Protesting Abortion as a Witness of Faith

On Friday Oct. 31, Thomas J. Tobin, the Bishop of Providence, prayed outside a Planned Parenthood located ten minutes from Providence College. Bishop Tobin said that he wanted to show his support for the 40 Days for Life that had been going on since September.

The 40 Days for Life (Sept. 26-Nov. 4) is a peaceful movement that aims to end abortion in America through prayer and fasting, peaceful vigil, and community outreach. An individual could do anything from organizing events between parishes to adding the choice of life for unborn infants in their prayer intentions.

Throughout the last two semesters, I have routinely prayed outside the same Planned Parenthood in Providence that Bishop Tobin visited on Oct. 31. Every Friday I would travel with anywhere from two to 30 persons to the Planned Parenthood building about ten minutes from campus. We would pray the rosary while standing on the sidewalk for about an hour or more and then we would return to campus. I encourage Catholics to pray outside any place where abortions are performed. I find it is a good type of public witness to the faith.

I had been slacking in my participation in the 40 Days for Life for the most part, but I knew that I wanted to see Bishop Tobin and pray with him. With a little rescheduling, four PC students (Dan Taylor '09; Michael Acciardo '10; Katie Krouse '10; Susie Cheely '11) and myself were able to join Bishop Tobin at noon in prayer. As we parked our car and headed to the sidewalk across from the Planned Parenthood building, I could see a crowd of people gathered around Bishop Tobin. He thanked us for all our participation in the pro-life movement and began to lead us in the Litany of the Saints. He then gave a general blessing to the crowd and encouraged all who could to stay for the rosary. I volunteered to introduce the second joyful mystery, but was too nervous to remember whom Our Lady had visited while she was three months pregnant-Bishop Tobin reminded me that it was St. Elizabeth.

Bishop Tobin allowed us to take a picture with him and ask him a few questions. As a Catholic college student, I was particularly concerned about how I could be using my time to better serve the Church and help those that could not help themselves. Bishop Tobin spoke to us about the importance of being a "public witness" to the faith.

"These kind of witnesses are important-especially for college kids. . .You need to pray and give witness for human life."

Bishop Tobin referred me to the Human Life Guild, an organization that he founded in the fall of 2005 that encourages its members to be "people of life" through education, pastoral care, public policy, and prayer.

I asked Bishop Tobin whether or not it was necessary for those who desire to pray for an end to the issue of abortion to be standing outside Planned Parenthoods like we did that day.

"Absolutely," he responded. "It is very important to keep the issue alive…So many people forget about abortion because of the number of other important issues our country faces, like the economy and the war. That's fine, but our task is to keep the issue of abortion alive and twinge people's consciences."

I was happy to speak with Bishop Tobin about being a public witness to the faith. The bishop seemed to be very clear on the subject: it is important to keep this issue in people's minds, and he thinks that college students in particular ought to be doing this. The fact that the bishop lead the rosary at the abortion clinic shows that he supports and encourages this form of public witness. I have to say that I am disappointed by the few number of Catholics at Providence College who do this. It seems that few Catholics today are willing to be uncomfortable for their faith.

Being able to stand and pray with Bishop Thomas Tobin was an unforgettable experience. He was very informative and helpful in his answers. I look forward to participate in the next event in the 40 Days for Life.