Pro-life supporters honor 'pope of life'
and supporters
By Mary Ann Wyand
Pope John Paul II will be remembered as “the pope of life,” Father Frank Pavone, founder and national director of Priests for Life, told several hundred pro-life supporters during the first annual Catholic Pro-Life Dinner on April 9 at Christ the King Parish in Indianapolis.
Father Pavone, who heads the international pro-life ministry based in Staten Island, N.Y., was the keynote speaker for the pro-life dinners on April 9 in Indianapolis and April 10 in Columbus.
“We have certainly lived through historic and memorable days these last two weeks,” Father Pavone said. “Historic and memorable days, the significance of which we will be reflecting on and absorbing not only for weeks to come but for months and years.
“We have seen the passing of a pope, a pope who can rightfully be called ‘the pope of life,’ ” he said, “a pope who at the center of his own life, ministry, spirituality and mission has been affirming and proclaiming and defending the dignity of the human person. Everything he did, everything he taught and the entire legacy that he leaves to the world finds its heart and core in the dignity of the human person.”
Father Pavone said one of the most important documents that Pope John Paul II wrote, which the pontiff called one of the most significant documents of his papacy, was Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life), written 10 years ago.
“In that document, one of the key sentences is a very simple one which sums up the pro-life message,” Father Pavone said. “ ‘Life is always a good.’ Always. And the word ‘always’ is the most challenging word in that sentence because as history demonstrates at various times and in various ways, we fall short of the ‘always.’ We take some group of people with some characteristic and we make up a reason to exclude them from full protection [under the law], from the recognition that they are equal to everyone else.
“Life is always a good,” Father Pavone emphasized. “Not sometimes a good. Not most of the time. But always. And [the pope] asks, ‘Why is life always a good?’ And the answer he gives, which he tells us that we find in Scripture, is that human life is always a reflection of God. It’s his manifestation in the world. It’s a sign of his presence. It’s a trace of his glory.
“If you look at the person sitting next to you, you’re seeing the reflection of God,” he said. “If you look at the person in a hospital bed, if you look at the person living in poverty, if you look at the person on Death Row, if you look at the child in the womb, in all those places where you look, and everywhere else … where you find a human being, you are seeing a reflection of God himself. Not sometimes, but always.”
The fundraising dinners also featured a concert by Tatiana, an internationally acclaimed Catholic vocalist from Croatia, who now lives in the U.S.
Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general, lead the gathering in prayer.
“As we mourn the death of Pope John Paul II, help us to heed his challenge to promote a Gospel of Life to fight against the culture of death,” Msgr. Schaedel said. “… Empower us to work for the vulnerable among us who need our special attention and care.”
The dinners were sponsored by Catholics United for the Faith—Abba, Father Chapter and benefited the archdiocesan Office for Pro-Life Ministry and the Gabriel Project of Indiana.
The events also recognized the distinguished pro-life service of two diocesan priests and five lay volunteers.
Award recipients honored included St. Mark parishioner Rosemarie Saylor of Indianapolis and St. Monica parishioner Lois Richter of Indianapolis for outstanding volunteer service to the archdiocesan Birthline ministry.
Gabriel Project volunteers recognized for dedicated service to expectant mothers and babies were St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) parishioner Teresa Heffernan of Indianapolis, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parishioner Ann Heilman of Carmel, Ind., in the Lafayette Diocese, St. Paul Catholic Center parishioner Paul Marion of Bloomington and St. Bartholomew parishioner Harold Neville of Columbus.
Father Tony Volz, pastor of Christ the King Parish in Indianapolis, and Father Gregory Bramlage, pastor of St. Nicholas Parish in Ripley County, St. Maurice Parish in St. Maurice, St. John the Evangelist Parish in Enochsburg and St. Anne Parish in Hamburg, also were honored for their exemplary pro-life leadership as pastors.
Father Volz serves the archdiocesan Office for Pro-Life Ministry as the spiritual director for Rachel’s Companions and Rachel’s Network, the Church’s
post-abortion reconciliation ministries.
“I really believe that there are no bad people, but sometimes their decision-making is not very good,” Father Volz said. “And like Jesus and like all of you who believe in the Gospel, we are called to be people of reconciliation and people who help one another.” †
