They will also continue to be involved with a prayer vigil the night before and a Mass the morning of the march, he said.

Smith said he personally objects to the photos of aborted babies.

“I do find them offensive because they do not honour the dignity of human remains and the dignity of the human person.”

Asked if he thought such images might convince some women not to have abortions, he said, “This may work with some,” but “a far more effective image, that would be consistent with what we are proclaiming, would be the images of unborn living children. That says the same thing and it says it far more beautifully.”

Smith said he has had several discussions with march organizers about the issue since the 2010 march.

Sr. Elisabeth Coloumbe, chair of the march organizing committee, did not wish to comment on the bishops’ decision.

Smith said he respects the organizers who are “wonderfully committed to life. This is not a fight or struggle with the March for Life organizers.”

“We all want to end abortion,” he said, but the presence of graphic images at the march threatens the unity and growth of the event.

Smith said he is also concerned about the effect the graphic images may have on women who are “deeply repenting” for abortions they’ve had in the past. He is further concerned about their effect on the growing numbers of school-age children attending the march who have not been prepared to see such images.

Last year, four of Alberta’s six Catholic bishops were among the 1,300 people who took part in the March for Life in downtown Edmonton. It was the third year for the event, which the Alberta bishops helped to inaugurate.

Smith said that while graphic images of dead fetuses are also present at the much larger national March for Life in Ottawa, the situation is different. At the Ottawa event, the bishops have played no role in inaugurating and organizing the march.

(Western Catholic Reporter)