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February 5, 2019 | The Valley Catholic
COMMUNITY
Peaceful, Positive, Personal Messages Mark Walk for Life West Coast
SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) – A throng
of upbeat pro-life supporters, some
from as far away as Colorado, Arizona
and Tennessee, swarmed the streets of
downtown San Francisco January 26
carrying a wide array of messages call-
ing for an end to abortion.
A crowd in the tens of thousands
poured into Civic Center Plaza on a
springlike winter day for the 15th an-
nual Walk for Life West Coast, which
marked the 46th anniversary of the U.S.
Supreme Court’s Roe. v. Wade decision
legalizing abortion.
Pregnant women hold bullhorns connected to their stomach so the crowd at Civic Center
The event kicked off with prayer,
Plaza in San Francisco could hear the heartbeat of their unborn babies during the 15th An-
nual Walk for Life West Coast Jan. 26, 2019. The event, which drew participants from as
pro-life speakers and the amplified
far away as Colorado, Arizona and Tennessee, marked 46 years since the U.S. Supreme
fetal heartbeats of seven babies whose
Court’s decision legalizing abortion. (CNS photo/Debra Greenblat, Catholic San Francisco)
mothers stood on the event stage
holding bullhorns connected to their
pregnant bellies.
Plaza appeared as peaceful as organiz-
costumed group of about a dozen more
“Babies saving babies,” said Walk for
ers had hoped. At times it felt more like
organized counter protesters distracted
Life chair Eva Muntean. “The babies are
a celebration than a demonstration.
the walkers, many of whom smiled and
here to save their peers.”
“This is not a day for confrontation,”
waved at the provocateurs.
A woman allowed to see an image
Dolores Meehan, co-chair of the walk,
For many, the day had begun with
of her unborn baby on an ultrasound
advised as the march began. “Just say a
morning Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral
screen or to hear its heartbeat will
prayer and keep it going.”
celebrated by San Francisco Arch-
often choose not to abort, pro-life
There were a handful of spontane-
bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, where
advocates say.
ous hecklers, including a man who
about 2,900 received holy Communion.
Despite a heavy police presence, the
stood near the cable car turnaround on
Later in the plaza at the start of the
two-mile march from Civic Center Plaza
Market Street and shouted, “Go to hell”
rally, he led marchers in a prayer from
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7:41
down Market
Street to Justin Herman
at the procession.
But PM
neither he nor a
the event stage.
“Give us to courage to speak the truth
with love and conviction in defense of
life,” he said.
Chastity Ronan, former director of
San Francisco’s Alpha Pregnancy Cen-
ter, took the stage to accept the Gianna
Molla Award created for local “unsung
heroes” of the pro-life movement.
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1962)
was an Italian pediatrician who refused
both an abortion and a hysterectomy
while pregnant with her fourth child
despite knowing that the decision could
result in her own death, which it did.
Ronan turned to the pregnancy cen-
ter when she found herself pregnant,
unemployed and homeless shortly after
moving to San Francisco 10 years ago.
Despite miscarrying her unborn child,
Ronan went on to direct the growth of
the center from a small service center
to a medical clinic, which today serves
1,000 families a year. She resigned in
2016 after being diagnosed with can-
cer only months after the birth of her
daughter, Catica.
“If you are experiencing tragedy in
your life, look at Gianna Molla, look at
me, look at Jesus,” she said. “Give him
your tragedy and let him turn it into
triumph.”
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Bishop Daniel Garcia joins various members of the Diocese of Monterey Chancery staff
for a photo after his installation.
Diocese of Monterey Welcomes
Bishop Daniel Garcia
On January 29, at the Madonna
del Sasso Pro-Cathedral in Salinas,
Bishop Daniel Garcia was installed
as the fi fth bishop of the Diocese of
Monterey.
A native of Austin, Texas, Bishop
Daniel Garcia, 58, succeeds Bishop
Richard J. Garcia, who served the
faithful in the Diocese of Monterey
from 2007 until his untimely death
at age 71 on July 11, 2018.
Bishop Daniel Garcia was appoint-
ed Auxiliary Bishop in the Diocese of
Austin in 2015.