March for Life 2016

The March for Life is an annual pro-life rally of different associations and groups that is held in the month of January or February. The first rally was led by Nellie Gray on January 22, 1973 in Washington D.C., USA in response to the US Supreme Court decision on Roe versus Wade on January 22, 1972 decriminalizing abortion.  Since then, succeeding annual rally has been held by different pro-life advocacy groups to support the culture of life and protest on abortion. Those groups have also been reaching out to some lawmakers for the overturn of the SC decision.

        

Religious organizations such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church and the evangelicals have been active participants in the annual rally. The Knight of Columbus a fraternal service organization of the Catholic Church is the agent of the Catholic Church to carry out its support to the multi-sectoral March for Life rally. The organization is committed to reverse the trend toward the culture of death and to build a culture that values human life at the every stage.  Since Knight of Columbus has councils and assemblies in different parts of the world, it follows that the March for Life rally has taken a world stage.

In the Philippines the March for Life rally is exclusively carried out by the members of Knight of Columbus all over the country with the support of the Catholic Church. Unlike in the United States where a woman’s right to an abortion is protected, abortion is a crime in the Philippines. The participation of the Filipino Knight of Columbus members of the rally is their expression of solidarity with other groups the world over for pro-life promotion. 

In Cagayan de Oro the annual March for Life rally was held on February 27, 2016. Participants from different councils and assemblies gathered at the provincial capitol ground of Misamis Oriental. The march to the Gaston Park at Saint Augustine Cathedral started at about 7:30 am. The 30-minute march culminated in a simple program at the park that included prayer and short speeches from speakers.  The highlight of the program was a speech of Fr. Juliano Retiquez who discussed on certain moral issues with emphasis on the church advocacy on the culture of life and abortion.

A March for Life and for Clean, Honest and Orderly Election

On the afternoon of April 20, 2013, members of the Knight of Columbus of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental marched from Vicente de Lara Park at the provincial capitol building to Plaza Divisoria passing through main streets of Cagayan de Oro City.

The march was a show of Knight of Columbus members’ support for the conduct of free, honest and orderly May 13, 2013 mid-term election. It is also their expression of solidarity with the Catholic Church in opposing government policies and issues that will affect the morality of the faithful. A simple program was held at Plaza Divisoria. The speakers included Atty. Macudi Agus, Master of the 4^th degree; Atty. Proculo Sarmin, 8^th Division, NLRC commissioner and Monsignor Elmer Abacahin, President of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club.

The speakers deplored election anomalies such as vote buying, vote selling and cheating. They also touched on the Reproductive Health (RH) Law, abortion, divorce and same sex marriage. The Knight of Columbus being the defenders of the Catholic faith were urged to support the Catholic church in its stand on those issues that undermines the faithful‘s moral and spiritual fortitude.  Although Reproductive Health Bill was already signed by President Aquino into law, the petitioners against it successfully got a restraining order from the Philippine Supreme Court thus suspending its implementation.

Although the gathering was aimed in discussing present political and social issues, it was however non-partisan. It did not specifically mention or endorse any name of a candidate for the election. But the members are enjoined to take heed on the Catholic Church guidance on the ideal traits of a candidate. These include being pro-life, pro-people, pro-God, pro-environment and being patriotic.