Editor’s Note: Statement read by pro-life activist Mary Wagner in court during his trial for mischief, March 28. Your Honour, I stand before you accused of mischief. The Crown has presented the case against me, having argued to the effect that I did interfere with the enjoyment or operation of a lawful “business.” Were I to try to defend myself by arguing [...]
The 40 Days for Life campaign in Toronto was a great success. Five weeks into the campaign, the organizer for 40 Days for Life Toronto reported that at least three babies had been saved. 40 Days for Life is a worldwide campaign that seeks to raise awareness about the evil of abortion through prayer and fasting, a vigil in front of an [...]
More than 120 people participated in the kickoff rally for 40 Days for Life in Kitchener to hear several guest speakers and hear inspirational music as they prepared for the Lenten vigil to pray for an end to abortion. Retired auxiliary bishop Matthew Ustrzycki of the Hamilton diocese and Debbie Fisher of the Silent No More Awareness campaign spoke and [...]
On Monday, March 7, a downtown Toronto courtroom took a trip back in time to the early 1990s and the days of NDP rule in Ontario, when the government of premier Bob Rae and attorney general Marion Boyd attempted to squelch pro-life activism throughout the province by way of a wide-ranging court injunction. It was part of the first day of a [...]
Linda Gibbons, who has been arrested more than 20 times in connection to activities near a Toronto abortuary, will get her day in court. The Supreme Court of Canada, that is. Gibbons, who prays outside abortion the Scott abortuary on Gerrard Street in downtown Toronto and counsels women to not kill their babies, has never been charged with violating the 1994 “temporary” [...]
Editor’s Note: Interim reporter Pauline Kosalka interviewed David Bereit by email. Bereit is founder of 40 Days for Life and the keynote speaker at the Rose Dinner in Ottawa, May 12. The Interim: How did you first become involved in the pro-life movement? David Bereit: I first got involved in the pro-life movement after meeting, dating, and then marrying, my [...]
In an important decision, a provincial court judge has ruled that there is enough merit in a complaint by Linda Gibbons’s defence lawyer of abuse of process in the prosecution against her to warrant three days of hearings into the matter this coming March 7, 8 and 9. In a downtown Toronto courtroom Jan. 12, Madam Justice Mara Beth Greene [...]
A development that the presiding judge described as having the potential for “dire implications” scuttled an expected trial of Linda Gibbons in October. The judge made the decision to delay the trail on the morning of Oct. 29, when the long-time pro-life demonstrator appeared in a downtown Toronto courtroom to answer a charge of disobeying a court order. At issue is a [...]
The arrests of five pro-life students at Carleton University should inspire pro-lifers to step up and engage in the pro-life battle, said Fr. Simon Lobo, brother of arrested Carleton Lifeline President Ruth Lobo, in a powerful homily in Ottawa on Oct. 10. “Yes - yes I am the brother of Ruth Lobo,” said the priest, a member of the Companions [...]
More than 25 seminarians from across Canada came together for five days of pro-life training as they attended the first ever Seminarians’ Pro-Life Congress hosted by Priests for Life Canada (P4LC). The theme for the week, starting Aug. 30 and closing on Sept. 3, was “Loving Life Through Life.” Each day the seminarians were presented with information on the life [...]
A pro-life witness that extended 5,000 km from Vancouver to Ottawa was completed on August 14 when the Crossroads Walkers arrived in the nation’s capital, welcomed by dozens of local pro-life supports, including Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast. The group of six arrived at the Hill around noon, where they were awarded a certificate of accomplishment by Audrey Lemieux, wife of [...]
They said “yes” to use the call to spend their summer training as a pro-life activist. They said “yes” to focusing on saving lives in both sunshine and rain. They said “yes” to the two-and-a-half month internship with the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform. They are the seven young pro-lifers from across Canada, plus one from the United States, who [...]
On May 26, Quebec City Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the Primate of Canada, said in a press conference jointly hosted with Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, that “the abortion debate is on and we must not be afraid of it.” The press conference came less than two weeks after hostile reaction from the Quebec media and feminist groups over the Cardinal’s comments [...]
From Feb. 17 to March 28, thousands of people across North America participated in 40 Days for Life, a campaign that raises awareness about abortion through prayer, fasting and community outreach. Each vigil is held outside of an abortion site. The campaign reflects how God used 40-day periods in biblical history to bring about change. The first 40 Days for Life campaign [...]
It was not the “pro-African-American movement,” it was the “anti-slavery movement;” the messages have not been “pro-sober driving” or “pro-clean air,” but “anti-drinking and driving” and “anti-smoking.” For too long, many of our pamphlets have been whimsical pastels and dissembling language. We are “anti-abortion” and that’s how we should identify ourselves. Though most of us who are opposed to abortion are conservative [...]