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TFP Marches with Tens of
Thousands in Washington, D.C.
Tens of thousands of anti-abortion
protesters from across the nation gathered on January 22 in
Washington DC for the 29th March for Life. Members and supporters
of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family
and Property (TFP) were among the participants, appearing
with their characteristic standards and its marching brass
band.
In a statement titled "The Challenges
We Face," the American TFP remarked how the post September
11 marchers were "united as Americans but greatly concerned
with the moral issues that divide our nation, especially the
continued slaughter of innocents."
Indeed, march organizers were able
to unite over 80,000 Americans. Large numbers of priests,
religious and lay Catholics packed the area near the Washington
monument where the march started. At the prayer vigil held
at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception the night before,
seven U.S. Cardinals, 50 Bishops and 260 priests attended.
Evident were large grassroots delegations
from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Kansas,
Rhode Island and other states. Political leaders spoke at
the pre-march rally. Especially welcome was President George
W. Bush who spoke via telephone from West Virginia. He encouraged
the crowd, to continue their "hard work and dedication"
and affirmed his commitment for a comprehensive and effective
ban on human cloning.
Among the congressmen addressing the
throng, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), chairman of the Congressional
pro-life caucus spoke out against the lukewarmness of political
leaders. "Our lukewarmness in government has enabled
a holocaust of over 40 million children," Rep. Smith
said.
This year's TFP public declaration
warned that while America's fight against terrorism has prompted
a "passionate zeal to find shared principles, we cannot
allow this affinity to overshadow principles not shared."
This is especially true of the "cultural
war" where a cultural climate of violence, promiscuity
and blasphemy creates the conditions for abortion to flourish.
There is no ceasefire in the abortion killing fields and those
against abortion must redouble their efforts.
The TFP also addressed the matter of
stem-cell and human cloning research, which it termed a "biogenetic
Tower of Babel challenging God the Creator."
"The key to our national well-being,"
the statement concluded, "will never be found in choices
that violate the moral and natural order."
The March for Life 2002 coincided with the end of an American
TFP weekend of studies for young American and foreign students
at its headquarters in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania. The American
TFP contingent therefore was proud to have representatives
from France, Germany, Brazil, Poland, and Ukraine.
The American TFP was also pleased to welcome friends from
foreign anti-abortion organizations. Members of France's Droit
de Naître and Germany's SOS Leben (Deutsche
Vereinigung für eine Christliche Kultur) encouraged
many American who found these new allies in the abortion struggle.
Click
here to read the complete text of "The Challenges We
Face"
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