‘Being pro-life is special’: Respect Life Sunday Mass, Life Chain draw youths from across archdiocese

Myles Hesse, left, and Hannah Miller, both freshmen at Father Michael Shawe Memorial Jr./Sr. High School in Madison, carry a banner from their school at the start of the annual archdiocesan Respect Life Sunday Mass on Oct. 2 at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. Myles and Hannah are members of Prince of Peace Parish in Madison. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Sean Gallagher

Oct. 2 was a beautiful, sunny, early autumn day in Indianapolis. It was also the day that hundreds of Catholics from across central and southern Indiana came together to celebrate God’s beautiful gift of life during the archdiocese’s annual Respect Life Sunday Mass at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis.

After the Mass, many people went onto the sidewalks of North Meridian Street to participate in the 24th annual Central Indiana Life Chain. (See more photos)

They joined other pro-life supporters who stood for an hour in the afternoon sun along a nearly three-mile stretch of the busy thoroughfare from North Street to 38th Street, praying and holding signs supporting life for motorists to see as they drove by.

Msgr. Joseph Schaedel, pastor of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis, was the principal celebrant of the Respect Life Sunday Mass. (Related: Pro-life award recipients stay informed, pray and volunteer)

In his homily, he called on his listeners to not take for granted the great gift of life which, he said, so many people in society are doing today.

“We’d better wake up to what’s happening in this country,” Msgr. Schaedel said. “Insidious evildoers are ever so slowly destroying respect for God’s greatest gift—human life.”

Despite this tragic situation, Msgr. Schaedel said that God still wants to bless us, and that he only asks that we care for those blessings and seek to increase them.

“God wants us to be happy,” he said. “But God expects us to use his gifts to benefit others. God demands a return. And that return is the expectation that we take care of his gifts—that we take care of each other.”

Many of the people who heard Msgr. Schaedel’s homily at the Respect Life Sunday Mass had come to Indiana from various parts of the world. But they were bound together by their shared Catholic faith and their value for the gift of life.

Seminarian Charles Penalosa, a senior at Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary and member of St. Joseph Parish, both in Indianapolis, was born in the Philippines.

“It’s important for a seminarian like me to serve for a pro-life Mass, to be a visible sign of the cause and also as a reminder of what I will be dealing with if I do get ordained in the future,” he said. “If I become a priest, a significant part of my ministry would be to promote the pro-life cause, especially through prayer and the celebration of the Mass.”

Jose Herrera is a 25-year-old member of Holy Spirit Parish in Indianapolis, originally from Mexico, who participated in the Respect Life Sunday Mass.

He was impressed by the broad array of cultures represented at the Mass and how all those worshipping together were responding to God’s call to protect innocent human life.

“I think it’s amazing because it shows that the Catholic Church is diverse,” Herrera said. “It’s something that we really ought to be a part of. We need to support God’s law.”

Eric Slaughter, an African-American pro-life activist and member of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis, said before the Mass that he was encouraged by the large presence of youths and young adults from across the archdiocese.

“When you’re out there and you’re doing the [pro-life] work that you’re doing, sometimes you get discouraged,” Slaughter said. “The thing that lifts me up is to see young people getting involved and to see that they understand. So when I’m down, and I see the elderly involved and the young involved, it inspires me all that much more to become active.”

Two inspiring pro-life supporters were recognized at the end of the Mass for their distinguished volunteer service in support of life.

Dianna Meinecke, a member of St. Mary Parish in Navilleton in the New Albany Deanery, received the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Respect Life Award.

Victoria Nondorf, a senior at Bishop Chatard High School and member of St. Pius X Parish, both in Indianapolis, was honored with the Our Lady of Guadalupe Pro-Life Youth Award.

After the Mass, Nondorf and several other Bishop Chatard students participated in the Life Chain.

“I’m very pro-life,” said Liz Gore, a Bishop Chatard junior and member of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis. “I have lots of family members who cannot have children. And so it really affects me personally. … I think adoption is definitely the way to go.”

Just down the sidewalk and across the street from the Bishop Chatard students was a large group of pro-life students from Father Michael Shawe Memorial Jr./Sr. High School in Madison.

They drove nearly two hours to participate in the Respect Life Sunday Mass and Life Chain.

“Being pro-life is special,” said Shawe junior Katie McGee, a member of Prince of Peace Parish in Madison. “Killing babies or doing anything [evil] to children is just awful.”

Katie held a pro-life sign as she talked about her beliefs. Several motorists honked their horns to show their support of her witness to the gift of life.

“That honking is good,” she said. “It really makes me feel good. … People might see [my sign] and read it, … and might take it to heart.”

Standing nearby, Carol Wernsing took to heart the pro-life witness of so many youths around her.

“It strengthens my faith to see all these young people,” said Wernsing, a Holy Rosary parishioner. “We stood out here before my grandchildren were big enough to stand. And now they’re here participating, too. It just really warms your heart to see all these young people. That’s our future.” †