PHILADELPHIA (LifeSiteNews) — More than 30 faithful Catholics, including Philadelphia Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Coffey, several priests, the Sisters of Life, and numerous lay pro-life activists prayed for about two hours in reparation for the grave sin of abortion in front of a notorious abortion center while being constantly screamed at and harassed by leftists on Saturday.

Beginning around 7:30 on the morning of February 21, more than 30 faithful processed just over half a mile from Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic Church to the sidewalk outside Philadelphia Women’s Center on 777 Appletree St., one of the most prominent abortuaries in the so-called “City of Brotherly Love,” where they peacefully prayed 15 decades of the rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet.

As they prayed, the faithful were constantly ridiculed, mocked, and screamed at by a mob of pro-abortionists on the other side of the sidewalk who shouted several blasphemies against Our Lord, many expletives about the “Fascists” praying across from them, and repeatedly blared music to try and drown out the prayers, but likely due to the police presence, did not turn to violence.

Bishop Coffey and several local priests, pro-life leaders, and other faithful emphasized to LifeSite the importance of bearing witness to life on the “front lines” of the spiritual battle despite the verbal attacks of the other side.

Leftist intimidation

The abortuary, known as “777” by local pro-lifers, sits on the seventh floor of a building that ironically also houses a childcare center and is infamous for murdering over 6,000 unborn children a year. Indeed, during the recitation of the rosary, nearly 20 people were escorted into the abortion facility, perhaps to have their children killed that morning.

And despite the many “Black Lives Matter” signs donning the neighborhood and in front of the facility, locals confirmed to LifeSite that many of the children slaughtered here are of African American descent.

Before the faithful could begin praying the rosary, the leftists attempted to intimidate them by calling them names like “Fascists,” “racists, “anti-gay,” and “sexists.”

Throughout the prayerful demonstration, several leftists also screamed “F- you!” at LifeSite for “filming patients.”

Importance of praying for babies killed at this facility

Bishop Coffey stressed to LifeSiteNews the tremendous impact the witness of the faithful at this abortion center and others as well as the entire neighborhood can have on those considering aborting their child.

“We pray for the babies that are scheduled to die today in this facility. We pray as a public witness so that people across the street, (who are) wondering what’s going on here. That way, people in the neighborhood can know that there’s a killing center right here,” the bishop said. “Also, I think it’s important that we’re here for the babies when they die. So I hope that someday, maybe we can meet them in heaven and they can say, ‘You were there, you were there with me when we died.’ For those reasons, it’s important to come and pray for life.”

Coffey also encouraged Catholics who might be afraid to pray in front of an abortion facility because of the antics of the other side, echoing Pope John Paul II’s words to “Be not afraid,” and reminded them that the hostility toward pro-life activists is not nearly as bad as in other countries such as the United Kingdom.

“(The police are) not killing us, they’re not arresting us for being here, which they do in other countries like in England, (where) that poor lady got arrested for praying silently to herself,” His Excellency said.

“We’re not there yet, but we could be someday, maybe, if we don’t fight for our freedoms and rights. And we have the right to be on a public sidewalk praying, so I think it’s important that people have courage and come out here,” he added.

READ: UK pro-lifer Isabel Vaughan-Spencer criminally charged for standing quietly outside abortion center

‘Ground zero’ in the culture war

Father Michael Moriarty, LC, who regularly brings about 20-50 young people to pray in front of abortion centers, emphasized that it’s important for Catholics to witness to life, referring to it as the “front lines” of the culture war.

“This is really ground zero of our culture, the right to life is the basis for all the other rights, whether it’s the right to free speech or fair trial, or private property. Without the right to life, we really don’t have anything to stand the rest of the rights on,” he said. “Ever since Roe v. Wade was overturned, it’s really amped up the sensitivities around this particular right. Here, they do as many as 40 abortions a day, so it’s a place to come and pray for the women that maybe (are) feeling cornered, and need some last option … to get out of the situation that they’re in.”

Fr. Moriarty stressed that the existence of abortion centers is ultimately the result of the lack of chastity in our culture, especially among young people.

“(Young people have) been convinced that they can’t be chaste and they can’t respect their girlfriend or their fiancé. So this is where that mentality ends up,” the priest said. “When there’s a lack of respect and basic chastity in a relationship, like the party culture that they’re inundated with … The logical conclusion is an abortion center.”

Moriarty continued:

So until we really begin to respect one another in our dignity, on human life, and many other areas, we can’t really expect to make a lot of headway here, except maybe legally. And the laws just follow the culture. So developing a culture of life in our families, in our friendships, at work, that’s really how we begin to end the need for these kinds of places.

Leftist counter-protesters need our prayers

The priest echoed Coffey’s sentiments about the importance of “being not afraid” to witness to life and reminded the faithful that while the leftist counter-protestors are obnoxious they also need prayers.

READ: Hundreds of pro-abortion activists attack, intimidate March for Life in Quebec

“It is fearsome to confront some of the counter-protesters that we find here. But they’re people (who) need prayers just like the rest of us. They’re sons and daughters of God that also have dignity, they’re made in His image and likeness,” he said. “So, whether you feel intimidated or not, Jesus would have come to a place like this. The tax collectors and sinners, that’s who He associated Himself with because they needed Him.  These people also need us.”

Father Thomas Whittingham, pastor of St. Laurence Church in Upper Darby who celebrated Mass at Holy Redeemer after the procession, noted the importance of the faithful coming out to defend the weakest and most vulnerable among us.

“Coming out to defend the least, the weakest, is absolutely essential, it’s fundamental because all the other things that we like to fight about in the political sphere, education and health care, things that are important, they don’t matter if we don’t have the right to life,” he said. “If someone can take away your right to life, then other rights are all meaningless.”

Saving just 0.3% of babies who might be aborted is a ‘blessing’

Patrick Stanton, a board member of the Pro-life Union of Greater Philadelphia and co-chair of 40 Days for Life Philadelphia who attempted to talk multiple moms going to the abortuary on Saturday morning, underscored to LifeSite the impact of regular sidewalk counseling, even when efforts are not successful most of the time.

“Every 40 days, we average about six moms who change their minds. With our largest one, about 16 moms … And it happens because people are out here on the sidewalk,” he said. “And our loss rate, our failure rate is about 99.7. But for those 0.3 percent, it’s a blessing because (the babies) get to live.”

Stanton urged Catholics to take time, especially during the Lenten season, to head over to a local abortion center and sacrifice an hour or two of their time witnessing for the unborn instead of giving up something like candy or ice cream.

PHOTOS: Hundreds of Catholics join Eucharistic procession to Pittsburgh Planned Parenthood

“I would beg all Catholics to stand up for those, the most defenseless, the most innocent of our brothers and sisters, (who) are out here being murdered. And if we don’t stand up, who’s going to stand up?” he said.

“All Catholics should take time, especially during Lent, to make a sacrifice and come out here and pray; all we ask is an hour, maybe two hours. Stop giving up candy and popcorn and ice cream and come out here and do something that’s going to save a life,” he added.

‘Front lines’ of the spiritual battle

Christopher Pushaw, president of the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia, highlighted how in his 25 years of involvement with the pro-life movement he has found that there’s nothing like praying on the sidewalk by abortuaries like “777” that puts the faithful on the front lines of the spiritual battle.

“(T)here’s nothing like being at the forefront, really being at the gates. Because what I’ve found is (as) one of my mentors in this movement said, ‘This movement will bring you closer to God. The compliment to that is also that it’ll bring you closer to Satan.’ And you really see true demonic forces at work, there’s no exaggeration there,” he said.

Pushaw recalled how Sister Gaudia Maria Magdalena, one of the Sisters of Life, had told him early on that praying by these abortuaries would eventually make him feel bad for the pro-abortion counter-protesters and pray for them during the protests because of how lost they are.

“At the time, I thought she was nuts. And wouldn’t you know, now I do that very thing,” he said. “So we’re not just praying for the mothers, we’re not just praying for the babies, we’re praying for (the counter-protesters), (who are) in that much of a moral and spiritual desert that you feel compelled to protect the ‘right’ to slaughter innocent children.”

Joe Zalot, director of education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, highlighted that by baptism the faithful have a duty to witness for the children murdered at abortion centers like “777” and encouraged them not to worry about the counter-protesters’ constant intimidation.

“(The counter-protesters) yell and they scream, but they can’t stop us. To be honest with you, I think the yelling and the screaming is that they know what they’re doing is wrong, and that’s where this is coming from,” he said.

Otis McCullough, a young Catholic from Glenside, Pennsylvania, told LifeSite he joined the prayerful protest to show women that they have options besides abortion.

“I think it’s good to present a witness and show women that there are other options and other opportunities for their children besides abortion,” he said.

Michael Guiren, an alumnus of Christendom College following in the footsteps of his mother who was involved in pro-life activities, underscored that showing up to these events benefits the larger pro-life community.

“I think it’s good … for the pro-life community to see other people doing this and (to) put yourself out there, because I think it’s very easy to stay hidden.”

Photos below by Regina Jelski: