Photo courtesy of Shelly Romero

Respect Life Club Participates in Bishop’s Rally

Members of the St. Joseph’s Academy Respect Life Club attended the Bishop’s 17th Annual Respect Life Rally, held January 10 at the Catholic Life Center. The rally is sponsored each year by the Office of Marriage & Family Life of the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

“It was a very rewarding experience that I will always remember.” Mary Kathryn Romero '10 

Among the highlights of this year’s event were a living rosary, the Knights of Columbus’ crosses for the unborn, respect life displays, a presentation on adoption, crafts and activities for children, presentations by the diocese’s pro-life oratory contest winners and a keynote presentation by Deirdre McQuade, assistant director for policy and communications of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities. She addressed “Imitating Jesus in Pro-Life Conversations.”

Marie Ruggiero, SJA theology teacher and moderator of the Respect Life Club, said the keynote address was based upon the story from St. John’s gospel in which Jesus met the woman at the well. “Like the Samaritan women, Jesus meets each one of us in the ‘messiness’ of our lives,” Ruggiero said. “In living Gospel values, we are called to speak truth and love without being accusatory or judgmental; we, too, must meet people where they are in their journey. As teachers and students, we experience so many teachable moments. Mrs. McQuade challenged us to be spokespersons of truth and love in pro-life conversations.”

Senior Mary Kathryn Romero, student body president, presented her second-place oratory contest speech, which focused on a woman’s “chance” rather than “choice.”

“This year, I entered the pro-life oratory contest and gave a speech on the tragedy of abortion and how it is becoming a genocide in our country,” Romero said. “Even though it was pretty stressful and took a lot of time, I felt like this was something I needed to do and a great way to represent the Academy. I am so glad I took the time to compete and write the speech. It was a very rewarding experience that I will always remember. I was very excited when I came in second and felt extremely honored to represent SJA and our Respect Life Club.”

Senior Emily Lopez, president of the Respect Life Club, said she was extremely excited to be part of such a wonderful event. “I was blown away by the passion for life everyone showed, and it only inspired me more to be as active as possible in the pro-life movement,” she said. “It was also exciting to witness our very own school president, Mary Kathryn Romero, speak on the genocide of abortion. I was so proud of Mary Kathryn as she represented St. Joseph’s. It was a very rewarding day that helped me realize how grateful we all should be for the gift of life.”

Junior Kathleen Peek said she enjoyed uniting with others devoted to the sanctity of life. She said the keynote address was especially inspirational and empowering. “The keynote speaker gave tips when having pro-life conversations,” she said. “These helpful suggestions are what I took away from the rally and hope to use them in future conversations. She stressed the importance of imitating Jesus when having pro-life conversations by being gentle and understanding.”

Alexis Nicaud, a senior and secretary of the Respect Life Club, said she has attended several rallies and has enjoyed each one. “My favorite experience from the rally each year is the living rosary,” she said. “It is very inspiring to see a large group of pro-lifers coming together and praying for such an awesome cause. Raising awareness about all of the issues that threaten any form of life is extremely important, and I’m so thankful to be apart of a community that respects life no matter what.”

“It was my first time attending the rally, and it was a great experience,” said junior Susan Fasano. “Everyone there was so passionate about advocating the dignity of human life, and it was both inspiring and contagious. The most important thing I learned from the rally was to make yourself approachable and relatable to others who don’t necessarily have the same beliefs as you do, but to also stand firm in your beliefs.”

Members of the Respect Life Club will next participate in the National Right to Life March in Washington, D.C., set for January 18-23.


Mindy Brodhead Averitt
Communications Director