On the streets outside abortion clinics five days a week for over 20 years
News release from USCCB
August 11, 2010
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.
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