This year’s National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood, held on November 1 in Boston, was a huge success,
A large contingent from the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) joined hundreds of men as they marched from the Planned Parenthood on Commonwealth Avenue to the colonial city center of Boston Common.
Demoralized Clowns and Antifa Watch From the Sidelines
The group of pro-life men was much larger than last year. This year’s march was also a success because the opposition was clearly deflated. In years past, large groups of pro-abortionists dressed as clowns showed up to make noise and ridicule the throng of manly pro-life crusaders. They would even obstruct the path of the march.
This year was different. After a short prayer rally outside the Planned Parenthood, the march started down Commonwealth Avenue towards the Boston Common. Soon, a few dozen protesters in clown costumes and a handful of Antifa thugs appeared. They followed the marchers, but police lines kept them from getting in the way. Some clowns played a few dismal tunes on instruments, while others shouted incoherent slogans. They lacked energy and were barely disruptive.
As the men marched, the TFP band of seven bagpipers and five drummers struck up a number of invigorating tunes that drowned out the clownish cacophony.
Many men prayed with rosaries in hand and joined periodic cries of “Viva Cristo Rey!”
At the Boston Common, a large group of Antifa was waiting to jeer and shout at the men as they gathered around a stage to listen to speeches. Separated by metal barriers, the Antifa looked on from the sidelines with little conviction. They tried to disrupt the rally but failed to intimidate the participants.
By contrast, during the Rally for Personhood, the pro-life speakers and crowd were much more energized. When one speaker shouted “Viva Cristo Rey!” at the end of his speech, the crowd responded with a hearty “Viva!”
The rally featured notable speakers, including Bishop Joseph Strickland, bishop emeritus of Tyler, Texas, and Bishop Joseph Coffey, auxiliary bishop for the Military Services, who gave some words of encouragement. Abby Johnson, who once worked for Planned Parenthood but, through the grace of God, changed her ways, pointed out how the abortion movement and the homosexual agenda are tightly connected.
The Power of Public Prayer
Real men defend the unborn. When Catholic men, like those who marched in Boston, take the lead with rosaries in hand and wearing suits and ties, the impact on the rest of society cannot be overestimated. That’s why the left is so afraid and feels the need to show up and protest the event.
Local TFP member Kenneth Murphy encouraged the men by reminding them of the power of public prayer.
He spoke of the heroic example of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, who preached devotion to Our Lady across France in the seventeenth century and was a proponent of public prayer, particularly public rosary rallies.
Kenneth told the men: “Personally, I think Saint Louis de Montfort would have really enjoyed this pro-life march. He might say, ‘When you’re getting hit with heavy flak, you know you’re praying the rosary in the right place.’
The rosary is our greatest weapon against sin, heresy, and vice, and it instills virtue.
Praying the rosary at this march and in the public square is exactly what every city needs, especially Boston.”
