged us to continue fighting politically to change abortion rights laws, especially laws that allow the gruesome practice of partial-birth abortion.
Metropolitan Jonah proclaimed: “The Orthodox Church from the very beginning has stood absolutely Information about the yearly march may be firm in its support of life from the beginning of concep- found at: www.marchforlife.org. tion to the very last breath that a person takes…A person is something holy, a person is something beautiful. Orthodox Christians for Life has many wonderful A person is something sanctified by God... This is the resources for both pastors and laymen at: foundation of our sanctity of life: that Jesus Christ took www.oclife.org. our human flesh and He filled it with His Divinity, so 67
2008 – 2009 ACADEMIC YEAR
Father Michael Dahulich and Dr. David Ford led a group of more than thirty people from the St. Tikhon’s community to participate in this worthy cause. We arrived at Capitol Hill in time to join with Orthodox Christians for Life and to hear His Beatitude, Metropolitan JONAH address the large assembled crowd.