A few months ago, we received a call from Mary Beth Vernau, a high school senior from South Carolina, who requested that we send some of our pro-life materials to distribute at the South Carolina Catholic Youth Rally for Life on January 14. Needless to say, we were more than happy to do that! Earlier this week, we heard back from Mary Beth, who wrote to tell us that the youth rally was a great success. Total attendance was nearly 1,000 — double the size of last year’s event! She also sent along several testimonials from teens who attended the rally. The one that jumped out at me the most was this one, from Josh R., age 14:
This event has been a huge impact on my life. I was, am and always will be pro-life, but this gave my pro-life journey something special. It proves that I am not alone. It proves that I am not the only kid who is pro-life in their school. It proves that I am not the only one who stands up for innocent lives, even though some of their friends hate them for it. Our friends say that it won’t change anything for good, it will only make it worse. This march and rally shows that only good can come out of our voices. I will stand with my youth friends, stand with my church, to support innocent lives.
Mary Beth said that the information table was a popular hot spot, with hundreds of teens stopping by to pick up the resources provided by us and other pro-life organizations. In an article on the rally that appeared in the Diocese of Charleston’s newspaper, Mary Beth was quoted as saying, “I urge any young people interested in teaching others to be pro-life to truly dig into the issue, because you have to know why you believe what you believe.” We couldn’t agree more. It’s a great privilege to have been a part of this wonderful pro-life event!
