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Due to health reasons, Father Benedict Groeschel regretfully has had to cancel as keynote speaker for the dinner.  However, he had one recommendation for his replacement, and despite a packed travel schedule, that individual can come!  Father Benedict’s choice and ours as keynote speaker for the 15th annual dinner is Father Frank Pavone, MEV.

Fr. Pavone is the National Director of Priests for Life, the President of the National Pro-Life Religious Council, the Pastoral Director of Rachel's Vineyard and the Founder and Moderator General of the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life. He is one of the most prominent pro-life leaders in the nation. He was born in Port Chester, New York and has been active in the pro-life movement since 1976. Cardinal John O'Connor ordained him to the priesthood in 1988. Fr. Pavone did parish work and taught in seminaries. In 1993, with the permission of Cardinal O’Connor, he became National Director of Priests for Life. In this full- time position, he has traveled to all of the 50 states and to five continents, preaching and teaching against abortion and helping other priests to do the same.

He conducts seminars on pro-life strategy and is regularly invited to speak at national and international pro-life gatherings. Fr. Pavone has appeared on national programs such as Larry King Live, Good Morning America, The O'Reilly Factor, and other shows on all the major networks. He is quoted in papers such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. He is seen daily on EWTN and heard on Vatican Radio. His publications are distributed worldwide. He was with Terri Schiavo in her final moments and was an outspoken advocate for her life.

Blessed Mother Teresa asked Fr. Pavone to address the clergy of India on the life issues. He has addressed the pro-life caucus of the United States House of Representatives, and was asked by the Vatican to help co-ordinate pro-life activities throughout the world as an official of the Pontifical Council for the Family. Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe” of the Supreme Court’s abortion decision Roe vs. Wade, called Fr. Pavone “the catalyst that brought me into the Catholic Church.”

In 1999, Fr. Pavone was named among the Top 100 Catholics of the Century. He serves on Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family Institute. The National Right to Life Committee awarded him their highest honor, the Proudly Pro-life Award. The Franciscan University of Steubenville bestowed on him an honorary doctorate, in recognition of his pro-life work. Fr. Pavone currently serves as President of the National Pro-life Religious Council, a coalition of groups from many different denominations working to end abortion. He is also Pastoral Director and Chairman of the Board of Rachel's Vineyard, an international retreat program for post-abortion healing. In 2004, Fr. Frank was granted permission by Bishop John Yanta to establish a new community of priests permanently dedicated to full-time pro-life work. He is the first Moderator General of the Missionaries of the Gospel of Life (MEV).

Abortions in the U.S.

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