Thousands of Western Washington Catholics attend Mass, March for Life

OLYMPIABy Anna Weaver

From Bellingham to Vancouver, parish and school groups turned out in strength for the Archdiocese of Seattle’s Mass for Life and the Washington State March for Life on Jan. 21.

“This is the civil rights issue of our time,” said Joe Skillman, a member of St. Patrick Parish in Tacoma, explaining his participation in the annual events. “It’s a great way to show the kids how to stand up for something that is just.”

Skillman and his wife, Anna, brought their sons Benedict, 1, and Augustine, 3, to both the Mass at St. Martin’s University in Lacey and the march afterward in Olympia. The couple, who lead youth ministry at their parish, also helped chaperone 26 students from St. Patrick School, where Joe is a middle school teacher.  The march shows his students that their faith isn’t “in a bubble,” Skillman said. “It’s something lived in the culture.”

More than 2,300 people attended the Mass for Life, in its third year at Saint Martin’s Marcus Pavilion. Archbishop J. Peter Sartain presided; also in attendance were Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, Saint Martin’s Abbott Neal Roth, Father Lawrence Gosselin from the Melkite Greek-Catholic Church, and three dozen priests from around the archdiocese.

Afterward, thousands turned out for the Washington State March for Life at the state Capitol, including Archbishop Sartain and Bishop Elizondo. Attendance was high, helped by low-50s temperatures and partly sunny skies. March organizer Noreen McEntee Hobson put the number at 6,000, while other counts were closer to 4,500.

Both the Mass and march are held each January near the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the U.S.

All 73 students from Pope John Paul II High School in Lacey attended the Mass for Life. Senior Marissa Allin said that being pro-life means “standing up for life from beginning to end, because a lot of times people can’t stand up for themselves.” Her fellow senior, Andrew Sloan, agreed. “If you’re advocating for someone at the beginning of their life, you have to advocate for them at the end of life,” he said.

Nubia Anthony and her husband, members of St. James Parish in Vancouver, attended the Mass for the second year in a row. “We come first to ask for God’s love and [second] to stand up for our little ones,” she said.

In his homily, Archbishop Sartain emphasized a spectrum of pro-life issues that affect the unborn, the poor, those with disabilities, the elderly, the dying, those caught in human trafficking, those in prison, immigrants, and health care providers facing an insurance mandate.

God is the creator of human life, and every human life bears his image, Archbishop Sartain said. How could one argue that any human life is not worth living when each embodies and reflects the mystery of God?

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See photos from Western Washington Catholics who attended the Mass for Life and March for Life this year here.

January 22, 2014