Standing up for life

Take the opportunity to stand up for the unborn at the N.D. March for Life on Friday, Oct. 6.

The day begins with Mass celebrated by Bishop Kagan at 10:45 a.m. at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, followed by a march to the N.D. capitol building steps and a rally. The rally is set to begin at 12:30 p.m.

January 20, 2023, marked the 50th National March for Life in Washington D.C. and the third North Dakota March for Life. For 50 years, people from around the country have marched at the nation’s capital in response to the United States Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, promising to march until the decision was overturned. In 2021, due to the global pandemic, the North Dakota March for Life began so there would still be a march while assuring health and safety were maintained.

The local N.D. March for Life is modeled after the National March for Life and had been held the same day, however, last year, a decision was made to move the local march to be held annually in October. Respect Life Month is celebrated in October, and the first Sunday of the month is Respect Life Sunday. In correlation, the N.D. March for Life is the first Friday following the first Sunday of October.

The goal of the march is to raise awareness and proclaim solidarity in the mission to protect life from the moment of conception until natural death. It is our hope that spending the day standing up for the unborn will embolden people to continue to defend life in our daily lives and within our communities.    

Members of the public, of all faith denominations, are encouraged to attend. Students from Catholic schools across the state are invited to the march.

Bismarck Diocese priest and chaplain at St. Mary’s Academy, Fr. Paul Gardner, will serve as this year’s event emcee. He attended the N.D. March for Life for the first time last January with the academy students, taking note of the good experience for the young people to be part of a noble cause to protect life.

“Going to the capitol where laws are made gave the students a concrete experience about what it means to realize it’s a place where people gather to make laws about life and death matters,” Fr. Paul said.

Speaking of his role as this year’s emcee, Fr. Paul said, “It’s a great honor to be with people rallying around life. I’m looking forward to sharing the joyful nature of this mission. People should be able to get excited about coming together to save lives. There’s joy in what it means to stand up for the most innocent among us—the unborn.”

To anyone considering attending, Father Paul would say, “There’s no more noble task than attending an event that centers around saving lives of the unborn. The call of Jesus to help the poor, in our day and age, is primarily a call to help the unborn. If anyone wants to help those on the margins, there’s no one more on the margins than the unborn.”

Thankfully, a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs case on June 24, 2022, overturned Roe v. Wade to end the federal legalization of abortion and put that decision in the hands of the states. Some people might question why the march still occurs if the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned. But it’s important to remember that abortion remains legal in more than 20 states.

Having attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C. and the march held locally in the past, Fr. Paul said it’s no time to slow down the prolife movement.

“The overturning of Roe v. Wade shows that the prolife movement is making a difference. Children’s lives are constantly at risk since abortion is still legal in many states. If we slow down our efforts in the prolife movement now, any progress we’ve made could be lost. Our goal was never just to overturn a court case. Our goal is and always should be to preserve human life in all forms.”

The event is a joint planning effort with the Bismarck Diocese, University of Mary and other entities which recently created the North Dakota Pro-Life Committee. The North Dakota March for Life will now be an annual event in October to coincide with Respect Life Month.

“It's a call to Catholics to know that their responsibility to stand up for life isn’t an option. We have a responsibility to be active in how we live our faith outside the walls of the church. Not just by visiting Jesus in the sacraments but standing up for the smallest of His children,” Fr. Paul said.

Holy Hour on Oct. 5

Bishop Kagan will lead a holy hour on the eve of the N.D. March for Life on Thursday, Oct. 5 beginning at 8 p.m. in the main body of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. The public is invited to attend. Both the holy hour and the Mass prior to the march on Oct. 6 will be livestreamed. Go to bismarckdiocese.com and click on the Cathedral livestream player.