Another March for Life here in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, overshadowed this by the election of the new pope, Leo XIV. A bit more on that in an accompanying post.
I’ve been attending the March for Life here in Ottawa, Canada since its inception in 1998, so this would make it the 28th. I’ve missed two or three, due to travel, but have seen its evolution, its ebb and flow, and here are some quasi-random thoughts from experiencing this last one.
Numbers were down, even more than last year it seems, but enthusiasm still high. As I said to someone, it’s quality, not quantity. There may have been two thousand, but that’s just a guess. I also recall the days of 20,000, with lines of school buses parked along Wellington. A teacher friend back then – fifteen years ago? – said they had to entice students to come, promising time at the mall afterwards, but at least they were there. No more, for reasons I know not. If students go, they go on their own, which means they don’t go. At least, for a few die-hards. A few private schools were represented, including our own college, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom, with our always joyful alumni, banner held high, rejoicing in the reunion. We were the only officially represented college or university, and by far had the greatest numbers. One alumnus traveled all night on a bus, with little children in tow. All I can say, if any students or alumni are reading this, thank you. It was good – very good – to see you all; your love for life gives hope to the rest of us.
A few be-cassocked priests were present; some have been consistently faithful in the past number of years. The Archbishop of Ottawa, Marcel Damphousse, gave a rousing exhortation, God bless his heart.
Protestors were also down in numbers – way down. In fact, I saw almost none this year, just a few faint chants from somewhere. The PPS – Parliamentary Police Service, which may as well stand for paramilitary, the way they were armoured and weaponized – cordoned off half the hill for them with metal fencing. I recall the days of the March when you just showed up on the hill, and everything was open and free, almost no police. You could stroll around, visit people, meander around the hill. All quite pleasant. Many things seem somehow less pleasant nowadays.
A friend mentioned that the poor showing of protestors was a good thing, but I’m not so sure. After all, why protest when you’ve won, and have no other victories to seek? What more could those hot for abortion want? It’s not only legal for all nine months, for any reason whatsoever – it need not even be declared – right up to exiting the birth canal, but also fully funded by the taxpayer. You can’t get a more abortion-friendly country than Canada, except maybe China, or North Korea.
All in all, however, we should have some gratitude that the March went on, full of prayer, silent and spoken, joy, song, witnessing to the inherent right to life of every human being, a right that must be enshrined in law, someday, somehow.
Is the March worth it? From an earthly perspective, it likely doesn’t do all that much. Politicians yawn, the CBC, and all the other main stream media, stopped covering the March years ago. People are blasé, including, it seems, most Catholics. Canadians have either given up, or don’t care all that much what people do with their bodies, or the bodies of others. At least, until the culture of death hits them, as it will.
But who knows? Hearts can change from the smallest of things. And from a spiritual vantage, the March is definitely to the good. As I say to my students – especially those inconsistent in attendance – most of life is about showing up. Only so can we make a difference, one step at a time. After all, if a person’s a person, no matter how small, we may say the same of the March. Even if it’s just two or three gathered in His name, there God is. And He sees.
