Villanovans for Life

Villanova holds its second annual Respect for Life Dinner

By: Shauna Segadelli

Posted: 4/29/09

The Villanovans for Life are an active group on campus that opposes the legality of abortion. Their second annual Respect Life Dinner was held in honor of Cardinal Justin Rigali, who received the Respect Life Award. Fr. Peter Donahue praised the Cardinal for his ardent devotion to the abortion issue, and Villanovans for Life President Clare Oven called him "a great champion in the cause of life."

The event also featured speaker Karen Patota, founder of A Baby's Breath, which is a pregnancy crisis center in Bryn Mawr. Cardinal Rigali and Ms. Patota both stressed the dangerous weight of the abortion matter and encouraged students to carry on the uphill battle for life.

According to VFL President Clare Oven, Cardinal Rigali "has been a strong voice speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves." The Cardinal returned her compliment by citing Villanova as an example of the recent movement for Christian love by young people, which is "part of the new civilization of love, peace… and life."

The cardinal served in Rome under three successive popes for thirty years, working for Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II. In his personal history with the issue of abortion, Rigali said that he used to read women's letters to the Pope in their last attempts for post-abortive peace, as they asked desperately for assurance of God's forgiveness. It is also rumored that Cardinal Rigali was the last person to see Pope John Paul I alive.

As much as he works endlessly in the battle for life, the Cardinal has infinite hope for a resolution to the current problem. He is heartened by the "power of the Pascal Mystery, [which] is the power of life." In the words of Rigali, the victory of life is inevitable because Jesus Christ has already won life for us through his Resurrection. "We know the end of the story… life will be victorious."

Karen Patota introduced her mission by quoting St. Theresa of Avila: "All is nothing but for God." Patota explained that she was inspired to act on her pro-life convictions upon the birth of her first son, which she described as a visible experience of God's love. She was also deeply touched by the pain of a friend who had an abortion, and decided to focus her program at A Baby's Breath around the mother's bond with her baby.

Patota described the "emotional attachment to the life that's growing inside [the mother]" as the most vital part of a pregnant woman's struggle when she contemplates abortion. She sympathizes with these women immensely, however, and understands how difficult motherhood can seem when the woman does not have a job, a house, money, or most significantly, a faith in life. Patota said that for most of the women that she deals with, "a committed relationship is a foreign concept," so it seems impossible for them to support a child single-handedly. Still, A Baby's Breath is founded upon the principle that a woman's decision to carry her pregnancy to term is of the utmost importance, because post-abortive women are broken by the worst kind of pain imaginable.

When Ms. Patota decided to open A Baby's Breath in 2000, she had no experience in social work and no immediate volunteers, but she was determined "to crush the head of the evil of abortion." She chose to name her project "A Baby's Breath" because it needed to have a place in the beginning of the yellow pages, but also because of the biblical symbol of breath for the Holy Spirit and a baby's similarity to the delicate white flower of the same name. The banner mission of A Baby's Breath is its dedication "to help a mother to see her child take his or her first breath."

Patota also commended the Villanovans for Life for volunteering at her nearby center regularly, and said that the club's impact can be very meaningful for the volunteers as well. According to Patota, this center is unique because of its low-cost availability and its characteristic openness to Catholic teaching, which has been repeatedly challenged. The program is said to cost "about as much as joining Boy Scouts," and it encourages chastity for single mothers, as well as natural family planning for married couples.

A Baby's Breath in Bryn Mawr is the third pregnancy crisis center opened by Patota in almost nine years, and the non-profit has expanded to 90 volunteers. They provided support for 150 clients this year, because "A Baby's Breath is a dream where no children have to die because of their parents' choices." Patota also cheered Villanovans to carry on the torch of the unborn saying, "you have to stick to your faith, and then God will bless you."