Furthering the Pro-Life Mission at Georgetown through the Cardinal O’Connor Conference

I joined the Cardinal O’Connor Conference last spring with some trepidation. Though I am strongly pro-life and had experience in press coordination – my responsibility at the Conference – I am not Catholic, and had some concerns with being the odd-man-out on the Conference board. Nevertheless, Luke Lamey, one of the Conference directors, approached me and asked that I apply to the board. I couldn’t be happier that I agreed.

I began the weekend of the Conference by attending the March for Life on the Capitol Mall. Words cannot describe the power of the experience. Hundreds of thousands of attendees poured into Washington, carrying flags and banners from every state and a variety of countries. Clergy of different denominations mixed, alongside both the very young and the very old. Despite the cold and the mud, the attitude at the March was one of overwhelming exuberance. Walking with the crowd, bumping into men and women from every corner of the nation, I was overcome with the feeling that the tide is finally turning in the battle for a pro-life America. This belief was heightened when President Trump addressed the marchers – the first American President to ever do so. Never before had I heard a politician so effectively articulate the sanctity of life, and never before had I seen such rapt attention from such a large crowd.

The next day was occupied entirely with the O’Connor Conference. Similar to the March, I was inspired as I watched students and clergy file into Healy Hall, sacrificing their Saturdays to learn more about the pro-life movement. Simply the size of the conference – nearly one thousand attendees – is testament to the fact that the pro-life movement is large and growing among the youngest generation. I became even more assured of the strength of our movement by listening to the Conference’s speakers.

The two keynote speakers at this year’s Conference offered a perfectly complementary description of the current state of the pro-life movement. Sister Bethany Madonna energized the audience with a casual yet powerful recounting of God’s love in her life and in the lives of those around her. Then, Dr. Jonathan Reyes reminded attendees of the work still required to reestablish the sanctity of life in our country. The two speakers offered an excellent mix that was both an inspiration and a call to action – the perfect message for young people preparing to enter the wider world. The audience left the room reinvigorated in their understanding of God’s love and of the need to spread that love worldwide.

We ended the day in the largest mass I have ever attended in Dahlgren chapel. Led by Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, DC, the ceremony carried an intense gravity. Though I am not Catholic, I I felt the Holy Spirit in Dahlgren that night, with song echoing off the rafters and Georgetown University’s entire Jesuit delegation in attendance. The pro-life movement is all about God’s love, and so it was fitting to end our Conference in worship and prayer. After an intense and hurried day, I left mass feeling as if my soul had been scrubbed clean.

The pro-life movement is poised to transform America. After my involvement in the Conference, I am sure of that fact. My hope is that more individuals like myself – those who might initially consider themselves outsiders to the Cardinal O’Connor Conference – take a risk and engage in the pro-life movement on Georgetown’s campus. With each new participant, the movement only grows stronger, and we move closer to an America where every life is cherished and considered precious.

Sam Dubke
SFS ’21
2019-2020 Press Coordinator for the Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life

This is a guest blog post by one of the board members of the Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life. Please note that GU RTL as a club is neither religiously nor politically affiliated.