The Archdiocese of Chicago has invited Mayor Lori Lightfoot to its online Stations of the Cross presentation.
The Archdiocese of Chicago has invited Mayor Lori Lightfoot to its online Stations of the Cross presentation.
One of the featured guests of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s online presentation of the Stations of the Cross will be one of the city’s leading pro-choice advocates, Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Inviting Lightfoot to be part of solemn devotion that commemorates the day of Jesus’s crucifixion might seem a conflict and hypocritical to some people, said Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, but “the Gospels tell us that Jesus is constantly reaching out to all people.”
“There is plenty to object to about Lightfoot’s politics, the fact that she is wrong on so many issues,” Scheidler told Chicago City Wire. “But my prayer is that she will be touched by being a part of this.”
In addition to Lightfoot, additional guests at the online presentation, scheduled for noon Friday, include police, firefighters, teachers, health care professionals, and religious leaders from other denominations, the archdiocese said.
“As we respond to the threat to the health and safety of our neighbors by social distancing, we also find ourselves carrying each other’s crosses and joining together in common prayer,” Cardinal Blase Cupich was quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying.
Scheidler said that the commemoration of Jesus’ facing and then defeating death has a special significance in the fight to end abortion.
“He and the unborn are the most perfectly innocent of all,” he said.
On Good Friday, the Action League is hosting “Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion,” a prayer service held outside abortion facilities across the nation. Scheidler said he and his family will pray outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Aurora, where the Action League is based.
“The prayers will be for all those involved with abortion to recognize that life is a gift and to turn away from death as Jesus did.”
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