March 4 Life Rocky Mountain gathers hundreds of supporters
Bill Howard
Feb 3, 2010 4:00 PM
COLORADO SPRINGS. Nearly 400 people participated in the Diocese of Colorado Springs’ second annual March 4 Life Rocky Mountain on Jan. 18 to mark the 37th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s passing of the Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

The national March

for Life in Washington, D.C., took place on Jan. 22, but the Diocese of Colorado Springs has held theirs on the national remembrance day of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

The event began with a holy hour of eucharistic adoration and rosary at St. Mary Cathedral. At 10 a.m., Bishop Michael Sheridan celebrated Mass, joined by four priests and three deacons. During his homily, Bishop Sheridan urged the congregation not to get discouraged by the fact that abortion is still legal in the United States despite the best efforts of many pro-life advocates.

"We may ask, ‘Where is the Lord? Why haven’t our prayers been answered?’" Bishop Sheridan said.

He responded that there is much good news to rejoice in.

"The majority of Americans don’t believe in access to abortion. Young people are stepping up," he said. "And the most powerful tool we have is our prayer."

Bishop Sheridan called for prayers that God have mercy on those men and women who have participated in an abortion. He also linked efforts to end abortion with the civil rights efforts of King.

"(King’s) cause is essentially the same as what brings us here . . . the dignity of every human being. His focus was on people who were thought to be less than human and therefore not afforded the rights of the Constitution," Bishop Sheridan said. "Today, the focus is on another group of people considered less than human and therefore not afforded the rights of Constitution. We can be inspired by the words of Dr. King."

"Today, we have to stand courageously and strong even in the face of those whose govern us, and remind them that we will obey God," he added.

After Mass, the congregation processed across Cascade Avenue to Acacia Park in downtown Colorado Springs, where 11-year-old march founder Zach Goodman emceed about 90 minutes of music and testimonies from inspiring speakers. Among the guests was international pro-life speaker Rebecca Kiessling, who shared her story of being conceived in rape and her journey toward Christianity.

Kiessling said that she was adopted shortly after birth and, at 18, embarked on a journey to learn more about her birth mother. She discovered that she was conceived when her mother was attacked and raped at knifepoint. Her mother considered an abortion, but since Roe vs. Wade had not yet passed, the procedure was illegal in her state of Michigan. That sent Kiessling into insecurity, afraid that she would not be loved if people knew her history.

"I felt like I had half the world against me, quick to judge me because of how I was conceived," she said. "I felt worthless, like garbage, because of how I was conceived."

While in college, Kiessling connected with her birth mother, who discussed further the incident that led to her conception. During this time, Kiessling was also growing in courage to speak out against abortion, especially those who believe that rape is a legitimate cause for a woman to get an abortion.

"They say they’re so compassionate, but it’s my life they were talking about. That’s compassion?" Kiessling said. "Pro-life advocates in Michigan didn’t recognize who they were affecting, but they saved my life. They are my heroes."

Kiessling, who is now married with several children, challenged the crowd at Acacia Park to be bold in their defense of life.

"Make pro-choice or pro-abortion people think their positions through. Your life matters," she said. "The worst thing that can happen to a rape victim is not a baby, but an abortion. . . . The rapist may have created me, but I am a child of God. Christ thought I was pretty valuable when he died on the cross for me."

From Acacia Park, nearly half of the crowd embarked on a two-mile "silent march" across I-25 and along Colorado Avenue to the Planned Parenthood clinic in Old Colorado City. Participants held signs for onlookers and prayed the rosary, with some marchers wearing red duct tape over their mouths with the words "life" in memory of those lives that were silenced through abortion.