Arch of Triumph Proposed as Pro-Life Shrine

The Buffalo News reported on June 20, 2001 that a Catholic group wants to build a $100 million pro-life shrine with towering golden arch dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus, on the Lake Erie shore in Buffalo's outer harbor area. The project has drawn wide support from the national Catholic leaders of the pro-life movement, and has admirers among the Evangelical component of that movement as well.

According to Dave Condren, Buffalo News Religion Editor, the project, featuring a 700-foot-tall arch, would be known as "The Arch of Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and International Shrine of the Holy Innocents." If the money can be raised, it would be developed by a newly formed not-for-profit association headed by Buffalo attorney Laurence D. Behr, who also serves as the president of Western New York Lawyers for Life.

Condren reports that Behr says he was inspired during a dream to build a shrine to Mary, and also that the ascendable arch would "rank among the man-made wonders of the world." It would replace the 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch in St. Louis as the world's tallest monument, he asserted.

A storm of criticism in letters from the News’ pro-choice readers followed, as well as a scathingly sarcastic article by News columnist Laurie Githens.  Undaunted, Behr replied in convincing fashion, in a lengthy letter appearing in the Buffalo News July 22.  The News carried also numerous supportive letters from readers, hailing the announcement with fervor and enthusiasm.

The arch would contain three chapels, one in each leg and one in its peak, and perhaps such facilities as a museum or gallery, book and gift shop and refreshment area. Administrative offices and other facilities might be located on upper floors inside the arch's legs. Elevators would carry visitors to an observation platform beneath the "Chapel of Triumph" beneath the arch's peak.

"It will serve as an international signal call to conversion and a return to God and to an ever greater love of purity and rejection of abortion and immorality," he declared.

In addition, the shrine would be "a marvelous tourist attraction" that should draw "millions of visitors annually of all faiths and of no church affiliation at all," states Behr.

Behr said the two-level International Shrine of the Holy Innocents, centered beneath the apex of the arch, would recall Herod's slaughter of babies as described in the New Testament and link it to abortion, which has become commonplace worldwide. It would include atop a tall white column, a white marble statue of Mary holding the Christ Child as the Prince of Peace.  Also in the Holy Innocents Shrine, a mural depicting the Slaughter of the Holy Innocents, a mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and perhaps a chapel.   A monumental statuary grouping of Mary, Joseph and Jesus on the "Flight Into Egypt" also would be located on the site.

"I'm hoping it could be completed in three to four years. Maybe that is too optimistic, but it's a hope," said Behr. "We are proceeding on faith in God to get this done."

Once donations begin flowing in, Behr plans to seek a site along the Outer Harbor in the area south of the U.S. Coast Guard Station, between Fuhrmann Boulevard and Lake Erie. Much of the vacant land in that area is owned by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which might be asked to provide parking and shuttle-bus service to the shrine.

FOCUS FOR PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT

Condren quotes Stasia Zoladz Vogel, president of the Buffalo Regional Right to Life Committee, commenting that the project is "very doable because it would be a focus for the pro-life movement nationally."

The Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, based on Staten Island, said: "We need to stir the attention of the public to these (pro-life) issues whether they want to hear about them or not. A sign as public and visible as the proposed arch and shrine will certainly serve this purpose."   Endorsement letters from Fr. Pavone and other national figures may be read on the project’s Web site, www.archoftriumph.org.

Behr, a partner in Barth, Sullivan and Behr, acknowledged that he is counting on such national and international support, suggesting that in the United States and Canada there should be "at least a million people" who would be willing to contribute $100 or more to finance the project.

Though representatives of the Buffalo Catholic Diocese have been apprised of the project, Bishop Henry J. Mansell withheld endorsement of the undertaking. "At this time, we are waiting to see more definitive plans for his project, and we are interested in the opportunity for public comment on it," Mansell said. The bishop lauded Behr for his "well-known commitment to the pro-life movement."

James Wright, President of WLOF-FM, an EWTN affiliate radio station in Buffalo, and a member of the project’s board of directors, pointed out that "everyone told us it wasn't going to happen" when he proposed starting a Catholic radio station a few years ago. That station will celebrate its second anniversary Aug. 15. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"I feel (Behr) has a calling to make this shrine happen in Buffalo. It's a great place for it because Buffalo is the Queen City," said Wright. "I think people will come from all parts of the world to see it."

"A lot of things have to fall in place. The first thing is money," said Richard N. Blewett, another director and past president of the Erie County Bar Association.

Blewett and Vogel acknowledged that because of its strong pro-life theme, the arch and shrine are likely to be controversial.  "It will be opposed by pro-abortionists, by those who are anti-Catholic, and by waterfront restoration purists," said Vogel.

Evangelical Response

In an article appearing in the July 29 issue of The Word, a newspaper distributed free in Western New York Evangelical chruches, writer Rick Kern noted that many local Protestants who share common ground with pro-life Catholics, have difficulty with the Project's "glorification of Mary," but described it nonetheless as "rich with meaning and symbolism," asserting that it “cannot help but capture the imagination of anyone who takes a second look at it.” Kern writes:

Kern wrote further that the Project "continues to capture the imagination of a broadening constituency, Catholic and Protestant alike and ... has won the support of local pro-life activists, Reverends Bob Behn and Johnny Hunter." Pastor Hunter, in fact, is identified on the Project Web site among is numerous endorsers.

Raising money is the major challenge

There is no denying that raising the money will be a major challenge, said board member Anthony J. Colucci Jr., a past president of the St. Thomas More Guild.

"Bingo games are not going to put this up," he said. "It's going to require a lot of leadership and lots of donors with a lot of allegiance to and respect for the Blessed Mother. But there may be a few big donors out there who fit that description."

A prospectus detailing the project can be found on the Internet at http://www.archoftriumph.org/ . Contributions can be made through that site, or by calling toll-free, 1-866-205-6512.

Article contains excerpts taken from original article appearing in 'The Buffalo News' 6/20/01