World Youth for Life Day Report
by Natalie Hudson, Executive Director of Right-to-Life of Toronto
The sky turned a steely grey and gusts of wind lashed the trees and the stage where the banners "Let Them Live" and "World Youth for Life" hung. From the back of the large green field bodies could be seen dashing to and fro. Some ran for the cover of the trees, others dashed across the quaint little bridge and disappeared among the booths on Center Island. Guests rushed to cover their tables; boxes of books by author Bud Macfarlane were stowed with haste under the main stage and the optimistic voice of MC, Kevin Dunn rang out, "Well folks, looks like we are in for a bit of a shower, but don't go away! We have a great evening in store for you."
Participants of World Youth for Life Day huddled under the awnings of the booths in the amusement park on Center Island as the rain poured down and the heavens boomed. They sang hymns, joyfully prayed the Rosary–astonishing the regular folk who had come to the island for a day of relaxation.
Rabbi Yehuda Levin had just arrived from New York moments before the storm struck; he was now seated in a SUV with Dr. Dolores Bernadette Grier, Camille De Blasi (executive director of Life Principles), and John Adams (owner of Integrity Communications Group). As rain pelted the roof and great puddles formed in front of the stage, it looked as if the rabbi's talk would be cancelled. Reluctantly, the speakers were taken to a restaurant called Paradise Island, beside the ferry dock, so that they could dry off and have a hot cup of tea before going home.
However, much to the surprise of the organizers, over one hundred young folks with Pro-Life screened in enormous letters on their t-shirts were shivering in a large covered enclosure in the eatery, waiting for the storm to subside. Word was quickly sent out to the other pilgrims who were still being battered by the storm. Within moments the deck was jammed with over three hundred souls. With nothing to amplify his voice except his powerful presence, Rabbi Levin riveted everyone with the most exciting exhortation of the day. His message: Self Control-the critical need to order and channel passions so that we can be free to live a life which dignifies us as human beings.
Chanda Gibson and her exceptional troupe of talented Irish dancers followed, and soon the rafters shook with applause as Irish tunes reverberated and her group tapped and jigged. After so many inclement hours, the tide had turned and excitement was building. The remarkable Camille De Blasi topped it all with a message of hope in the face of suffering.
Elated, the pilgrims poured out of the upper room–to be welcomed by the rousing Celtic melodies of aptly named Ceili Rain, another "cancelled" act come back to life. Without a big stage, amps or speakers, Ceili Rain was nevertheless electric. Now everyone was a child again, no matter what age, clapping and dancing. Joy was everywhere!
And so, the big day ended with a satisfying thunder of the soul, perhaps according to the loving plans of Providence, if not the organizers. Weary, damp, yet elated, with grins from ear to ear, the participants of World Youth for Life Day ferried back to Toronto with changed hearts; in love with life.
The beginning of the day had not been overshadowed by storm clouds. The morning had been sunny, though bracingly humid, and the "pre-storm" high point was Senator Rick Santorum (Republican, PA). The Sisters for Life from New York and various news agencies greeted him. In blazing heat he gave an impassioned speech, moving the crowd to tears.
"You cannot check your beliefs at the door." The Senator's message: private beliefs cannot be separated from public behavior, especially when human life is at stake.
These days "tolerance" means allowing people to do whatever they desire, no matter how degrading. Santorum confessed frankly that he had begun his career woefully short on the courage of his convictions. During his 1990 run for office he was forced to take a position on abortion. It wasn't until 1996, while watching a presentation in the Senate on partial-birth-abortion, that he took action. He was appalled that such blatant infanticide was legal. When then-President Clinton vetoed a ban on the practice, Santorum lept to the national spotlight when he spearheaded the grassroots movement to override the veto.
Senator Santorum implored our youngest citizens to start a counter-revolution–to overturn the Sexual Revolution of the Sixties and its bloody wake of death through abortion. He called for a youth movement to reclaim the sanctity of marriage, the importance of motherhood, the beauty of abstinence, and most critically, to fight and win the battle against abortion.
No heart was left untouched when the senator from Pennsylvania lowered his voice and related how, a mere week after the Senate failed to override Clinton's veto, he and his wife were suffering through their own desperate struggle to save the life of their prematurely born 20-week-old son, Gabriel Michael. The tiny baby survived for two hours in his father's arms; enough time for Rick to baptize him. "You have a son in heaven," a friend tried to console him.
To come to terms with her newborn's death, Mrs. Santorum wrote letters to her son. These were eventually published in a book, Letters to Gabriel, and have sold over 20,000 copies. Her book has inspired numerous parents to reject abortion and choose life for their sons and daughters. "God was faithful," the senator said, his voice cracking, "and brought life out of death." The Santorums had been given a gift greater than they ever expected. Through the loss of their beloved son, thousands of parents who would have otherwise chosen abortion were led to life. Though Gabriel does not walk on this earth, his brothers and sisters who would have perished do. "Have the courage of your convictions. If you do the will of God, He will be faithful."
Winds blow. Storms bellow. Rain scatters and tempts despair. The lesson of World Youth for Life Day is that the truth–the truth about life, the truth about hope, the truth about persistence in the face of all obstacles and against all odds–will triumph in the end, bringing joy, music, light, and change. Change that must come, and will come.
Natalie Hudson is the Executive Director of Right to Life Association of Toronto and Area. Originally from South Africa, she spent much of her youth as a ballerina dancing in San Francisco and in Winnipeg with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Her career was cut short in her early twenties due to an injury, but she soon found solace in studying the Great Books at Thomas Aquinas College, a Liberal Arts college in Southern California. She graduated in 1995 and worked on her Master's Degree in Theological Studies at Notre Dame Graduate School in Virginia. She was a high school teacher in Vancouver for four years and has recently completed a Graduate Business program at Capilano College in Vancouver. She has been speaking on Life Issues for the last three years and has addressed students of all ages. She is also on the Canadian Planning Committee for the Colebrook Society.
