Last year, Boston’s National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion was attacked by pro-abortion activists dressed as clowns and by Antifa militants. Some thought the march was becoming too dangerous and that the march should be replaced by prayers inside churches.
This year, hundreds of men marchers, dressed in suits and ties, came out in force for the November 1 event. A large contingent of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) came with bagpipes blazing and drums beating.
TFP representative Kenneth Murphy delivered a speech to the crowd. His talk addressed the need to appear in the public square and brave the protesters. Catholics who stand up have nothing to fear.
We reproduce his speech in its entirety below.
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Not too long ago, Charlie Kirk was assassinated. For many people, this horrible act increased their desire to stand up publicly for the unborn, to speak the truth boldly.
However, almost immediately, an all-too-familiar voice began to be heard in Boston Catholic circles. This voice spoke a comfortable lie—that public action is never the answer. One person even suggested that Charlie Kirk would prefer Catholic men to stay indoors and pray more fervently, rather than going out into public.
The Error of Pacifism
This type of pacifism makes me very upset. It seems that every time there is a need for public action, the Catholic men in Boston are told to stay indoors and pray.
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Don’t get me wrong. Private prayer and contemplation are essential. The members of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) strive to be daily communicants. They pray many rosaries every day. They frequently participate in Eucharistic adoration. These are things all Catholic men should do. But when the time for public action comes, there is no substitute for it!
There is nothing in Catholic doctrine or Church history that supports the pacifist response of inaction. Quite the contrary, the position of the Catholic Church has always been that of Saint Joan of Arc. When battle was imminent, she proclaimed, “We must fight, so that God can grant us victory.” And yet, in so many circles, pacifism is respected as if it were a time-honored doctrine.
Some may object. They might say, “Boy, this TFP fellow is getting carried away. Fighting is not the example of Catholic saints. Men like Saint Francis of Assisi were gentle and kind. His pictures show a soft expression on his face, surrounded by cute little animals, and a little bird on his finger.”
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Saint Francis of Assisi—A Man of Action
That impression couldn’t be more wrong. When the occasion warranted it, Saint Francis was gentle. However, when it was time for action, he stood with the troops and joined the Crusade. This ability made him a great Catholic leader.
Once, Saint Francis visited a Muslim sultan in an attempt to convert him to the Faith. The sultan thought he could catch Saint Francis in a contradiction. The sultan said, “You Christians are hypocrites to try to expel us Muslims from the Holy Land. Your Holy Book says that when someone slaps you, you should turn to him the other cheek. Therefore, turn the other cheek and allow us to continue here in peace.”
Without hesitation, Saint Francis replied, “You are forgetting that in our Holy Book, it also says that if your right eye scandalizes you, you should pluck it out and cast it from you. Your presence in the Holy Land is a scandal. Therefore, we intend to pluck you out and cast you away.”
We should indeed imitate Saint Francis. The public support of abortion in Massachusetts is a scandal. We are here to use peaceful and legal means, and especially public prayer, to pluck it out.
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Pope Saint Pius X once said that Jean-Baptiste Chautard’s book Soul of the Apostolate should be on the bedside table of every Catholic man. The book reminds its readers that private prayer and contemplation are the preparation we need to make our public action fruitful.
However, too many Catholic men today hide behind prayer and contemplation when it is really time for action.
Stopping a Black Mass
In 2010, Harvard University, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, decided to permit a Satanic Black Mass on its campus. Catholic opinion was split. Some said protesting would not work. In the TFP, we know that protests do work. Above all, they make reparation to God as requested by Our Lady of Fatima.
This was not the time for another hour of contemplation. It was time for action. It was time to stand bravely in front of Harvard, the satanists and the cameras of the world. It was time to denounce what was happening.
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The staff of Harvard University begged the Catholic protestors to leave. We said we would stay. Harvard offered to send away the satanists if we left. We said we would stay. Finally, we watched the satanists leave Harvard University only 20 minutes before their Satanic Black Mass was supposed to begin. The Black Mass was canceled, and we still stayed to complete our act of reparation.
Public Offense Demands Public Reparation
Our Lady asked us to do such acts of reparation at Fatima. Public offenses require public reparation. Protests work! Giving in to the temptation to pray privately and hope for the best is, all too often, just another way of giving up.
Saint Augustine gave voice to the legitimate Catholic understanding of hope. “Hope has two beautiful daughters,” he said, “their names are anger and courage—anger at the way things are, and courage to change them.”
Most here remember the terrible day of the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013. When it happened, Boston’s police rushed to the Boston Marriott in Copley Place. They asked to use the hotel’s huge conference room as an emergency headquarters. The hotel management said, “No.”
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Yet ten years later, in 2023, the same Marriott Hotel welcomed the Satanic Temple. The satanists wanted to hold their Satanic conference there. The program included curses, ripping up a Boston police flag and destruction of a Bible.
Again, some Catholic leaders recommended that we limit ourselves exclusively to private prayer and contemplation.
Hundreds of Catholics decided to pray. However, their prayers would be both private and public. They followed Our Lady of Fatima’s request for reparation. Again, public sin calls for public reparation. Hundreds of Catholics did exactly that right in front of the Marriott hotel.
One satanist at the Satan Conference came out. She intended to laugh and make fun of the TFP and the rest of us Catholics who were praying the rosary. However, soon after the conference ended, she began to be bothered by her satanism and the unhappiness it gave her.
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She later wrote to the TFP saying, “I was a satanist, I was at the Satanic Conference, but now I’m becoming a Catholic.” She said, “I was laughing at you, and now I’m joining you.” That former satanist will be baptized, and she will be at home in the Catholic Church this coming Easter because we did not stay home but went out into the public square.
The Urge to Retreat
There is a second temptation. Many young men are receiving recommendations to live as if the rest of society does not exist. They should cease their action and pretend to live a “Little House on the Prairie” life somewhere nice and quiet. Others tell them that abortion and other evils don’t matter if they can’t see them.
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem disagreed. He said, “If you are only a friend of Jesus in times of peace, you will be His enemy during war. Therefore. Let us maintain the same Faith in the face of persecution.”
Saint Cyril was right. We don’t want to be fair-weather friends of Our Lord and Our Lady. We can’t desert the unborn, abandon the rights of parents, walk away from the family or pay no attention to the innocence of children. Instead, we must be friends in need. We must defend all that is right.
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Saint Therese of the Child Jesus was a contemplative saint. Her life was one of constant prayer and adoration. However, even for her, prayer was her preparation for action. She explained, “I should like to accomplish the most heroic deeds—the spirit of the Crusader burns within me, and I long to die on the field of battle in defense of Holy Church.”
Saint Therese’s Example
If any of you have an artist’s depiction of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus that portrays her as a cartoonish 10-year-old girl with rosy cheeks, I recommend replacing it with a genuine photograph of her. If you do, that quotation of hers will make much more sense.
So, let’s be like Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. Let’s not say, “See you next year.” Instead, let us ask, “How can we take action every month, every week and every day?”
When fear tells you to focus on private prayer, urges you to pretend evil doesn’t exist or encourages you to be a fake contemplative, let us imitate the true contemplative Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. Let us join her in saying, “The spirit of the Crusader burns within me and I too long to die in defense of Holy Church.”
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Never stop marching, never stop praying out loud and in public. Above all, never stop speaking the truth.
Viva Christo Rey!
Updated December 1, 2025.