March 25, 2005

Pro-life dinners to honor priests and laity
for exceptional service

By Mary Ann Wyand

Two priests and six members of parishes in central Indiana will be honored for distinguished pro-life volunteer service during the first annual Catholic Pro-Life Dinner on April 9 in Indian­apolis and April 10 in Columbus.

Both events will feature Father Frank Pavone, founder and national director of Priests for Life in Staten Island, N.Y., as the keynote speaker and a concert by Tatiana, an internationally acclaimed Catholic vocalist.

The dinners are scheduled at 6:30 p.m. on April 9 at Christ the King Parish, 1827 Kessler Blvd., East Dr., in Indianapolis, and at 12:30 p.m. on April 10 at the Holiday Inn Conference Center, 2480 W. State Road 46 West, in Columbus.

“Those we honor at the dinners are exceptional priests and laypeople who live the Gospel of Life in their daily lives,” said Servants of the Gospel of Life Sister Diane Carollo, director of the archdiocesan Office for Pro-Life Ministry.

“They serve by motivating youth to be unconditionally pro-life, assisting women in crisis pregnancies, giving material assistance to poor mothers and their infants, and helping post-abortive women discover healing and peace,” Sister Diane said. “We acknowledge and thank them for their untiring efforts on behalf of life.”

Award recipients include St. Mark parishioner Rosemarie Saylor of Indianapolis and St. Monica parishioner Lois Richter of Indianapolis for ­distinguished volunteer service to the archdiocesan Birthline ministry.

Receiving awards for dedicated volunteer service to the Gabriel Project ministry are St. Therese of the Infant Jesus (Little Flower) parishioner Teresa Heffernan of Indianapolis; St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parishioner Ann Heilman of Carmel, Ind., in the Lafayette Diocese; St. Paul Catholic Center parishioner Paul Marion of Bloomington; and St. Bar­tholomew parishioner Harold Neville of Columbus.

Father Anthony Volz, pastor of Christ the King Parish in Indianapolis, and Father Gregory Bramlage, pastor of St. Nicholas Parish in Ripley County, St. Maurice Parish in St. Maurice, St. John the Evangelist Parish in Enochsburg and St. Anne Parish in Hamburg, will be honored for their exemplary pro-life leadership.

The dinners are sponsored by Catholics United for the Faith—Abba, Father Chapter. Proceeds benefit the archdiocesan Office for Pro-Life Ministry and the Gabriel Project of Indiana.

(Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students. Send checks to the archdiocesan Office for Pro-Life Ministry, Archbishop O’Meara Catholic Center, 1400 N. Meridian St., P.O. Box 1410, Indian­apolis, IN 46206. For more information, call the Office for Pro-Life Ministry at 317-236-1521 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1521, or the Gabriel Project at 812-342-9550.)

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