Its called the Summer Crusade for Life. A 1300 mile walk from Maine to Washington D.C. 12 Catholic college students are making the trek in order to spread their message that life begins at conception. It's a journey sponsored by the pro-family American Life League (ALL), a journey that will not include Parishes of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The students have been denied access by church officials. Patrick Yungwirth is a University of Maryland student taking part in the group. He says the church is wrong to support abortion... "One is not a Catholic in good standing who can receive the Eucharist if one supports abortion in any way".
Since the students won't be allowed to speak at local Catholic churches, the focus has now changed and they will be going to Baltimore area abortion clinics to pray and talk with local political leaders and the public about "the murdurous act of abortion", as Yungwirth puts it, and how Catholic public figures from his home state are openly supporting the practice with little or no reaction from church officials - a charge which in essence puts the spotlight directly on the church itself for condoning a practice which even the Pope has condemned.
The American Life League today released a statement, saying, "The Summer Crusade for Life is part of American Life League's Crusade for the Defense of Our Catholic Church, an effort launched in January 2003. American Life League is calling on all biships in the United States to enforce Church law (Canon915) and bar all known pro-abortion "Catholic" public figures from receiving Holy Communion until they publicly recant t heir support for the "grave moral evil" of abortion and return to communion with the Church through the sacrament of Penance".
