Deirdre McQuade GRANITE CITY - Holy Family Church in Granite City will be the host for a diocesan Pro-Life Vigil to pray for an end to abortion on Saturday, Oct. 27. Bishop George J. Lucas will be the principal celebrant at the 9 a.m. Mass to mark Respect Life Month. Following the Mass, people are welcome to join in a traditional rosary walk and prayer vigil to Hope Clinic for Women, a nearby clinic which routinely performs abortions. Following the rosary walk, participants are invited to a light lunch, which will be served at Holy Family Community Center. This year, Deirdre McQuade will be the keynote speaker at the luncheon. McQuade serves the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as their primary spokesperson on abortion and related life issues.
Originally from New Jersey, McQuade has pursued a career marked by study, pro-life advocacy and ecumenical bridge-building. In her biography McQuade says she was inspired to become a voice for the unborn at the National March for Life. She went on to co-found Students for Life at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges, "highlighting the need for a new pro-life feminism on the pervasively pro-choice colleges."
McQuade holds a bachelor of arts degree from Bryn Mawr College, as well as a M.A. in philosophy, and an M.Div. in theology, both from the University of Notre Dame. While in South Bend, she counseled at a pregnancy help center and then worked as director of pastoral research and outreach in the Diocese of Fort Worth-South Bend.
She was the national program director at Feminists for Life, where she oversaw the College Outreach Program; and has more recently worked at the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health.
In Granite City, McQuade plans to speak on "Imitating Jesus in pro-life conversations." She admits that promoting the Culture of Life is often challenging, but says that Scripture offers a helpful model in the story of the woman at the well (John 4).
"Jesus, the Lord of Life, meets the Samaritan woman where she lives," McQuade notes in a release about her upcoming talk. "He affirms the limited truth she speaks, confronts without judging her, and offers a more satisfying way of life. As Christians, we are equipped to imitate his compassion, respect and generosity. For many caught up in the Culture of Death, such non-accusatory encounters could offer the freedom to start over and protect all life from conception to natural death."
The Respect Life Mass, rosary walk and luncheon are events of the diocesan Office for Social Concerns, which is directed by Sister Jane Boos, SSND. Holy Family Church is located at 2606 Washington Ave. in Granite City.