By Diana Farias
Special to The Voice

Over 150 high school students from the San Francisco Bay Area gathered at the Cathedral Conference Center in Oakland, August 29, for a Pro Life Boot Camp to inspire them to be pro-life advocates among their peers. Sponsored by the diocesan Youth and Young Adult Ministry, the camp included several pro-life speakers and a Mass in the cathedral celebrated by Oakland Bishop Salvatore Cordileone.

Bishop Cordileone told the youth that their presence at the workshop was “a great sign of hope . . . that you are willing to take a stand and speak on this issue that is really of the utmost importance.”

He recalled that he was about their age when the Supreme Court issued its Roe v Wade decision legalizing abortion. “I was horrified by it,” he said. “I remember the attitude of people at the time not recognizing how serious this issue is, of dismissing it as something that is not the grave evil that it is.”

An important way to counter the so-called pro-choice movement, he said, is to give pregnant women information about a full range of positive choices available to them, including adoption, child care and other help, job training, and sometimes “the old-fashion solution of marriage” along with information about fetal development and what an abortion procedure really is. Faced with these choices, they will choose life, he said.

During his homily, Bishop Cordileone said the boot camp training would help the teens bear suffering patiently and lovingly. He said that just as soldiers need weapons and training on how to use them, the teens and adults in the pro-life movement are armed with the truth, and knowing scientific and legal facts and understanding how these are connected together is the training. He invited the youth to be open to God’s call to be a priest or a religious Sister because spiritual leaders are needed to lead the troops.
The bishop then challenged the youth to follow MCRT — Mass, confession, rosary and tithing — for the rest of their lives.

When Cristina Ramos, a student at Holy Names High School in Oakland, was asked if she would try to meet the challenge, she said with excitement, “Yes. I already go to Mass, but saying the rosary is something I’m going to try to set as a goal for myself. It was really good for the bishop to set a high expectation, because as teens it’s important that we be challenged in a positive way because we like being able to try to go above and beyond.”

Ramos said the bishop’s message was “powerful because it speaks directly to the youth about what’s happening right now. Our society doesn’t preach a message of being abstinent and of chastity.” She said participation in the boot camp made a difference “because now I feel more prepared to speak out and not let fear stop me from speaking. It was well worth my Saturday.”

Throughout the day, the recurring themes were “speaking the truth” and “taking action with love,” as pro-life veterans told their stories to the teens. Dolores Meehan, co-founder of West Coast Walk for Life, emphasized that all pro-life action must be non-violent and she encouraged the students to grow in humility.

Emilia Calderon, a 19-year-old student at Los Medanos College, listed 10 typical one- liner arguments against life that she is often presented with and then humorously explained her best pro-life responses. She said, “Some people say if you don’t like abortion, then don’t have one. That’s like saying, if you don’t like slavery, then don’t own a slave.”

She encouraged the students to speak up in class, even if it’s just to say that they are pro- life. “It’s better to say something than to say nothing, even if you can’t back it up. When you don’t say anything, people will think that you do not object and that you are pro-abortion,” she said. “Other students may not say they agree with you in class, but they will find you later to talk more about it.”

The Reverend Walter Hoye, executive elder of the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in south Berkeley who served 18 days in jail for protesting in front of an Oakland abortion clinic, told the teens to be “bold, be willing to engage, be willing to have dialogue, be willing to talk to your friends. Whether they’re willing to hear it or not, say, ‘I’m pro life.’”

Joe Murray, coordinator for youth ministry in the diocese, hopes to have another gathering before the end of this year. For more information about Youth events, contact him at 510.267.8389, JMurray@oakdiocese.org or go to www.oakdiocese.org/pastoral/Youth/events.

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