The Office of Evangelization & Discipleship in the Diocese of Raleigh recently hosted the Human Life and Dignity (HLD) Grant Awards Luncheon, where recipients of the 2022 awards were recognized for their continued efforts to dignify life.
Each October, the Catholic Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month, a time to focus on God’s precious gift of human life and our duty to cherish, protect and defend human life wherever it is vulnerable or threatened. It is also a time the Church honors those who have shown their commitment to the cause of life and protecting human rights.
The Respect Life Grants were created in 2000 in the Diocese of Raleigh to uphold the sacredness of human life. Funds for the awards are provided through the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. The funds are intended to help proclaim that human life is a precious gift from God; that each person who receives this gift has responsibilities toward God, self and others; and that society, through its laws and social institutions, must protect and nurture human life at every stage of its existence.
Ketty Lynne Thelemaque, lead organizer for Durham CAN who attended the event and was one of the grant recipients, expressed her gratitude because the funds will enable her organization to be more active in the community, advocating for housing, immigration reforms and health care. “This grant means so much for the work that we do in Durham,” said Thelemaque.
The 2022 awardees this year included: Albemarle Pregnancy Resource Center & Clinic; Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina; Family Honor; Hand of Hope, Fayetteville; Life Care Pregnancy Center; Onslow PRC Fatherhood Program; St. Gianna Molla Ministry; St. Michael Catholic Church; Kelangboor; St. Ann Catholic Church Migrant Ministry; St. Brendan Catholic Church Citizenship Ministry and Step Up Raleigh.
Consuelo Kwee, Director of Immigration Services, said that the award given to the St. Brendan Catholic Church Citizenship Ministry will help provide English classes to prepare immigrant residents to take their U.S. citizenship tests.
Bishop Luis Zarama concluded the event, saying that every one of the recipients share a common goal to protect the human person. “Each of these different groups is touching people by teaching them that each person is important and helping them to understand the importance of respecting life from the beginning to the end.”
The diocesan Human Life and Dignity Ministry offers more information about these Respect Life Grants.
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