Catholic groups join protest against gun violence at March for Our Lives

Hundreds of thousands of protesters, including many Catholic groups, flooded Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC on Saturday to show solidarity with those working for gun control. The Walk for Our Lives has turned into a gathering here due to the large number of participants. People of all ages came to listen to victims of gun violence calling for a ban on assault weapons, among other measures. The parishes of Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia sent large contingents to the rally. The Associated Press reported that the crowds in Washington “rivaled the Women’s March last year which drew in well more than the 300,000 expected.” There were other March for Our Lives events on Saturday across the United States.

The renewed support for gun control was sparked by students across the country, inspired by survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. That left 17 people dead. While the March for Our Lives spearheaded these survivors, many participants had their own stories to tell about how gun violence had affected their lives.

The day before the march, the Social Justice Committee at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in the Northwestern section of Washington hosted a poster-making session for those planning to attend. Parishioner Annie Hisle explained why she believed so many Holy Trinity parishioners attended the gathering. “It’s not what you are against, but what you value,” she said. “We value children. “

10-year-old Maria Cristina Restrepo * waved for her 13-year-old sister who said: “Arms are made for hugging.

“I think it’s wrong to kill anyone, but especially children,” she said. “A big part of the Catholic religion is about being peaceful and helping others, and it’s a way of helping others, making sure that [the Parkland school shooting] do not happen again, that more people do not die.

“Life is sacred, and that means the lives of our children must be fought for.”

Lisa Bolejack, who planned to walk with her 10 and 12-year-old children, struggled to find the right words for her sign. She chose the word “Enough” in bold red letters. “Life is sacred, and that means the lives of our children must be fought,” she said. “I have two children, but I walk for them all.” Ms. Bolejack said she was happy to walk with a group from her church. “I felt it would be a good way to link my faith and what I believe to be a good Christian and just a good person [together], “she said.” It is a commandment: you shall not kill. “

High school students Penelope Nicoli-Drossos and Clara Puente had planned to attend the march together. On her poster, Ms. Puente wrote: “1 child is worth more than all guns on earth. “

“I chose it because I think that’s what it is…. It is a question of people and an undeniable right which is their right to live, ”she declared.

Meg, a military wife, shared the story of her son’s first birthday. When an active shooter arrived at the base where her son’s daycare was located, she was prevented from reaching her baby for four hours. “I don’t need this to happen again,” she said, adding, “wanting to protect lives is a very Catholic issue…. Sometimes we are obsessed with the life of an unborn child versus the lives of all those children who are born and out there in the world. I think it’s crazy to focus on one and not the other.

The sign making event was hosted by Kate Tromble, Holy Trinity’s pastoral associate for social justice. “Even before Parkland,” Ms. Tromble said, “there was definitely talk in this parish about what we were doing against gun violence every time there was a new incident. Then Parkland arrived. It was clear that there was a lot of energy to be expressed. People really wanted to pray. And we prayed and continue to pray, but … they felt obligated to make a testimony statement besides offering prayers to other people.

“The fundamental teaching of Catholic social education is the dignity of life,” Ms. Tromble said. “We are created in the image and likeness of God, and I think right now, with all that is going on, stand up and say that the dignity of life means protecting our children, our families all the way. life-long, through their whole life, including protecting them from gun violence, that’s something we have to say.

Sharing stories of gun violence

On the morning of the rally, two blocks from Pennsylvania Avenue at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, student representatives from seven area Catholic schools shared the ways gun violence affected their lives before attending a mass celebrated by Father Jacek Orzechowski.

“As a college student, American and Catholic, I’m tired of ‘thoughts and prayers’ in response to preventable tragedies,” said Eileen Dinn, an elder at Holy Cross High School. “I feel excited, honored and ready to be a part of this movement. Her classmate, Mary Muldoon, pointed out that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has supported the ban on assault weapons since 1994.

“Many of us are here today because we see failure in our society and in our country,” said Connor Cerezo-Allen, a student at DeMatha High School. “As Catholics… we cannot be passive spectators without taking action. “

“We have a problem with some gun idolatry if we put that above respect for human life.”

Junior at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Caroline Barry helped organize a walkout at her school as well as lunchtime conversations about gun violence in the United States and the Second Amendment. Saturday was her 17th birthday, and she said she chose to spend it “asking for more birthdays, for myself, for my friends and for my teachers.”

Also among the speakers were Stephon Wheaton, a junior at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, who lost his brother to gun violence in January 2017. “Talk about having [guns] in schools is tragic and hurtful, ”he said.

Eleanor Miskovsky, a junior from Georgetown Visitation, told her peers: “Today we have the opportunity to implement change. Today, as students, we stand here, refusing to forget.

During his homily, Father Orzechowski shared the story of his cousin, whose son survived the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012. Father Orzechowski pointed out that more than 30,000 Americans die each year from gun violence.

“There is no excuse for this,” he said. “We have a problem with some gun idolatry if we put that above respect for human life.” He encouraged the congregation to listen to the words of Jesus, who also lived through violent times, and said: Do not be afraid. Father Orzechowski said he was inspired by the students at Parkland as well as those who gathered on Saturday, saying they showed a “witness, a passion [and] a determination to do great things.

“God believes in you,” he said.

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Correction, March 26: An earlier version of this article misidentified Maria Cristina Restrepo.