Chicago, Sept. 13, 2013—Most people will acknowledge that losing a child is a terrible thing. And that’s the focal point of the National Day of Remembrance set for September 14, 2013. The "invisible grief" of abortion will be brought into the open at solemn events that memorialize tens of thousands of children buried at gravesites around the nation—including those at three Chicago area cemeteries.
The 2,000 aborted children buried at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, 500 babies entombed at St. Mary Cemetery in Evergreen Park, and those whose final resting place is at Resurrection Cemetery in Romeoville, make up a tiny fraction of the 55 million children killed by abortion since it was legalized in 1973. Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, Priests for Life, and the Pro-Life Action League are coordinating this day to heighten awareness that every abortion results in the death of an innocent child, create an appropriate outlet for both personal and national grief, and pray for an end to abortion.
Chicago area National Day of Remembrance Observations will take place on Saturday, September 14, at:
Queen of Heaven Cemetery
- Location: 1400 S. Wolf Road, Hillside, IL [map and directions]
- Time: Saturday, September 14 at 2:00 p.m.
- Special Guests: His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, Joe Scheidler, Nancy Kreuzer, Tim Murphy
Resurrection Cemetery
- Location: 200 W. Romeo Road, Romeoville [map and directions]
- Time: Saturday, September 14 at 1:00 p.m.
- Special Guests: His Excellency Bishop Joseph Siegel, Jill Stanek
St. Mary Cemetery
- Location: 87th Street and Hamlin Avenue, Evergreen Park [map and directions]
- Time: Saturday, September 14 at 2:00 p.m.
- Special Guests: His Excellency Bishop Alberto Rojas, Fr. James Hyland, Fr. Mark Walter, Carol Rybacki
These events will serve to validate the "invisible" grief caused by abortion, what grief therapy expert Dr. Kenneth Doka defines as "disenfranchised loss," one not recognized or socially sanctioned and therefore not triggering the type of social support people normally receive at a time of significant loss. Post-abortion counselors attest that this grief is amplified by the message that abortion is a legally protected "right" to be celebrated by our society, leaving no room for mourning the loss of the aborted child. To admit that loss would require abortion advocates to acknowledge that a real baby is involved.
The National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children is set for September 14 to mark the 25th anniversary of the burial of several hundred abortion victims in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Solemn prayer vigils will be conducted at the Milwaukee gravesite, as well as other burial sites and memorials dedicated to the unborn victims of abortion. Along with the three Chicago area sites, there are hundreds across the country. The gravesites stretch across the country from Riverside, California, to Wilmington, Delaware — including a grave in Los Angeles containing the remains of 16,000 aborted babies.
Eric Scheidler, Co-Director of the National Day of Remembrance and Executive Director of the Pro-Life Action League, lives near the Hillside, Illinois, Queen of Heaven Cemetery where 2,000 tiny abortion victims were buried in 1988 by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, then prelate of the Archdiocese of Chicago. "It’s sobering to realize that these grave markers for the unborn victims of abortion list only a date of burial," Scheidler remarked. "They have no birthdays because they were never allowed to be born."
For more information about the Chicago area National Day of Remembrance events and September 14 events at burial sites and memorial sites across the nation, visit AbortionMemorials.com.
