Annual pro-life banquet and conference set for Oct. 26-27

A doctor from California doing groundbreaking work on reversing chemical abortions will be the keynote speaker at the annual Bishops’ Pro-Life Banquet & Conference in Lincoln.

 

Dr. George Delgado, a Catholic and founder of Culture of Life Family Services medical practice in San Diego, will talk about saving the pregnancies of women who regret beginning the process of chemical abortion, said Marion Miner, associate director for Pro-life and Family with the Nebraska Catholic Conference (NCC), the event’s co-sponsor. 

 

The Oct. 26 evening banquet and Oct. 27 conference will be held at the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel.  An 8 a.m. Mass at St. Mary Church in Lincoln precedes the conference.

 

With the theme “Saving Lives in the Good Life,” the event is geared toward people interested in advancing the culture of life through effective outreach, Miner said. 

 

“This year, in addition to the presentations, we’re making the conference more collaborative by giving people the opportunity to discuss in small groups how to put into practice the things they learn,” he said.

 

In addition to Delgado, other conference speakers will include Megan Drapa of the Vitae Foundation, who will talk about ways to effectively communicate with abortion-minded women, and Jessica Warner of Ohio Right to Life, who will discuss grassroots lobbying strategies, Miner said. 

 

NCC staff members also will discuss progress on pro-life initiatives and upcoming legislative efforts. 

 

After Delgado’s dinner speech, the NCC will give its “Gospel of Life Award” to Jack Odgaard, a member of St. John Parish in Lincoln and pro-life organization Helpers of God’s Precious Infants. The award will recognize Odgaard’s years-long dedication to witnessing in front of Lincoln’s Planned Parenthood abortion clinic.

 

The NCC also will honor five students who won their categories in the statewide annual Pro-Life Essay Contest, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. Four of the winners are from the Archdiocese of Omaha. 

 

With all grades listed as of last school year, when the students wrote their essays, the elementary school winners are Elizabeth Morey, seventh grade, and Alaina Lorkovic, eighth grade, both of St. Robert Bellarmine School in Omaha, who wrote on the topic, “On Seeing the Face of God Reflected in Others.”

 

High school winners, whose topic was “On the True Meaning of Freedom,” are home-schooled freshman Peyton Noel Brooking of Omaha, sophomore Kolton Koubsky of Mount Michael Benedictine School near Elkhorn, and junior Genevieve O’Gara of St. Pius X School in Lincoln.

 

Winners and their schools each will receive a $150 prize. Essays of the four students from the Omaha archdiocese are on the Catholic Voice website, catholicvoiceomaha.com.

 

The banquet and conference are co-sponsored by the Bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life and the NCC, which represents the public policy and legislative interests of Nebraska’s three Catholic bishops. The statewide Knights of Columbus provide financial support and essay winner prizes.