By Maria Martinez-Mont
Reaching parents and children with tools to combat the culture of abortion and sexualization is one of the goals of the Respect Life Ministry of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
For the nearly 200 people who attended an evening talk at Our Lady of Loretto in Novato on Feb. 27, that goal came a little closer to reality—and those attending said they want more tools and more religious formation, in Spanish as well as English. “I want more of this formation in my parish, I want to learn more, and to teach my children,” said one person. Another said, “It’s hard to access this type of information in the present culture.”
“A great speaker, very worthwhile,” said another attendee.
Attendees lined up to speak with Astrid Bennett Gutierrez after her talk.
Astrid Bennet Gutierrez, an EWTN host of the show “Informe Provida” (Prolife News), and executive director of Los Angeles Pregnancy Services, gave two talks, one in Spanish and a second one in English.
She spoke to the Hispanic community about practical Catholic formation on how to teach your kids about chastity, defending life and guiding children away from danger and towards the plan of God. That talk was titled, “How to Protect Your Children from Abortion and the Culture of Sexualization.” In English, the charismatic speaker gave a slightly different talk Saturday, Feb. 28. That talk was titled, “Parents & Grandparents: Your Mission Isn’t Over. It’s Just Beginning.”
The Spanish talk included a reception and about 175 participants gathered at the end to talk with Astrid Bennet Gutierrez one on one and get printed material for the whole family. The response was also very enthusiastic by the smaller group who attended her English talk on Saturday. Many people in both groups said they would spread the word and a number volunteered to help. Among the books available for purchase—that sold out at the event—was Raising Pure Teens by Jason Evert and Chris Stefanick. One parent who bought the book said, “This is what we have needed. We plan to read it aloud as a family. It will start the conversation.”
Astrid Bennett Gutierrez’s talks were met with great enthusiasm by the attendees, many of whom learned of her talks by word of mouth.
Our Lady of Loretto’s volunteer respect life coordinator Barbara Watson, one of the organizers, said, “This is the first event of our new respect life ministry, and we will focus on education because we see there is a big need. We appreciated partnering with the Office of Human Life and Dignity.”
Father Remigius Ihyula, newly arrived parochial vicar at Our Lady of Loretto, said, “I was so glad that Astrid spoke about IVF (invitro fertilization). I am from Nigeria and this is a very relevant topic in today’s world, and she explained why the church is opposed to it. I want to invite Astrid Bennett to come to Nigeria to speak.”
For more information about the Respect Life Ministry and/or to organize a parish event, contact Maria Martinez-Mont at prolife@sfarch.org.
