KERNERSVILLE — Approximately 60 people attended Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s annual Respect Life Conference for pro-life parish leaders and advocates Sept. 29 at Bishop McGuinness High School – looking for information and support to arm themselves in continuing the fight against the culture of death.
They heard from keynote speaker Teresa Collett, J.D., a professor of law and pro-life lawyer from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, who opened the conference with a presentation on “The False Promises of Abortion.” The conference also included a presentation by Bethany Mistretta with Side Walk Advocates for Life, and expert panel discussions on the history of contraception and the impacts of human trafficking.
In her talk, Collett pointed out that all the promises abortion and contraception were intended to offer women when they became legal were, in fact, lies. Instead of women being liberated and made equal to men by abortion and the pill as promised, women have become devalued in modern culture.
Mistretta, national programs manager for Sidewalk Advocates for Life, encouraged the faithful prayer warriors on the sidewalk to continue their ministries and standardize their tactics across the diocese.
The connection between contraception and abortion from medical, judicial, pastoral and practical angles was explored in a panel discussion by OB/GYN Dr. Lewis Lipscomb, Father John Eckert of Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury, Natural Family Planning teachers Holland and Jennifer Patton, and Collett. The discussion was moderated by Batrice Adcock, Catholic Charities’ NFP program director.
The human trafficking panel discussion, which included Dianne Kemppainen-Ziacsik, RuthAnn Kirby and Special Agent Tim Stone, brought up key identifiers of trafficking occurring here in our local communities, schools and sporting events, as well as the risks to children on social media. The panel was moderated by Tammy Harris, co-founder of the Ursus Institute.
Participants gathered for Mass at the conclusion of the conference, offered by Bishop Peter Jugis.
In his homily, Bishop Jugis encouraged the pro-life leaders, reflecting on the Mass readings of the day and professing that they too were called to be prophets – God’s prophets of the unborn. He emphasized that Catholics are called to share the truth of life and to protect all God’s little children – especially those in the womb, by influencing our culture to again value life at every stage. Through these efforts, he noted, we can bring the world and culture back to God.
— Jessica R. Grabowski, Special to the Catholic News Herald. Jessica R. Grabowski is the Respect Life program director for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.
