Annual conference draws 400 from across archdiocese

Farmington Hills — It’s a pro-life conference planned by students, for students.

The “Building Bridges to a Culture of Life” conference, which began 10 years ago with eight planners and 100 attendees, has grown to include 40 student organizers and more than 400 attendees from schools across the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Holly McGrath, along with Neal McCaffrey, was one of the co-chairs of the student-led conference April 9 at Mercy High School in Farmington Hills.

“Young people have a lot of enthusiasm, we have a lot we can offer the pro-life movement,” said McGrath, a student at Clarkston Everest Collegiate. “We have a very uplifting message; we love to say being pro-life isn’t just about the unborn, it’s about the belief that each person matters.”

Brice Griffin, along with her daughter, Zoe, gave the first keynote of the conference. Griffin related that in 1998, she got pregnant with her boyfriend, who said he’d “take care of it” by paying for an abortion.

“I went to the phone book, looked under ‘A’ for abortion and they assured me it was quick, painless, and that’s all I knew about abortion,” Brice Griffin said. “The doctor examined me, and said, ‘Perfect, you’re eight to nine weeks along,’ and I thought, ‘Perfect?”

Griffin related to students how she felt after her abortion, and how at first, she refused to acknowledge the pain.

It wasn’t until later, after she met and married her husband, gave birth to four children and became Catholic that she came to grips with the loss of her child.

“On March 21, I had my first confession,” Griffin said. “I said things like ‘I drive too fast, lose my temper with my kids, could be nicer.’ Then one day, I was listening to a talk on confession on a CD while running. It said, if you had an abortion, confess it, I just stopped running, dejected.

“I wrote my sins on a piece of paper, wet from tears. I got in the confessional to confess my abortion, and the priest just listened to me, this great confessor, where he just listened to me as I told what I’ve done.”

Griffin talked about her experience with Rachel’s Vineyard, and the mercy and forgiveness found in the Catholic Church.

“I never told my kids why I was an activist; my kids became activists, and they didn’t know, only my husband knew,” Griffin said. “Then my priest said I needed to tell Zoe. I told her what happened, how it happened, and why I do what I do. At March for Life, I hold up a sign, ‘I regret having an abortion,’ behind me was a man, holding up a sign, ‘I regret performing abortions’ — these are people we need to pray for.”

The conference featured others speakers, including Rebecca Kiessling, who told how she was conceived after her mother was raped in Livonia.

Kiessling’s mother tried twice to get a “back-alley abortion” but opted to give Kiessling up for adoption instead.

“I wasn’t lucky, I was protected,” Kiessling said. “Millions of others like me didn’t deserve to die.”

“In abortion debates, we’re despised,” Kiessling said. “Jesus Christ said, see you don’t despise the little ones. We’re here to speak out for the little ones.”

The Saturday conference allowed students to delve into the pro-life movement outside a school setting, offering resources and encouragement.

“Even though this is a growing movement, still more work to be done,” said University of Detroit Mercy freshman Dominic Romano, a planner for two years at the conference. “The fact is, a lot us are pro-life, but being pro-life is not always welcome. The conference shows, you’re not alone.”

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Pro-life videographer to speak in Ann Arbor

David Daleiden, a videographer and director of the Center for Medical Progress, which made headlines in 2015 for a series of videos exposing the brutal practices of Planned Parenthood, will speak April 29 at Christ the King Church in Ann Arbor. For tickets or information, visit www.prolifesociety.com.