Ten young Catholics who have been taking the pro-life message to all parts of Australia’s east for the last month completed their walk from Brisbane to Melbourne on February 8.
Taking part in the Crossroads Australia walk, the participants travelled through Newcastle, Sydney and Canberra on their way to Melbourne, where the journey ended with a pro-life rally on the steps of Parliament.
The group’s aim was to share and spread the pro-life message and to increase awareness of the right to life of children in the womb.
Each day for four weeks the group walked about 20km, speaking at numerous parishes on weekends and praying outside abortion clinics in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
In total, the group walked about 500km, and travelled more than 1,600km.
Brisbane man Chris Da Silva told The Record the experience was physically, emotionally and spiritually challenging.
“It is a roller coaster in all these ways but, in my experience, starting each day in prayer with Mass allowed me to see every challenge and blessing as a sign that God is with us, and that he is keen to have us fighting with him to end the culture of death,” he said.
The walkers witnessed both positive and negative responses from the public over the four weeks, Mr Da Silva said.
“There is a very polarising effect on the public when you have such a hot topic written on your shirt,” he said. “Though there is also a lot of apathy toward the issue in Australia, every day we would have several people honk their horns and yell out at us, either in support or in anger. We did notice more support overall.”
The 23-year-old said it was important for society to defend the sanctity of life, family, and morality.
“We can’t be kept silent by people who tell us we’re too controversial or offensive or threatening by simply walking down a street wearing pro-life t-shirts and praying Rosaries,” Mr Da Silva said.
“As active pro-lifers, we need to gently love and support women and families who have “unwanted” pregnancies.”
It was the second time an Australian group has completed the walk, which is based on similar journeys that occur in the United States, Canada, Ireland and Spain.
During the final pro-life rally at the Victorian Parliament House, a petition calling for an amendment to the State’s abortion laws was presented to Member of the Legislative Council, Jan Kronberg.
The petition, which requests that the rights of Victorian health professionals to act upon their conscience be reinstated, will be tabled in the Victorian Legislative Council.
For more information or to register to join the 2015 walk, email chris.j.dasilva@gmail.com.