Love has Won

Pro Life Banquet and Conference to Center Around Timely Issues

The measures of the Pro Life cause reach out even farther than the abortion industry. Pro Lifers
advocate human dignity in every respect without limitations on the past, present, or future state
of a person. All people, whether born or unborn, enabled or disabled, imprisoned or free, carry
the same characteristic of dignity that Pro Life activists fight for. This year, the Pro Life Banquet
and Conference on October 30-31 will feature topics on many different areas of life where a
persons dignity and right to life are being compromised, beginning with a tribute to Dr. Jerome
Lejeune.
Dr. Lejeune was a French geneticist and devout Catholic who discovered the cause of Down
syndrome (Trisomy 21) in 1958.
Greg Schleppenbach, Executive Director for the Nebraska Catholic Conference, said that Dr.
Lejeune, recognized that this discover might likely lead to a lot of Down syndrome unborn
babies being aborted, so he became outspoken in opposing abortion, advocating the dignity of
human life, especially for Down syndrome children.
Schleppenbach said Dr. Lejeune also spoke out about the proof that science had on the beginning
of life, and because of this, was ostracized by others in the scientific community. Dr. Lejeune
understood faith and reason to be compatible, calling them two wings of the same bird. His
cause for canonization is currently being investigated.
His story is one thats important and inspiring at this time in history, said Schleppenbach, that
somebody was willing to put his credentials, his very livelihood on the line for the Truth.
The tribute will be given on Friday night at the banquet by Dr. Pilar Calva, a geneticist from
Mexico who studied under Dr. Lejeune, and will include her personal witness as to how Dr.
Lejeune impacted her life and taught her how to live her faith in her profession.
Winners of the annual Pro Life essay contest will be announced and awarded at the banquet, and
former Executive Director of the Nebraska Catholic Conference Jim Cunningham will be
honored with the Gospel of Life Award for his 40 years of dedication to Pro Life work.
Saturdays schedule begins with Holy Mass at St. Marys Church, followed by sessions on
doctor-prescribed suicide, the death penalty, the beginnings of human life, and the Supreme
Court ruling on marriage, all relevant and timely topics, said Schleppenbach.
With all of these challenging and difficult issues that we have in our culture, its so easy to get
discouraged and overwhelmed, and take oneself out of the battle, Schleppenbach said. In our
culture, they see that, for example, the whole same-sex marriage situation, a lot of people think,
its a settled issue now, thats the law of the land and theres nothing we can do about it. Well,
there was the same sort of sentiment communicated after Roe v. Wade . . . now, 40+ years later,
with a very vibrant Pro Life community, especially amongst young people, its clearly not over.
Our culture didnt get here, in terms of this confusion on marriage and sexuality, overnight,
Schleppenbach said. Those who advocate for support of homosexuality or same-sex marriage
or sex outside of marriage or just any misuse about the God-given gift of human sexuality, they
have worked this mentality and impacted the culture in little ways over many, many years.
Schleppenbach said, in the same way, changes cant be made overnight, and there is still a lot of
work to be done to teach young people about the sacred gift of human sexuality, what that gift
means, and what real love is.
Schleppenbach also commented on the hashtag, #lovewins, that supporters of same-sex
marriage began using after the Supreme Court ruling.
Something that really needs to be done is communicating what real love means, he said. The
misuse or misunderstanding of the gift of love is a characteristic of pretty much every attack
against human life.
The final session of the conference, titled, Take Courage, I have Overcome the World, focuses
on the truth of the matter: love has already won.
Its so important for us to always remember the assurance of our faith, that Our Lord has
already achieved victory over death, once and for all, Schleppenbach said. Its not up to us to
save the world. Its not up to us to save the culture. Its not up to us to defeat death, he said.
Our task is to stay in the battle, to proclaim the truth, and to oppose evil, which still runs around
the world, prowling for victims . . . we should always have that joy and that confidence and
encouragement at the foundation of all the work that we do, and never become discouraged.
Jesus said:
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world, you will have
trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.
-John 16:33 (New American Bible)

To register for the Pro Life Banquet, Conference, or both, go to www.necatholic.org, or call
(402) 477-7517.