The large electronic billboard that flashed outside a downtown Baltimore building near where Kelly Ann Davis works immediately caught her eye – and then her fury.
Sponsored by “Catholics For Choice,” the advertisement at the corner of Charles and Lombard Streets features a profile image of the Blessed Virgin Mary as she faces off against shadowy, scolding images of mitred bishops.
The message, in bold capital letters, declares: “MARY HAD A CHOICE: YOU SHOULD TOO.”
The slogan references the Gospel of Luke’s account of the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel told Mary she would become the Mother of God, and Mary responded, “May it be done to me according to your word.”
“It’s highly offensive and disrespectful,” said Davis, a parishioner of St. Clement Mary Hofbauer in Rosedale, a worship site of St. Michael the Archangel in Overlea. “It’s totally misleading.”
Davis pointed out that Mary was not pregnant at the time the angel appeared to her. Her choice was whether or not to become pregnant, she said, not whether or not to have an abortion.
The billboard was placed to coincide with the fall plenary assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that met in Baltimore Nov. 10-13. Catholics for Choice, which supports legal abortion, did not respond to requests for interviews by the Catholic Review, but in a social media post and in a news release, the group said Mary had “the ability to choose when, if, and how to start a family.”
“A loving God would never force someone to give birth against their will,” the group said, “and neither should the bishops.”
Collin Kourtz, director of life, justice and peace in the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Institute for Evangelization, hopes that women look at it in a different way.
“I hope someone sees that billboard and says, ‘I want to be like Mary and follow the Lord,’” Kourtz said, “to trust God will provide for them.”
The Annunciation, as told by the Gospel of Luke 1:26-38, tells how the angel Gabriel informed Mary that she had “found favor with God” and would “give birth to a son.” When Mary asked how this could be possible, as she was a virgin, the angel told her “the Holy Spirit will come on you.” Mary replied, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.”
“I am hopeful for healthy dialogue,” Kourtz said. “It is an opportunity for conversation. It is not about supporting women or about denying ideas of worth. It’s about human dignity. God’s grace of life should be protected.”
U.S. Catholic bishops have consistently promoted respect for all human life from conception to natural death.
Father Kevin Ewing, pastor of a nearby parish of the Catholic Community of South Baltimore, had not seen the billboard. It is important to remember, he said, that the Catholic Church and its teachings establish “hope and support for families” and respect for the “sanctity of life.”
Gina Ruppert, executive director of the Center for Pregnancy Concerns that operates Options@328, a pro-life pregnancy resource center in downtown Baltimore that is supported by the Archdiocese of Baltimore, was also unaware of the billboard, but expressed dismay when she learned of its message.
“We all have a choice,” said Ruppert, a parishioner of Sacred Heart, Glyndon. “We choose to obey God.”
George Matysek Jr. contributed to this story.
Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org
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