by Katie Vasquez
Prayers for the unborn, outside a planned parenthood in Brooklyn Heights.
Every second Saturday of every month, the Brooklyn segment of the group “Witness for Life” is outside the Planned Parenthood on Court Street, praying for the lives of the unborn.
“I think for us as Catholics, we’re obligated to continue with what Christ taught us in light of what we see, what’s happening in the world, and how we need to defend all forms of life from conception to natural death,” said Witness for Life member, Omar Castro.
They hope their presence will help the women getting an abortion consider another path.
“We’re not there to judge. we’re not there to confront anybody. we cannot make these mothers who are already under stress feel even worse. we’re there to help,” said Castro.
The peaceful prayers happening after they’ve said their morning prayers.
The group walks to the clinic after 8am mass at St. Charles Borromeo church. It’s not a long journey, only taking the space of 2 blocks but the path has sometimes been blocked by pro-abortion protestors.
“I did have fear for the priests because they were all over them being irreverent to them, blowing pot smoke in their face and calling all kinds of obscenities and all kinds of things that the clergy has done and throwing it out on their face,” said Witness for Life member, Maria Cardenas.
“We’re just simply praying there and all the people, all of them all for Planned Parenthood, you saw that. Really it is disheartening really, you know, and even elderly people, nobody seems to be for Jesus,” said
Despite the danger, the group says they will still march for the unborn, both here in the diocese of Brooklyn, and in D.C. during the national March for Life.
“Through prayer and with the marches that we do, God is listening to us and, you know, we’re making strides and we must continue to fight.” said Cardenas.
And just like the March for Life, they hope to change the culture of America, to one where abortion is unthinkable.
If you’d like to join the group, you can meet up with them after the 8am mass on the second Saturday of the month.
That’s at St. Charles Borromeo church, 19 Sidney Place in Brooklyn Heights.