OTTAWA, October 28, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The 40 Days for Life Ottawa campaign will conclude with a rally at Ground Zero (Morgentaler Abortion Mill, 65 Bank Street) on Sunday November 2, at 6:00 p.m. The rally will be followed by a candle light procession to St. Patrick's Basilica on Kent St. where Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Prendergast, with a reception afterward.
The 40 Days for Life Ottawa campaign has been a resounding success, with prayer for an end to abortion being offered not only by vigil-keepers on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the past 35 days, but also in churches all over the province.
A parishioner from Holy Family Church in Hanover, Ontario, wrote in to the 40 Days Ottawa blog (http://40daysottawa.blogspot.com) to say, "We are doing a daily holy hour in support of the 40 Days for Life in Ottawa as well as other cities. These Holy Hours before the Blessed Sacrament are held at 3-4am as well as 3-4pm. We have had good turnout. These hours were picked as they are the Divine Mercy Hour, 3:00, when Christ died on the cross for us. We pray for an end to abortion and for mercy on our country."
"Even though we are not physically present with you, we are there in mind, spirit and prayer."
While the pro-life vigil has on the whole been a peaceful affair, some 40 Days for Life participants have had to endure abuse at the hands of abortion supporters, including a violent attack carried out against several pro-life women (See: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08101607.html). Yesterday afternoon the 40 Days for Life campaign took another dramatic, and possibility sinister turn when a suitcase was dropped off two doors down from the abortion clinic at about 1 p.m., by an individual who immediately left the scene.
This resulted in the Ottawa police bomb squad cordoning off and evacuating the area, while police checked the contents of the suitcase, which turned out to be empty. Prior to the discovery that the suitcase was empty, some news reports suggested that the suitcase might be a bomb planted by pro-lifers.
The CBC subsequently reported, "Police reopened Bank Street between Wellington and Queen Streets around 3 p.m., an Ottawa police statement said, after determining that the large black suitcase leaning against a post on the east side of Bank was empty and had been left out for disposal."
The major media reports suggested the suitcase was left to be picked up for garbage disposal, but the suspicious manner in which it was discarded has led some to wonder if the action was intended to cause a disturbance that would reflect negatively on the pro-life demonstrators.
Participants in the campaign continue to relate the heart-warming and heart-wrenching stories that occur during their vigil in front of the Morgentaler abortuary.
"David" reported that on Friday: "I went to the 40 days for life with my large ‘I regret lost fatherhood’ sign. It was quite different than when I was carrying the ‘Pray to End Abortion’ sign. I began to get these looks of pain from dozens of men. Men looked at me as if they wanted to say something but then looked down and kept walking."
One young man stopped. He said, “I’ve been living on the streets, I have a bunch of kids, from different girls. I’ve been in trouble with drugs, bank robberies, and my girlfriend and I broke up when she was 4 months pregnant. She went and got an abortion. She killed our kid just because we broke up. I’ve since stopped all drugs and I’m going to a church now. I’m cleaning up my life. I want to be a good father.”
Campaign organizer Nicole Campbell encourages pro-lifers to come not only to the closing rally, but also to the vigil site during these last few days.
Mention has been made of the possibility of continuing the prayer vigil at the abortuary in a scaled-down fashion after the campaign comes to an end. More details of this may be made known at the rally and reception.
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