Contact: Mike McMonagle,
484-680-8914; Rev. Patrick Mahoney,
540-538-4741; Kim Savage,
610-513-9094PHILADELPHIA, June 9, 2015 /
Christian Newswire/
-- The ME initially held the bodies for Gosnell's trial, which ended
in May 2013. However, the ME declined requests from local and national
pro-life organizations and Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput to
release the bodies of these babies for burial. The ME also declined to
provide any public information on their plans to dispose of these
bodies.
Activists are troubled that the City of Philadelphia
kept this burial a secret and did not afford these children the dignity
they deserved with and memorial opened to the public.
Local and
national pro-life organizations plan to have a news conference at the
cemetery where the children are buried and also a public witness at the
burial site. This will take place Wednesday, June 10, at 11:00 A.M. at
the Laurel Hill Cemetery at 3822 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia 19132.
The participants will gather at the Visitors Center and make the short
walk to the graveside of the children.
Mike McMonagle, the Director of Philly Alive, states;
"We are grateful that
the Medical Examiner has finally buried the bodies of these babies.
Nevertheless, the burial should not have occurred without public
notice.
"We plan to remind the church - and all of our fellow
citizens - of the humanity of these children by this event and a
Memorial Service on Friday, September 26, 2015 at 4:00 PM after the
World Meeting of Families conference is concluded."
Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition based in Washington, D.C. adds;
"Although we are
thankful that these 47 children no longer remain in the Philadelphia
morgue, it is very troubling that they were buried in secret. It is
our intention to that they would be honored as members of the human
family and afforded a public Memorial Service.
" On September
26, we are inviting the pro-life community and all people of good will
from across the nation to participate in one of the largest Memorial
Services that the City of Philadelphia has ever seen during Philly
Alive. Philly Alive will be a three day pro-life event in September
after the World Meeting of Families. We will also be inviting Pope
Francis to attend and be part of this service while he is visiting the
city."
