#March4Life numbers and Pres. Trump’s words

LifeSite has posted the text of Pres. Trump’s address to the March for Life.

Highlights…

[…]

The March for Life is a movement born out of love: you love your families; you love your neighbors; you love our nation; and you love every child born and unborn, because you believe that every life is sacred, that every child is a precious gift from God.

We know that life is the greatest miracle of all. We see it in the eyes of every new mother who cradles that wonderful, innocent, and glorious-newborn child in her loving arms. I want to thank every person here today and all across our country who works with such big hearts and tireless devotion to make sure that parents have the caring support they need to choose life.

Because of you, tens of thousands of Americans have been born and reached their full God-given potential, because of you. You’re living witnesses of this year’s March for life theme, and that theme is, ‘Love Saves Lives.’

As you all know Roe versus Wade has resulted in some of the most permissive abortion laws anywhere in the world. For example, in the United States, it’s one of only seven countries to allow elective late-term abortions along with China North Korea and others. Right now, in a number of States, the laws allow a baby to be born [sic, aborted] from his or her mother’s womb in the ninth month.

It is wrong. It has to change.

Americans are more and more pro-life. You see that all the time. In fact, only 12% of Americans support abortion on demand at any time.

Under my administration, we will always defend the very first right in the Declaration of Independent, and that is the ‘right to life.’

[…]

Contrast that with the last guy.

Today is the 1st anniversary of his inauguration.

This morning a friend said that she heard a major network say that there were maybe 40000 people at the “so-called” March for Life.

Go HERE to LifeSite to watch an AMAZING time-lapse video and ask yourself if that was 40K.

I’d like to know the true estimate. 500K?

Meanwhile, in Chile, Pope Francis celebrated a Mass.  I think they expected more people.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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14 Comments

  1. MacCheese says:

    It’s sad to look at the above picture, if indeed it is from the Papal mass.
    On the other hand, having marched yesterday in DC, I think your number of 500k is about right Father.

  2. Sandy says:

    The LifeSite time lapse video is amazing and inspiring! I’d love to know the true statistics. Every year it’s wonderful to see the great number of young people involved. May the Lord hear our prayers and save our country. Open their eyes, Lord!

  3. Vincent says:

    Meanwhile here in the UK: “Mr Trump told the thousands of marchers who gathered on Washington’s National Mall on Friday”… No video, just a picture of Trump at the speech.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42752421

    The Biased Broadcasting Corporation have also managed to run a video of the ‘womens’ march’ from last year instead, rather than talk about the March for Life. Although I think it making the news at all is probably an improvement….

  4. kurtmasur says:

    To be fair, it would be interesting to know at what point in the Mass was that photo taken? Before, during, or after? I believe there are quite a few people walking in the rows in the foreground…. Without a time reference, it’s difficult to judge this photo….

  5. JPD says:

    People are more attracted to what is authentic; it has meaning to their lives. The Pro-Life movement is authentic; it upholds natural law, while Pope Francis does not appear authentic evident in his many interactions. The secular media and world may like the Pope (although that has taken a hit in recent days) but, as evidenced by the photo and drop in attendance at Papal events in Rome, Church going Catholics are slowly coming around to the idea that Pope Francis does not fervently stand for Truth.

  6. DavidR says:

    Re: the March for Life attendance coverage; Fake News.

  7. acardnal says:

    Watching the Pope address priests and religious in Peru now on EWTN I note that he used one of his commonly used phrases again, “self-absorbed promethean neopelagianism.”

  8. Huber says:

    Watching the papal Masses on EWTN, I had noticed that they didnt do any wide shots or panning the of the crowds. There were lots of closeups and relatively lows shots of the crowds and individual rows of clergy, etc. It felt like they were creatively selecting their angles to not show crowd size. Now we know why.

  9. chantgirl says:

    Last year was estimated around 500k and it seemed much more packed this year.

    I was so encouraged to see so many priests marching. I would say that 90% of them were in cassocks!

    All in all, the March seems to look more Catholic every year.

  10. Traductora says:

    I read the Spanish and Latin American press and they have all been commenting on the lousy attendance at the Pope’s events. Also, one source in Italy says that the Piazza is practically a wasteland at the Angelus now, and the audiences are very poorly attended.

    People are voting with their feet. And I think the tramp of marching feet will get louder, especially now that even the former Francis fanatic, Cdl. O’Malley of Boston, has said that he thought Francis’ response to the LatAm abuse victims was simply wrong and even cruel.

    You can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time…etc.

  11. ServusChristi says:

    Well along with the shrinking sizes of papal masses, I can see the number of vocations isn’t promising, even in the Pope’s home city Buenos Aires where only a handful of priests are ordained annually. On the upside though, FSSP is doing relatively well.

  12. Suburbanbanshee says:

    Let’s be fair. It is not always easy to get around or to get off work, particularly for rural people.

    I will say that I loved the music and chant at the Ichique, Chile Mass! The chant Alleluia and Gospel were amazing. I don’t know who the choir director was, but he made me sit up, right through the tv!

  13. hwriggles4 says:

    Fr Z:

    Went to the Dallas Texas March for Life yesterday. 11,000 were estimated in attendance according to one of the organizers who was a speaker. Quite a few Catholics, and several Anglicans showed up (In clerics), as well as non denominational Christians and Baptists. This is common in the South

    Funny thing is… I did not see one local television news media truck.

  14. Jim Dorchak says:

    I live in Chile and the most common phrase heard here is:
    Pope Who?

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