Marquette for Life community comes together to celebrate the ‘goodness and beauty that comes with every single life’
The Marquette for Life student group, Campus Ministry and others across campus participated in the virtual Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life on Jan. 22 to hear discussions on the pro-life movement.
Attendees listened to presentations from speakers including Bishop Robert Barron, Monsignor James Shea, president of the University of Mary, and Helen M. Alvaré, among others.
Three Marquette students took time to reflect on their experiences with the conference and how it impacted each of them individually.
By Clare Murphy
The March for Life Gathering on Jan. 22 allowed the Marquette for Life community to gather in solidarity with the rest of the pro-life community in our country and remember the victims of abortion — the unborn, their mothers and families of those individuals.
We were able to view the livestream of Georgetown University’s Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life featuring keynote speaker Bishop Robert Barron, listen to a panel of pro-life voices from different backgrounds, have a conversation about the topics discussed from the livestream and conclude the day with a Mass for Life.
At the heart of it, we remember not only the tragedy of abortion but through it, come together to celebrate the goodness and beauty that comes with every single life, and that the reason we stand up for these women and children is for the love we have for all human life.
Something that resonated with me from viewing this — that also was encouraging for our group to hear — was what Ashley Fernandes, a pediatric doctor, said about where we are in the pro-life movement. To summarize, he reminded us that it takes small, yet persistent actions to see meaningful change.
While we mourn the millions of innocent lives lost to abortion — as well as those affected by it, particularly the women who find themselves in those circumstances — we remember and celebrate the great progress we have made as a society in promoting the culture of life.
This gathering gave our community inspiration and hope for how we can move forward in advancing pro-life culture here on campus with love and compassion. This begins with dialogue — understanding, listening and exchanging ideas with one another across the board to change hearts and minds. Furthermore, we remember the reason why we stand up is that every human life has intrinsic value because he or she is made in the image and likeness of God. To echo the theme for the March for Life this year, “Equality begins in the womb.”
