February 20, 2009
By Tanya Connor During Lent the Worcester Diocese will be “uniting with cities from coast to coast for a simultaneous pro-life mobilization” called 40 Days for Life, Bishop McManus told priests in a Feb. 17 letter. “Faithful believers are praying that this effort will mark the beginning of the end of abortion in America,” the bishop said. He gave priests information about the campaign and asked them to make it available to their parishioners “so that they can support this worthy pro-life endeavor and…speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” The Web site 40daysforlife.com says, “40 Days for Life consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion, 40 days of constant, peaceful vigil outside abortion centers and Planned Parenthood offices and 40 days of active pro-life community outreach.” More than 130 communities in the United States, Canada, Australia and Northern Ireland are hosting events from February 25 (Ash Wednesday) to April 5 (Palm Sunday), it says. Paul and Crystal Fullen, members of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Worcester and parents of seven children aged 13 weeks to 13 years, are organizing the local part of the campaign. Mrs. Fullen said they want to have at least one person praying outside the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic at 631 Lincoln Street in Worcester each hour from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the 40 days, beginning at 7 a.m. Ash Wednesday. Bishop McManus is scheduled to lead prayers there at 10 a.m. on Ash Wednesday, she said. Members of any religion who want to sign up for an hour or more can do so on the Web site www.40daysforlife.com/worcester. Those wanting more information can e-mail the Fullens at prolifeworcester@charter.net or call them at 508-797-LIFE. Mrs. Fullen said individuals and groups signing up or just showing up are to pray silently and/or aloud in the lot behind the Best Chinese Restaurant at 627 Lincoln Street, facing Planned Parenthood. The property owners allow pro-lifers to vigil there, she said. Parking is available across Benson Street at The Church of Pentecost USA, Inc. In addition to vigiling, individuals and groups can pray elsewhere, fast and do community outreach on their own during the 40 days, Mrs. Fullen said. The first 40 Days for Life campaign was conducted in Bryan/College Station, Texas, She said she and her husband started the campaign in Worcester last Lent and held it again last fall. At least five women turned away from the local clinic after meeting people involved with the campaign who offered to help them find alternatives to abortion, she said. Bishop McManus’ letter said the campaign has “generated measurable lifesaving results” wherever it has been held: more than 1,100 children saved from abortion and as much as a 28 percent drop in abortions.
Diocese will take part in 40 Days for Life in coast-to-coast effort
Vigilers can request signs to hold or bring their own and/or do sidewalk counseling if they want, but those things are not required, she said.
in the fall of 2004, Mrs. Fullen said. She said a pro-life group prayed about how to reduce abortion in their area, and this was the answer God gave them.