“As Catholics, we affirm with unwavering conviction that every human life – whether unborn, aged, sick, disabled, or poor – possesses a dignity that does not come from the state, from circumstance, or from utility, but from being made in the image and likeness of God,” proclaimed Bishop Alfred Schlert in his homily at an overflowing St. Patrick Cathedral, after the fourth annual PA March for Life in Harrisburg on Sept. 22.
“St. John Paul II, in ‘Evangelium Vitae,’ called this truth the ‘Gospel of Life.’”
In addition to concelebrating Mass from St. Patrick, which can be seen from the steps of the State Capitol, Bishop Schlert celebrated Mass ahead of the PA March for Life at St. Mary, Hamburg for students from all six Catholic high schools in the Diocese.
They joyfully loaded buses that morning to make their young voices heard and represent their schools, parishes, and families in defending the dignity and sanctity of human life.
In a sea of a few thousand pro-life pilgrims, Catholic students who attend Parkland High School and St. Francis Classical Catholic Academy in Bally, diocesan seminarians and transitional deacons who attend St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, and priests and parishioners who came on buses from across the Diocese of Allentown could also be seen attentively listening to the array of speakers and then passionately marching to bear witness to the Gospel.
Natalie Pizzuto, a senior at Notre Dame High School, Easton, has been to the PA March for Life all four years and credits it with making her realize her passion for life.
“I really didn’t know what it meant [to be pro-life] until freshman year when I first went on the March,” she said, “and I guess that kind of changed my perspective on [the issue].”
Pizzuto believes that the PA March for Life is a “great movement” that creates a strong community for those who want to protect life. She said she supports it with her “full heart.”
Students like Norah Johnson and Santiago Kolak, senior co-presidents of the Trojans for Life Club at Parkland, feel similarly.
Johnson, a parishioner of St. Mary, Kutztown, explained that the PA March for Life “builds a lot of community, and it makes me feel like I’m not alone in being pro-life.”
Trojans for Life was founded a decade ago after two St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield teens took the initiative to start the club at the public high school.
Kolak, a parishioner of Holy Infancy, Bethlehem, has always been proudly pro-life and Catholic, and believes they have a profound opportunity to “help people, whether it is in our community or other communities” by being a part of Trojans for Life and the greater pro-life movement.
As the March ended and pilgrims headed home, bishops and priests gathered in St. Patrick Cathedral not only to offer sacrifice, but to remind Catholics where all human beings derive their dignity and call to serve – Christ, especially Christ in the Eucharist.
“The Eucharist we celebrate today is the greatest witness to the dignity of life,” said Bishop Schlert as he closed his homily.
“In this humble Host, Christ gives us His Body and Blood, Soul, and Divinity so that we may have life – “life to the full (John 10:10). When we receive Him, we are sent forth to be His witnesses, to defend life, and to love each person as Christ loves us.”
Save the date, Friday, Jan. 23, for the National March for Life in Washington D.C. For bus information, email Andrew Azan at [email protected].
Article and Photo by Annaleigh Gidosh.
