Let's March for Life!

Mary Rose Bacani Valenti

May 15, 2009
marchYesterday, approximately 15 of us from Salt + Light (including Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB) were present in Ottawa for the 12th annual March for Life.
David Naglieri and I hosted the event, with David doing the interviews on the set with former Liberal MP Tom Wappel and Mary Ellen Douglas of Campaign Life Coalition while I was out and about doing streeters.
By 12 noon, the time the event was starting and our coverage was just beginning, it started to rain. During the speeches, it started to pour. I had woken up early to do my hair, but with this kind of weather, I should have just slept in! It was great to hear speeches from our pro-life Parliamentarians and our Bishops, but I wanted to get feedback.
First, we were able to get a hold of Cardinal Ouellet. The news from him is that there are 14 Catholic bishops present, the first time in the 12-year history of the national March for Life that there was a significant number of Bishops. We also grabbed Lia Mills, the Grade 7 girl who did a presentation against abortion for her school, a presentation that has been posted on You Tube for two to three months and has received over 600,000 hits. And I had a lot of fun with two groups of high school students, one from Burlington and the other from Oshawa -- they were so excited, despite the rain, to make a stand for life!
This trip brought back memories of the torrential downpour at the 49th International Eucharistic Congress last year. Although there wasn't as much water today as there was in Quebec last year, there was a great spirit all around!
You'll be able to see our coverage on Salt + Light Tuesday, May 26 at 8:00pm, or Wednesday, May 27, at 12:00am and 12:30pm, and Saturday, May 30 at 2:00 pm. (all times Eastern).