You wouldn't know it, because they were essentially ignored by Denver media (except Channel 7, Denver's ABC affiliate), but thousands of anti-choice protesters rallied on the west steps of the state capitol Saturday in frigid weather, marking the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
In speeches, spiked with attacks on Planned Parenthood, rally-goers were exorted to take action on "life" issues--banning all abortion and preventing the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.
The big cheese speaker at the March for Life event was Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila, who promised, "We will not be silenced," after telling the crowd to call and email their state legislators--and to attend Colorado's March caucuses, where political parties select candidates and hash out party platforms.
"Bombard [legislators] with emails," Aquila said at one point.
Following the lead of his predecessor, former Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, Aquila promotes political activism by Catholics. He hasn't gone so far as Chaput did in recommending that faithful Catholics vote against one presidential candidate (Kerry) and for another (Bush). Instead, Aquila acted as if he was nonpartisan on Saturday, urging the protestors to look at candidates through the filter of "life" issues, without mentioning a political party.
But one of the issues that most clearly divides the two parties these days is abortion, with Democrats mostly being pro-choice and Republicans mostly not. Among the presidential candidates, the division among the two parties is shocking.
So Aquila's decision to focus the attention of Catholics on "life," issues, rather than, say immigration, poverty, or climate change, puts him in the pocket of Republicans--especially given that he made no mention of the death penalty on Saturday, which is a "life" issue embraced by Democrats. Aquila's priorities are GOP priorities.
You can see this in Aquila's attitude toward Planned Parenthood, which came up repeatedly at the rally. Most of Planned Parenthood's work has nothing to do with abortion but instead with providing women, many of them low-income, with basic health care and family planning.
So does Aquila think Catholics should support candidates who support Planned Parenthood? For an RH Reality Check post, I asked Aquila this question after the rally.
"No," he told me,"I believe that we really need to give witness to life, and Planned Parenthood does not give witness to life."
Pope Francis, who's focused the world's attention on economic inequality and environmental disasters, has given Aquila the opening to have said something very different to me, along the lines of, "Planned Parenthood mostly embodies what the Catholic Church stands for, serving the poor and healing the sick. It's up to individual Catholics look at the world's needs and struggles and act in accordance with their faith."
I honestly think someday a future Archbishop in Denver will say that.