City Life Breakfast
The 18th annual ecumenical January Life Breakfast was held Jan. 20 at Giovanni’s in Rockford.

It welcomed Protestant and Catholic prolifers including Bishop David Malloy who provided the opening invocation, and members of area Catholic parishes. Additionally, 12 of the 60 Boylan students who were signed up for the March for Life trip to Washington, D.C. attended with Father David Finn.

Featured speaker was Dr. Everett Piper, president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, who gave a rousing talk about life issues including the difference between love and tolerance, which he defined as  “I don’t care about you, do what you want.”

He called on prolife advocates to “define your terms and get a backbone,” giving examples of the successes that can happen as a result. The annual breakfast is sponsored by the International Organization for the Family (formerly The Howard Center).

Parish Life Banquet
Holy Family Parish in Rockford hosted its 22nd annual Respect Life Banquet the evening of Jan. 20.

Awards went to Lucy Schwartz, for her prolife essay, and Mayor Larry Morrissey who was given the St. Michael, Defender of Life Award for his work in 2011 to circumvent extensive opposition and provide a special use permit allowing a mobile ultrasound to park and provide services near the former Rockford abortuary.

Keynote speaker, Father Kenneth Wasilewski, diocesan ethicist, spoke about the tactics of euthanasia proponents and how they mimic those used by abortion promoters.

The ancient strategy (harkening back to the Genesis story of the fall), he said, begins with a promise for better things, describes euthanasia as desirable, and spreads the skewed logic to others.

He encouraged the more than 160 people gathered to “take back the language, ... reinvest in the idea of redemptive suffering, (and) pray for strength to fight, to unify, to have God bless our efforts, and for the advancement of the Culture of Life.”