March for Life draws thousands to Parliament Square

‘A day like this is to celebrate the gift and the privilege and the responsibility of parenthood – and, in that, also to reflect the responsibility that each of us has to support those who are parents, to support those who might become parents, and to support life in every instance,’ said Bishop Dougan.

Protesters shouting pro-abortion slogans disrupted the Mass celebrated at Westminster Cathedral for the March for Life on 5 September.

Attendees told The Tablet that the organist had to drown out the sound of the commotion while the protesters were escorted out of the cathedral, before Mass could resume.

Archbishop of Westminster Richard Moth celebrated the Mass and Bishop of Galloway Frank Dougan preached the homily.

Bishop Dougan quoted Pope Francis’ words in Amoris Laetitia: “Each child has a place in God’s heart from all eternity. Once he or she is conceived, the Creator’s eternal dream comes true.”

Bishop Dougan said, “During that lively beginning to the Mass, I find myself thinking, ‘I wouldn’t want to be the preacher’.

“On a day like this, you face those who, in the strongest of language, disagree. And we respect them. We must always respect every person. We can be tempted to feel as if – things are only going in one direction in our corner of the world… that temptation is the enemy of hope.

“So, we keep doing what we’re doing. We keep saying what has to be said. We keep speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

An estimated 7,000 people attended the march and speeches in Parliament Square, which also drew a few hundred counter-protesters.

Hannah, a 19-year-old student who was there, told The Tablet, “It was incredible to be around community standing up for the most vulnerable in society. It has definitely encouraged me to continue to boldly stand up for what is right.”

Elaine, a 34-year-old lay chaplain, said it was her first time attending the March for Life and that she attended “to show that life is worth fighting for”: “I am glad that I went and was able to see so many others who share the same values.”

An unprecedented fifteen Catholic bishops were in attendance, up from seven last year.  They included Archbishop of Birmingham Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Southwark John Wilson, Bishop of Portsmouth Philip Egan, Bishop of East Anglia Peter Collins, Bishop of Lancaster Paul Swarbrick, Bishop of Salford John Arnold and Bishop of Clifton Bosco MacDonald.

Also present were Bishop of the Ordinariate David Waller, Bishop of the Armed Forces Paul Mason, Bishop of Paisley John Keenan, and auxiliary bishops of Birmingham and Southwark David Evans and Paul Hendricks.

The speeches included a testimony from a woman named Nanayaa, who shared how during an unplanned teenage pregnancy she was nearly pressured into an abortion by her siblings.

“The morning of the appointment came and I was hoping that a miracle would happen that somebody would come and save me,” she said. “I had heard that there were protesters at the abortion centre, but unfortunately for me, they weren’t there that day.

“So now I was hoping that maybe the nurse at the abortion centre would give me other options such as assistance, adoption, or even trying to make sure that this was my own choice. But none of that happened.”

Nanayaa’s mother eventually unexpectedly came to her support, which allowed her to keep her twins, but she said, “In the years that followed, I carried a pain, a grief with me that I could not name.

“I kept being haunted by the thought of how the pressure almost got my precious sons not being born. It took years before I could name this. It’s called coercion.

“Being able to give it a name really helped me understand that what I was carrying was real. What choice do you have when a decision comes with a loud expectation and the silent pressure that makes compliance feel safer than conviction?

Nanayaa concluded: “When I found out I was pregnant, I thought my life had ended. But God gave me life and that more abundantly. My life and my family’s lives were enriched with two new lives that started the moment of their conception.”

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