Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Holy See’s ambassador to the United States, will be attending the 9th Annual Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco on Jan. 26.
The west coast event parallels the annual march held in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in the United States.
“What an honor! We are so excited — this is the next best thing to having the Holy Father himself with us!” said Eva Muntean, a co-founder of the west coast walk.
Archbishop Viganò, appointed on Oct. 19, 2011, is the 14th papal representative to the United States.
The west coast rally and walk will be preceded by an info faire and a “Silent No More” awareness campaign, featuring actress Jennifer O’Neill.
Speakers include:
— Lacey Buchanan, a young mother whose YouTube video about her blind son went viral and has touched over 11 million viewers (her video was voted the #3 video of 2012 on Godvine.com);
— Elaine Riddick, a woman who was forcibly sterilized at age 14 under orders from North Carolina’s Eugenics Board, whose goal was to purify the state’s population by “weeding out the mentally ill, diseased, feebleminded and others deemed undesirable”;
— Rev. Clenard Childress, the founder and director of www.BlackGenocide.org, a Web site designed to reach the African-American Community with the truth about abortion;
— Kelly and Matthew Clinger, a post-abortive couple who share their story about the heartache and pain caused by life in the music industry, divorce, addiction, and abortion.
Following the rally, Walkers will march down Market Street to Justin Herman Plaza.
Founded in 2005 by a group of San Francisco Bay Area residents, the Walk for Life West Coast’s mission is to change the perceptions of a society that thinks abortion is an answer. Walk participants are expected from throughout the Bay Area and across the United States and Canada.
