Detroit — Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron was attending his first March for Life in Washington, D.C., this year, but this certainly wasn’t the first time he participated in a large-scale public witness to the dignity of human life.

The Walk for Life West Coast was begun in 2005 during his time as bishop of the Diocese of Oakland, Calif., which then-Bishop Vigneron attended for the remaining years he served in that diocese.

While the annual March for Life has taken place in D.C. since the 1973 Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion on demand, the Walk for Life was something new, and not entirely welcome, on the West Coast.

“It was a bold statement in the middle of San Francisco to speak the pro-life gospel,” Archbishop Vigneron told The Michigan Catholic on Jan. 19, prior to his departure for Washington.

Archbishop Vigneron remembered heavy criticism from opponents of the West Coast Walk for Life: “The mayor and civic leaders said we had no place in San Francisco.”

Despite this, “We gave our witness and it was very good,” said the archbishop.

Archbishop Vigneron’s schedule had not permitted him to attend the March for Life until 2015, but his participation this year was what he called “going all in.”

This year’s March for Life was held Jan. 22 — Roe v. Wade’s 42nd anniversary.

Archbishop Vigneron was to arrive in D.C. the day before to meet with participating Detroit seminarians, and attend evening Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Thursday morning, the archbishop was scheduled to attend the pro-life youth rally at the Verizon Center, meeting with Metro Detroiters who had also traveled out for the march and walking with them during the march itself.

“I think the people who are pro-abortion expected that by this time, through these decades, we would have gone away, and we haven’t gone away, and we’re not going to go away,” the archbishop told The Michigan Catholic.

He said the increased presence of young people at the March for Life is a good thing, but not surprising.

“I’ve read some social analysis that young people have grown up in an abortion culture and they’re very sensitive to the fact that they might have been vulnerable to abortion, and are grateful for their own gift of life,” he said.

Archbishop Vigneron emphasized the importance of spreading the pro-life message throughout the year in various peaceful ways, such as volunteering at local crisis pregnancy centers.

He also pointed out that being engaged politically “is very important for us.”

“The people of our country are sovereign, and it belongs to us as the electorate to shape the civil order according to God’s plan,” he said. “As citizens we all need to be involved in this cause.”

Peaceful, prayerful witness is crucial, he added, not engaging in anything that “tears down.”

“Being pro-life is being pro-human,” he said.

 

Dinner for Life

Seminarians at Sacred Heart Major Seminary will host their sixth annual Dinner for Life from 6-9 p.m. Feb. 6. The event includes Mass with Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron at 6 p.m., followed by a talk from Catholic apologist and speaker Kimberly Hahn. Cost is $25, and all proceeds benefit Project Hope, a pro-life initiative of Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan. Visit www.shms.edu/dinnerforlife for more information, or call (313) 883-3116.