On Tuesday morning, October 15th,  to mark the occasion of Respect Life Month, Brother Martin’s pro-life club, the Crusaders for Life and Justice, hosted a school-wide assembly which was a multi-media presentation by Ms. Jannique Stewart from the Life Training Institute.  She presented the issue of direct abortion from a scientific and philosophical approach which was well-received by the Brother Martin student body and faculty.

The presentation began with a prayer from St. John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical The Gospel of Life, a teaching letter in which he reminded Catholics and all people of goodwill around the world, of the incomparable worth of the human person—that all human life is sacred and must be protected.  This assembly is just one step in our efforts to build a culture of life.

Also as part of our tribute to Respect Life Month, the sophomore religion classes had an inservice sponsored by our counseling department on suicide prevention. Religion classes in grades 8, 9, 11, and 12 met in the auditorium throughout the day to hear a presentation on life issues that have been brought up in the Great Read, Just Mercy.  This presentation was given by Kevin Fitzpatrick and Ronald Moore from the Cornerstone Builders program sponsored by Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans.  Kevin Fitzpatrick talked about the difficulties that people who are released from incarceration face and how his program assists them. Ronald Moore discussed his work in the civil rights era in Louisiana which involved non-violent protests against voter suppression and segregation and his experience in being arrested 17 times while engaged in this work.

During Respect Life Month the Crusaders for Life and Justice are also sponsoring exhibits in the Student Services Lobby on various life issues like direct abortion and capital punishment.