As I watched the March for Life live on television, I was amazed at the amount of coverage in the social media. The Twitter world was abuzz with what was going in Washington D.C., Facebook was flush with photos, and Instagram showed the action as it was unfolding.
Even, the New York Daily News website and CNN displayed photo stories of the peaceful demonstration. Fox News ran the largest headline that read, “Life Is Winning,” a quote from the Pence speech. Fox also ran a sidebar, “Are Media Ignoring the March for Life?”
For years, we’ve been pointing out the lack of coverage of the March for Life by the secular media. This year, however, perhaps because of the vice-president’s appearance, the coverage was a little better.
The Catholic Press has kept the story alive ever since it began 44 years ago.
This year’s crowd was huge, apparently buoyed by the new life spirit in the White House and the nation as a whole. Some estimates are as high as half a million. In fact, the official banner sponsored by the Knights of Columbus got off to a late start because there were so many overflow marchers out in front of it.
Before the march itself, young people rallied in two different venues with members of the U.S. hierarchy. 18,000 attended a rally and Mass at the Verizon Center, home of the Washington Wizards and NHL’s Capitals. Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl was the principal celebrant of the Mass, accompanied by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, along with cardinals, bishops and priests from around the country. Brooklyn was represented by Auxiliary Bishop James Massa.
Another 10,000 celebrated with Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, at the Washington Armory.
On the night before, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was the scene for Mass with Cardinal Timothy Dolan with 12,000 in attendance. It was shown on three cable channels, including DeSales Media’s NET-TV. A 20-minute entrance procession consisted of 545 seminarians, 90 deacons, 320 priests, 40 bishops and five cardinals.
To cover the march, The Tablet sent two reporters – one on the diocesan bus from Brooklyn and the other on the Queens bus – and NET-TV’s Currents also had two reporters in the middle of the crowd in the nation’s capital. NET’s coverage appeared on Currents that evening and the reports from our reporters are on these pages.
The stark difference in the conduct of participants in the March for Life and the Women’s March that took place one day after the inauguration was amazing. At the March for Life, the language was civil. No cans were thrown through Starbuck’s windows. No cars were set on fire. Only the words of the Rosary were used to drown out the taunts of the few pro-abortion people along the route.
A gentle, peaceful voice for life was what the March for Life has always been about. As Vice President Pence said, “Life is winning in America.”
