Walking As If Someone's Life Depended On It

Literally!

Wednesday night I had the opportunity to meet 12 young adults who care enough about defending the lives of the unborn that they are willing to give up a good portion of their Summer to walk across America to get the message out. They are 1 of 4 groups participating in the Crossroads walks across the USA & Canada.

Crossroads is a Civil Rights organization that is faithful to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. They exist in order to help bring about a Culture of Life and defend the right to life of all unborn children. "Because any such Culture of Life must take root in the youth of our society to truly flourish, Crossroads especially looks to involve and challenge young people to actively take part in bringing it about. By looking to Jesus and Mary as role models in prayer and sacrifice, and by understanding the value of suffering, we hope to convert hearts and minds and to save lives. Mindful of this mission, Crossroads looks to the following statement made by the Church in the Catholic Catechism:'Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.' -CCC 2270"

As I said the group that was in DBQ is 1 of 4 groups who are walking. 3 of the groups are walking across the USA. The 4th is walking across Canada. Known as the Northern Walk they started out on 22 May in Seattle & will meet up with the 2 other USA walks in Washington DC on 12 August. The Central walk began at San Francisco & the Southern walk began in Los Angeles. The Canada walk started in Vancouver, BC & will end up in Ottawa, ON.

Each day begins with Mass, if possible. Otherwise they pray Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. They end each day with evening Prayer & pray the Rosary during the day. During the day they divide up into groups that take turns walking. They are accompanied by 2 vans that carry their extra clothing etc. & lest anyone driving by not know what they are doing, each of them wears a T-shirt that clearly says "PRO-LIFE" in big blue letters across the front. Each weekend they end up in a major City where they have an opportunity to share their message at different Catholic Churches in the area.

Crossroads has its roots in the 1993 World Youth Day. 1 of those in attendance was Steve Sanborn, then a student at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He heard Pope John Paul challenge young people worldwide to spread the Gospel of Life. He said: “The Church needs your enthusiasm, your youthful ideas, in order to make the Gospel of Life penetrate the fabric of society." The Holy Father went on. He told the youth not to be afraid “to go out into the streets and into public places, like the first Apostles who preached Christ and the Good News of salvation in the square of cities, towns and villages.”

Taking the Pope's challenge to heart & after much reflection, he decided the best way to respond would be boldly & literally. So, in 1995 Steve & a group of fellow Franciscan University students organized a Pro-Life walk across America that summer. The 1st walk began in San Francisco & ended up in DC. Over the 11 weeks they found out how truly Pro-life America really is.

" People in every city and town they walked through were overwhelming supportive of their mission. Also, the walkers encountered many women who have had abortions and are living with the pain and torment that comes with having made that “choice”. They were able to pray for healing for these women and their families and to direct them to places where they could find help.

By the time the first group of walkers made their way to Washington, DC, they had talked to over 100,000 people, peacefully prayed and protested in front of over 20 abortion clinics, spoke in over 40 parishes, and gave countless interviews with newspapers and radio stations. People everywhere were simply amazed to see that there were young people willing to give up their summer to take a three-thousand mile trek across the country in defense of the sanctity and dignity of all human life.
The last day of the walk the group held a rally on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC. They wanted to tell their government and fellow Americans that the youth of America were taking a stand for those who are not able to defend themselves." (From the website) & it has grown to the 4 walks they are doing this year.

I met the Northern Walk group Wed nite at a Potluck dinner in their honor at DBQ Co. Right to Life's office. After the meal they had an opportunity to share their stories about how they became involved as well as share their experiences on the walk. At times the walk has been anything but easy, the heat, mosquitoes, humidity, rain etc make things difficult at times. But none of that discourages them. They all are strongly committed to Pro-Life & firmly believe that God has called them to do this as a witness to their faith.

It was a joy & blessing to be able to meet them. They are another proof that it is the Pro-Life movement will win out in the end. As NARAL's president Nancy Keenan told Newsweek last April, it is the Pro-Life movement that is attracting the younger generation. Talking about what she saw at this year’s March for Life in Washington, she said "There are so many of them, and they are so young."

These young Americans know that they are survivors. They know that they have lost 1/3 of their generation & that any one of them could have been the victim of abortion. That fact was mentioned by 1 of the Northern Walk participants who was adopted. & it is that knowledge that gives them a passion lacking on the other side. That passion empowere by their faith is what gives me hope that the Pro-Life efforts of my generation will not have been in vain.