‘A starting point of hope’

Annual Syracuse Mass, March for Life brings together many witnesses to life

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By Elizabeth Landry, Staff writer

More than 100 faithful gathered on the morning of Jan. 18 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the annual diocesan Holy Hour and Mass for Life. Many then joined another large crowd to walk peacefully from Armory Square to the outside steps of the Onondaga County Courthouse. It was the 52nd consecutive Syracuse March for Life, sponsored by the Syracuse Right to Life Association. The marchers braved cold temperatures, blowing wind, and heavy, wet snow, as they moved through the downtown city streets.

But why? What is the true reason for this special Mass we celebrate every year and the march that follows? 

Lisa Hall, director of the Office of Family/Respect Life for the Diocese of Syracuse, explained that it’s really about a celebration of life. First, we pray to God for the protection of life, thanking Him for the gift of life, and then we enter the public sphere to help educate others about why life is so precious.

“We walk with one another … we take care of one another in our times of need. And that’s really what this whole Holy Hour, Mass and March is about,” Hall said. “It’s about just saying to the world, ‘We value every human life, and we want to walk with you along the way.’”

The Holy Hour and Mass for Life held at the Cathedral are each year co-sponsored by the diocesan offices of Family/Respect Life Ministry and Adolescent Catechesis & Discipleship.

These annual events take place as close as possible to January 22, the date in 1973 when the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in the Roe v. Wade case, which was overturned in June of 2022. The pro-life cause has since shifted its efforts toward state legislatures, which is a particularly difficult battle in New York state. As Catholics, though, we remain joyful about the gift of life from God, and it’s our celebration of life that fuels our pro-life efforts in the face of opposition.

Bishop Douglas J. Lucia presided at the Holy Hour and Mass for Life. He began his homily by referencing the Jubilee Year we’re currently celebrating, saying, “It is a joy for us to gather here this morning in this year of Jubilee,” and then explained how the early beginnings of the Jubilee are so closely linked to the modern pro-life cause.

“The theme of Jubilee … is all about the restoration of rights … [In the early days] it was all about justice, equity, compassion. And where we get that from, is because each and every one of us … comes from God and belongs to God. That each and every person, no matter who he or she is, is made in the very image and likeness of God.”

Holly Grant, a parishioner at Holy Cross in Dewitt, attended the Mass along with her husband and several young children. She said they’ve been attending the Mass and often the March, as well, for several years.

“I love bringing my children to this Mass because as Catholics, we love life,” she said. “It gives me a chance to teach my children what that means. We were just talking about this in the car on the way over here, that we as Catholics cherish all parts of life … We give thanks to God that we have this precious gift, and it’s really our job as parents to teach our young people what a wonderful gift it is.”

The Sun also spoke with Peter, a senior attending the Mater Dei Academy who worships at Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Warners with his family. His mother, Siena, told us that the family, including Peter and his younger siblings, has been participating together at the March for Life for over 10 years. For Peter, he enjoys engaging in the March for a simple, yet profound, reason.

“It’s nice to come together and fight [abortion] as a group, and really show everyone in the world how it’s wrong,” he said.

Featuring the young, the elderly and everyone in between, the marchers were a diverse group of individuals that also included those who weren’t Catholic. Precious, a young woman there to represent Life Matters Training Center, said the pro-life organization has four pregnancy centers in New York state, with efforts focused mainly in the New York City area.

“We just try to support women, and we try to go out there and be a voice for the unborn,” she said.

While the issue of abortion is typically what we think of when we consider the March for Life, our Catholic faith teaches that we must protect life from conception until natural death — from “womb to tomb” — which means we must also strive for a culture that doesn’t allow life to be ended unnaturally, including through assisted suicide. 

Both Christine Fadden, president of Syracuse Right to Life, and Dr. John O’Brien, a local family medical physician, and this year’s main speaker, told the crowd after the March that assisted suicide will be a hotly-contested topic this year in the New York legislature. Speaking to the Sun, Fadden said New York state currently has a prohibition against assisted suicide but there’s a group of activists who are trying to flip the state on this issue, making many different groups of people, including those with disabilities, increasingly vulnerable.

Expanding on this topic, she said, “It’s so risky because once healthcare providers are authorized to cross that line, they’re basically purveying death as an option. They would really violate what was traditionally the Hippocratic Oath of ‘Do no harm.’ And it’s so important to have that … Assisted suicide is still suicide …. The message is, and it’s part of that radical culture of autonomy, that instead of loving somebody to the natural end of their life, that we’re giving [them] an option, you know, ‘get out of the way,’ if we think you’re not valuable. It’s terrible.”

In an incredibly heartfelt testimony full of uplifting encouragement and vivid personal stories, Dr. O’Brien reminded the crowd we all must remain steadfast in our pro-life efforts despite such staunch opposition — that each of us in our own way can be an influential witness to life.

“Despite an aggressive legislature that wishes to disregard pro-life efforts, we have stood strong and will continue to do so to protect those most vulnerable in society. You may be an elderly person who has shown others how to suffer with dignity. You are a witness to life. Never, never underestimate the role, responsibility and influence you have with other people,” he said. “You could be parents struggling to raise children, and you are a witness to life. You may have great talents [in] organizing people and running a pro-life organization. You are a witness to life. You may be someone who listens to those who are suffering. You are a witness to life. Are we not all instructed to believe in the dignity of every single individual? 

“No one is out of our range of influence,” he continued. “They are just in need of a helping hand.”

As the marchers exemplified by standing strong against the wind and snow, holding signs that read, “You are not alone! We can help you,” and “Jesus hears, heals, and forgives,” all Catholics can move forward in the Jubilee Year as Pilgrims of Hope, spreading the good news that life is sacred and worth protecting. Shannon Guy, co-chair of the Syracuse 40 Days for Life campaign and a part-time registered nurse at New Hope Family Services, emphasized that God calls each of us to fulfill this mission.

“Every year [the March for Life] is important,” Guy said. “It’s like starting the year up with a starting point of hope that we can go out and pursue throughout the year in our ministries with resolve and with renewed faith that God will answer our prayers and support us in the calling He has for each one of us to be a promoter of the Gospel.”