Yoopers for Life and Post-Roe

Participating annually in the National March for Life in Washington, D.C., is a way to boost enthusiasm for the local pro-life movement, said organizers of the third annual trip by the Yoopers for Life group Jan. 18-22.

“The march brings together thousands of pilgrims – primarily young people – and it’s an opportunity for teens from the Upper Peninsula to see that they are part of a large movement,” said Father Ryan Ford, pastor of St. John the Evangelist and St. Joseph parishes in Ishpeming. “They are not alone in their faith and convictions. The march gives them a lot to think about,” he said.

Fifty-six pilgrims, 35 students and 21 adults, took the 1,000-mile bus trip to the 50th annual march to the nation’s capital to support the dignity of every human life. The theme of the Friday, Jan. 20, 2023 march was “Next Steps: Marching in a Post-Roe America.”

“This year’s march was about learning to put our money where our mouth is,” said co-organizer of the U.P. group Pete Longtine, of Ishpeming. “Post-Roe, the talks at the rally this year centered on us being the love, the support and the help that women in crisis pregnancy need,” he said.

Longtine added that the biggest takeaway from the pilgrim’s experience this year was love. “Yes, we are there to protest, but it is out of love that we march,” he said.

“I’ve been asked many times, ‘Why march now that Roe has been overturned?’ Longtine said. “We march to thank those representatives that have fought with us for 50 years and have been our supporters and to let the others know that we aren’t going anywhere.”

The climax of the trip is the rally on the national mall followed by the march down Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the Supreme Court and Capital buildings. Featured speakers this year included former NFL coach Tony Dungy and his wife Lauren, actor Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the hit television series, ‘The Chosen,’ and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who won the case that resulted in the overturning of Roe.

“The march lets us connect as a large body of people praying and advocating for the right to life, marching and praying peacefully and joyfully,” Father Ford said. “Teens see that this is not just something their parents believe in.” He said students learn that they can be part of something big at home and to speak intelligently to their classmates about the pro-life position. “They can be known as someone who will offer help and support in a difficult situation,” he said.

Students on the trip said in a Facebook post on The U.P. Catholic’s page, “The bus trip was long, but it’s been worth it! John Paul II’s shrine was great, it was awesome to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet with the sisters from St. Faustina’s order, and to see all the priests and bishops praying at Mass.”

The pilgrimage included a visit to the National Shrine of Saint John Paul II to learn of his life and legacy in support of the sanctity of all human life and to venerate the first-class relic of his blood. The group joined in the National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception National Shrine-the largest church in North America which contains 83 side chapels, including one for Bishop Frederic Baraga. On the return trip, they stopped for Sunday Mass and breakfast at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit.

At home, Father Ford encourages everyone to do their part to continue building a culture of life. “Pray and give God permission to send people in need your way,” he said. “Be open and ready to show love and support however it is needed.”

He said to support local pregnancy centers, consider becoming foster parents, sign up for emails from the Michigan Catholic Conference, and March for Life and finally contact your legislators and encourage them to publicly support the right to life.

A likely new event this year will be a state march in Lansing in November. Look for details of that upcoming trip, Longtine said.

To read this story and others in The U.P. Catholic, visit  https://www.upcatholic.org/UP-Catholic-02172023-e-Edition/4/