About 200,00 are expected to raise their voices for the lives of unborn children at the 2024 National March for Life on Friday, Jan. 19, in Washington, D.C. They will also renew their commitment to help both the mothers and children of crisis pregnancies. The march’s theme is “With Every Woman, For Every Child.”
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will accompany Catholics of the Paterson Diocese in the 51st annual march. He invites pro-life activists to join him for the march and for a Mass he will celebrate beforehand at noon in St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill. Father Michael Rodak, coordinator of the diocese’s participation in the march, will be available to hear confessions.
The March for Life will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. This year’s participants will march past the U.S. Capitol and finish between the Capitol and U.S. Supreme Court.
“Each year, the March for Life brings people together from around the country in an orderly and peaceful way to speak out for life. The child in the womb needs to be given the opportunity to be born and to hear his or her vocation — what God is calling him or her to do,” said Father Rodak. He also serves as pastor of St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Hardyston and diocesan director of pilgrimages. “It’s also gratifying to know that you are not alone — that you marched with people who are marching for the same reason you did.”
The March for Life has been held every year since the first anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973 by the U.S. Supreme Court that legalized abortion across the nation. The court overtuned that decision on June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
This year’s March for Life takes place in a presidential election year and a year that will have ballot measures on abortion. The event’s theme also counters “the false narrative around abortion, whether it’s through mainstream media or the entertainment industry or academia, that abortion is empowering and necessary,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund.
Many Paterson marchers already live that commitment to mother and child by supporting pro-life endeavors in their parishes, respect life organizations, the Knights of Columbus, and Columbiettes and through diocesan Catholic Charities. These include drives for baby items and donations. In 2021, the diocese joined Walking with Moms in Need, a nationwide, parish-based initiative to increase support for pregnant and parenting mothers.
“This year’s March for Life reminds us that, to protect the child, the mother needs to be cared for and respected,” Father Rodak said.