Detroit – Some were veterans of the pro-life movement who have been working to protect the unborn since abortion on demand first became legal, while others had not even been born until years after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
But all of the nearly 300 people who attended last Saturday’s Life is a Gift Conference at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit were there to equip themselves intellectually and spiritually to promote the pro-life cause.
Gathering on the 38th anniversary of the fateful U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively legalized abortion on demand, they had answered Archbishop Allen Vigneron’s call to help reinvigorate the pro-life movement by coming together to hear speakers ranging from seminary professors to sidewalk counselors to ordinary folks who had made the tough decision to support life in difficult circumstances.
Archbishop Vigneron was among the speakers, as well as celebrating Mass for attendees and blessing the buses of those who would be traveling to Washington, D.C., for the annual March to Life there on Monday.
The information and inspiration offered by the speakers resonated with old and young alike.
The conference “was great for rejuvenating the people in the field,” said Thomas Bliznick, a veteran of decades of pro-life activity.
A member of St. John the Baptist (Ukrainian-Byzantine) Parish in southwest Detroit, Bliznick also leads the pro-life rosary at National Shrine of the Little Flower Parish in Royal Oak on Sunday afternoons, and witnesses against abortion outside a clinic on Schaefer Highway in Dearborn.
He pointed to the talk by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’s cardiologist, Dr. Paul A. Wright, as one of the highlights of the conference. Wright spoke of Mother Teresa’s faith and courage from his own experience, not only as her doctor, but also from working with her in her missions.
Bliznick further cited the testimonies given by the parents of special needs children — “people who perceived life as a gift and followed through in a very positive manner, even though it was difficult.”
He also praised Archbishop Vigneron for his support for the pro-life cause “and the spirit of pro-life support he is able to muster (in others).”
The archbishop’s involvement was also hailed by Sybil Marie Stuck, a young woman from St. Clare of Assisi Parish in Farmington Hills.
“In particular, I was impressed with what he had to say about the role of women, in their motherly capacity, to bring about an understanding of the right to life in the continuing story of salvation,” said Stuck, a member of her parish’s pro-life group.
But a favorite of Stuck’s among the conference’s speakers was Janet Smith, Ph.D, the widely known pro-life author and professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.
“Dr. Smith is able to present the case for why human life is special in a way that is very methodical and academic, but also very spiritual,” she said.
In his remarks on the duty of Christians to witness to the Gospel of Life, Archbishop Vigneron said that duty stems from the “universal call to holiness.”
“In a democracy, it is us who rule, and so it is up to us to shape the civil order.”
But he cautioned that more is required than demonstrations or political action. “There will be no progress without prayer. Evil is only overcome by love,” the archbishop said.
And Archbishop Vigneron stressed that pro-life activists must not be discouraged by the length or difficulty of the struggle to achieve their goals.
“We can only do what we are able to accomplish, and must leave the rest to God,” he said.
The archbishop returned to that theme in his homily at the Mass in the seminary’s main chapel, when he said victory in the fight against abortion is ours even today through Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
“We have a foretaste – we already taste the victory which we work for, which we struggle for, which we hope for,” Archbishop Vigneron said at Mass. “The victory of life over death is in the flesh and blood, is in the living person of Jesus Christ… Victory is ours tonight, as little as we are, as weak as we might be, because we have the Eucharist.”
In a talk on “When Life Begins,” Michael Kenney, J.D., LL.M., an attorney and Madonna University vice president, laid out the legal situation regarding the Roe v. Wade decision – both the historical aspects and prospects for change.
Popular Catholic radio host Teresa Tomeo, of WDEO (990 AM), emceed the conference.
Besides the main speakers and testimonies, attendees also had their choice of breakout sessions, where they learned information that could make them more effective pro-life witnesses.
Some learned about effective sidewalk counseling and demonstrating outside abortion clinics from Dan Goodnow, founder of Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, and Deacon Gerald Smigell.
Christine Elwart conducted a session on the Rachel’s Vineyard retreats for the spiritual healing of those who have been involved with abortion.
Both the medical science and Church teaching regarding end-of-life issues and caring for the elderly with dignity were addressed in a session led by Marianne Potter and Deacon Bob Ervin.
And Judy Maten, director of evangelization and catechesis for the Archdiocese of Detroit, led a session on “Living Out Our Vocation for Life.”
