Fifth annual Indiana Women’s Catholic Conference set for March 15

By Mary Ann Wyand

Two nationally known pro-life advocates are among the speakers for “Treasuring Womanhood,” the fifth annual Indiana Catholic Women’s Conference, on March 15 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

“A Woman Clothed in Truth, Star of Hope” is the Marian theme for this year’s conference, which begins at 8 a.m. and concludes at 4:45 p.m.

Patricia Pitkus Bainbridge, director of the Respect Life Office in the Diocese of Rockford, Ill., and Erika Bachiochi of Boston, a Catholic theologian and lawyer, are among the keynote presenters.

“Our Lady of Guadalupe: Our Model for Life” is the theme for Bainbridge’s presentation, which will address the Blessed Mother’s behavior and beliefs as perfect examples for living a Christian life.

Bachiochi will discuss “Women, Sex and the Church: A Pro-Woman Defense of Controversial Catholic Teachings,” which is also the working title of her book in progress on the same topic.

Bainbridge also serves as chairman of the board for Human Life International, the largest pro-life, pro-family and pro-woman organization in the world, and is the co-founder and executive director emeritus of Life Decisions International.

Without the right to life, she said, all the other life issues are moot.

“Today, the role of woman … has been so distorted,” Bainbridge said, “not only by radical feminists, but also by the secular media, who obviously are influenced by the radical feminists. Many women no longer understand who they are and what their role is [in life].

“Our Church is so emphatic about saying that the woman’s role is so important,” she said. “I think coming together in a time of prayer about Our Lady—and what our Mother has to say to us and how that impacts our lives—is marvelous.”

Bachiochi is a stay-at-home mother of four children and also finds time to write and speak about feminism, the family, abortion and the Church.

“After exploring Pope John Paul II’s teaching on the dignity of women, or the New Feminism, I will proceed to make the case for Church teaching on abortion, contraception, the indissolubility of marriage and the all-male priesthood from a pro-woman perspective,” she said. “On the sexual teachings, I will look at the harm [that] women have faced by straying from Church teaching as revealed especially by recent sociological and medical data.”

Bachiochi said she also plans to discuss how Church teaching on the priesthood “is rooted not in sexist understandings of women—as is so often claimed by feminists and the media—but in the centuries-old tradition of the Church and sacramental theology.”

Other conference speakers are Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general, who is the principal celebrant and homilist for the liturgy, and Dominican Father Emmerich Vogt, prior of St. Albert’s Priory, Chapel and Seminary in Oakland, Calif., and director of the Shrine of St. Jude in San Francisco.

Father Emmerich will discuss the spiritual and moral life of Christians in terms of the challenges encountered in everyday life experiences.

He served as a retreat presenter for Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and her Missionaries of Charity for 20 years and also has appeared on EWTN television programs.

Music minister Elizabeth Welch of Indianapolis, who serves as a choir director and youth ensemble leader at three parishes in the archdiocese, will sing during the conference.

The Marian Center of Indianapolis and archdiocesan Office for Pro-Life Ministry are sponsoring the conference.

Servants of the Gospel of Life Sister Diane Carollo, director of the pro-life office, said the conference will be an important catechetical experience for Catholic women during Lent.

“Women who are serious about their spiritual formation should seek opportunities that provide a balanced and wholesome approach to Christian femininity,” Sister Diane said. “Participation in the ‘Treasuring Womanhood’ conference is one example of such an opportunity for women to grow in their faith and spiritual life.”

(Registrations for ‘Treasuring Womanhood’ include lunch and cost $40 per person before March 5 then $45 per person. Registrations for high school and college students are $20 per person. For more information or to register online, log on to www.indianacatholicwomen.com.)†