WASHINGTON— Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston and as
chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on
Pro-Life Activities, presented the People of Life award to three individuals for
their lifetime commitment to the pro-life movement at a ceremony in Houston
August 9. Those honored were Professor William E. May, Msgr. Philip J. Reilly
and Patricia Bainbridge. Over 85 diocesan pro-life directors from across the
country attended the private awards dinner during the Secretariat of Pro-Life
Activities’ annual Diocesan Pro-Life Leadership Conference.
The People of
Life Award recognizes those who have answered the call outlined by Pope John
Paul II in The Gospel of Life (Evangelium Vitae, 1995) by
dedicating themselves to pro-life activities and promoting respect for the
dignity of the human person. It is bestowed on occasion to a practicing Catholic
in honor of his or her significant contribution in service to the culture of
life.
William E. May holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Marquette
University and has taught at several Catholic universities. He is currently a
senior fellow at the Culture of Life Foundation, and emeritus Michael J.
McGivney Professor of Moral Theology at the Pontifical Institute for Studies on
Marriage and the Family at the Catholic University of America. He has written
over 226 journal articles, has authored, co-authored, or edited 24 books, and is
currently working on three more, including the third edition of Catholic
Bioethics and the Gift of Human Life. He holds several major awards,
including the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal from Pope John Paul II in
1991. He was appointed by the Holy See to serve on several commissions and
advisory groups, including the background work on the 2008 document,
Dignitas Personae (The Dignity of the Person). Professor May
has been married for 52 years, is the father of seven and grandfather of fifteen
grandchildren.
Msgr. Philip J. Reilly has devoted most of his
50-year-long priestly ministry to the pro-life cause. He fought the legalization
of abortion in New York before the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court
decision, helped to organize the first national March for Life in Washington in
1974, and served as a witness to uphold the Hyde Amendment banning federal
funding of abortion in most circumstances. In 1989, Monsignor Reilly founded the
Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, Inc., to focus on prayer efforts and sidewalk
counseling outside of abortion clinics. For over twenty years, five days a week,
he has counseled and prayed on the streets outside abortion clinics. He
continues to serve as executive director of the Helpers and travels
internationally to train others how to hold peaceful, loving prayer vigils and
to offer constructive assistance to those in crisis both before and after
abortion.
Patricia Bainbridge has served the pro-life movement since
1978. She recently retired from her ten-year post as director of the Respect
Life Office and Natural Family Planning Coordinator for the Diocese of Rockford,
Illinois, where she was also the “Lifelines” columnist for the diocesan paper.
For seven years during her service, Bainbridge chaired the Department of Life
for the Catholic Conference of Illinois. Prior to her diocesan work, Bainbridge
founded the Christian Action Council of Western New York in the eighties,
co-founded Life Decisions International, and served on the board of Christian
Tapes for the Blind and Disabled, among other civic groups. She is a board
member of several pro-life organizations serving the diverse needs of pregnant
and post-abortive women, and raising awareness about the dignity of human life;
and is chairman of the board of Human Life International. Married for 40 years,
she and her husband were received into full communion with the Catholic Church
in 2001.
Since the award’s inception three years ago, the Pro-Life
Secretariat has honored 11 people with the People of Life Award. In 2007, the
recipients were: John Bruchalski, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., founder/director of Divine
Mercy Care and Tepeyac Family Center; Molly Kertz, retired director of the
Respect Life Office, Archdiocese of St. Louis; and Thomas J. Marzen (awarded
posthumously), former director of the National Legal Center for the Medically
Dependent and Disabled. The 2008 award recipients were: Carolyn Brown-Davis
(awarded posthumously), advocate and organizer for the African American, African
and Caribbean communities; Ann Dierks, retired director of the Respect Life
Office and director of Project Rachel, Diocese of Little Rock; and Ralph Miech,
M.D., Ph.D., professor of Pharmacology, founding member of the Coalition of
Americans for Research Ethics, speaker, author, and expert witness on life
issues. In 2009, the following honorees received the People of Life Award: Hanna
Klaus, M.D., director of the Natural Family Planning Center of Washington, DC,
and founder of TeenSTAR Program; Virginia McCaskey, pro-life advocate and
witness; and Vicki Thorn, founder of Project Rachel and executive director,
National Office ofPost-Abortion Reconciliation & Healing (NOPARH). Earlier
this year, two college students were recognized with the first People of Life
Student Leader Awards: Thomas Nellson, director of pro-life hospitality, The
Catholic University of America; and Lauren Roselli, former president, Students
for Life, Catholic University of America.
For more information on the
bishops’ People of Life campaign, visit http://www.usccb.org/catholic-giving/opportunities-for-giving/people-of-life/.
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Keywords:
Cardinal DiNardo, USCCB, Catholic bishops, pro-life, People of Life, People of
Life Award, William E. May, Patricia Bainbridge, Msgr. Philip Reilly, Project
Rachel, Catholic University of America, John Paul II Institute for Studies on
Marriage and the Family, Natural Family Planning, NFP
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