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Leader of the Flock

Bishop Cordileone Says Mass for, Leads Pro-Lifers in Procession

BY ANNE KNIGHT

Bishop Salvatore Cordi leone celebrated a special Mass on Saturday, July 16, for the unborn and those who pray, witness, and provide sidewalk counseling at abortion clinics. The Mass was held at Most Precious Blood Church in Chula Vista and was concelebrated by Father Frank Wagner, the pastor. At approximately 150, the attendance significantly exceeded organizers' expectations.

In his homily, Bishop Cordileone thanked those who pray and counsel at abortion facilities, saying, "I now wish to take this occasion to thank you for all that you do on behalf of life, for all that you do to witness on behalf of life, for all that you do for women who very often are induced to this decision but deep down inside don't want to make it-- to rescue them from the darkness of the culture of death, to give them light, to help them know that there is a better way: the way of life."

The bishop then focused his remarks on seven-year-old Nikita Foster, a survivor of a botched abortion who received her first communion at the mass. "Among us," Bishop Cordileone said, "we have one who is the most outstanding witness of all to the victory of life over death.... She was not supposed to live. You, Nikita, are such a powerful witness to the goodness and sanctity of life."

The bishop quoted passages from John Paul II's encyclical on life issues, Evangelium Vitae: "The one who accepted 'Life' in the name of all and for the sake of all was Mary, the Virgin Mother; she is thus most closely and personally associated with the Gospel of Life."

Given these comments, it was fitting that a six-foot missionary image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was at the fore of a post-Mass procession down nearby Anita Street to the notorious Clinica Medica para la Mujer de Hoy abortion mill at Anita and Broadway. Walking just behind Our Lady were Bishop Cordileone and Father Wagner and Joe and Carol Pallazola, directors of the Divine Mercy Movement of San Diego, who carried a Divine Mercy banner. About 150 marchers prayed the rosary and carried signs. A range of ages and ethnic groups was represented, and four nuns in habits were among the participants. At one point, traffic was at a standstill on Anita Street as cars watched the procession go by. Many drivers honked and gestured supportively and there were no noticeable hostile incidents.

The procession ended at Clinica Medica where marchers gathered on the grass in front of the clinic and continued to pray the Rosary. Groups from Most Precious Blood, Our Lady of Guadalupe,, and Saint Rose of Lima parishes, all in Chula Vista, regularly hold pro-life prayer vigils there. A group from Most Precious Blood holds prayer vigils and provides sidewalk counseling twice a week.

At the conclusion of the rosary, Bishop Cordileone, flanked by Father Wagner, addressed the following remarks to the gathered crowd: "We know that there are many values involved in this culture war, but none of them brings the force of the war to the fore like the issue of abortion, because it really lays out the basic choice: for life or for convenience. We know that human life is sacred; human life is a gift from God. Human life therefore has a dignity that no one and nothing can take away from it, regardless of the state of life, regardless of the condition of life. We have to uphold that truth, especially for those who are most vulnerable, and that, more than anyone else, is life in the womb. We have to be the conscience for our country, always reminding our nation of the truth, of the goodness of human life."

Shirley Henry, Most Precious Blood's pro-life coordinator and, along with Kent Peters, diocesan director of social ministries, the planner of the Mass and procession, believed this event marked the first time a bishop had participated in a clinic prayer vigil in this diocese and the first time that a diocesan-sponsored pro-life Mass had also been offered for those involved in pro-life witness at abortion clinics. "I think that having a bishop with us was a great inspiration and it was a wonderful encouragement to all of us," she commented. "A lot of us were really amazed that he was there. I felt like I was walking on air for a couple of days afterwards."

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