Anti-abortion ceremony at Lansing cemetery part of annual memorial
LANSING — Catholics prayed Saturday morning at St. Joseph Cemetery in Lansing, participating in a nationwide memorial for mothers who have been through abortions and their aborted children.
Nationwide, more than 200 memorials were planned, including remembrances in DeWitt, Brighton, Okemos, Troy, Southfield and Detroit.
At St. Joseph, Chris Veneklase, of Holt, prayed with others as he has for a decade of the remembrance ceremonies. He wants people to remember the fetuses that were lost and buried at St. Joseph Cemetery because of abortions.
Veneklase and a small group of worshippers met for a mass inside a St. Joseph mausoleum and then prayed at two memorials in the cemetery: One, he said, had remains of aborted fetuses that were recovered more than a decade ago. There are also infants buried at that memorial, which features a tombstone with a guardian angel dedicated to the children, said Joni Guenther, a cemetery services coordinator.
"We care deeply about the mothers, and women's rights and women's rights to their bodies," he said, of his decision to pray for mothers who experienced abortions.
Veneklase said he believes women have a right to their bodies but not to the bodies of their unborn children.
The Rev. John Byers, who retired from St. Mary's Catholic Church last year, said in his sermon that he had recently led a retreat for about a dozen women who went through abortions.
"They gave thanks to the Lord for never letting go of them or forgetting them and for how his mercy and love enabled them to be healed and opened them up to a new respect for human life," Byers said.
The 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade that, for decades, shaped national abortion policy means abortion could be abolished in this lifetime, said Brent Heyer, the coordinator of a vigil sponsored by 40 Days for Life Lansing, a group working to end abortions. He regularly attends the annual remembrance ceremonies.
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Those against abortion pray at Lansing cemetery, participate in annual memorial
