People of Life awards

Richard A. Sokerka

For their work for championing the pro-life cause above all in their lives, three people — Cheryl Holley, Marian Desrosiers and Chuck Donovan — were honored Aug. 5 at the 2019 People of Life awards for their contributions.

The People of Life award recognizes Catholics who have answered the call outlined by Pope St. John Paul II in his encyclical, “The Gospel of Life” (“Evangelium Vitae,” 1995) by dedicating themselves to pro-life activities and promoting respect for the dignity of the human person. It is bestowed in honor of their significant and longtime contributions to the culture of life.

PHOTO | TIM PORCO

PEOPLE OF LIFE  The 2019 People of Life award recipients (from left) Chuck Donovan, Cheryl Holley and Marian Desrosiers with Archbishop Naumann, Chairman of the U.S. Bishop's Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

The awards were given during the annual Diocesan Pro-Life Leadership Conference, which this year was held in Louisville, Ky.

For three decades, awardee Cheryl Holley has led the way in uniting pro-life communities through ecumenical and multicultural efforts as the director of the Josephite Pastoral Center and a board officer of the Gabriel Network, serving pregnant women and children throughout Maryland and Washington, DC. Holley told conference attendees that her passion is “to work with teenage pregnant mothers and to share with them their God-given dignity.” She believes that “education and the knowledge of God’s unending love are the keys to eliminating abortions and sexually transmitted diseases,” which has led her to coordinate two conferences on women’s sexuality and life issues with the Archdiocese of Washington.

Chuck Donovan has been a guiding force in the pro-life movement for four decades. He has served as legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, in leadership at the Family Research Council and as co-chair of the Heritage Foundation’s Religious Liberty Working Group. He is the president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the education and research arm of pro-life PAC Susan B. Anthony List. He was honored for his tireless dedication to developing critical public policy protections for conscience rights and the rights of unborn children.

Marian Desrosiers was honored for “her joyful and dedicated pro-life service in the Diocese of Fall River, Mass.” In addition to her time as the diocesan pro-life director, she also spent 25 years leading the diocese’s Project Rachel Ministry, which provides pastoral care for individuals who have been involved in an abortion. Presently, she continues to serve women and their children in her diocese’s Womens Transitional Home.

The People of Life award, established in 2007 by the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has been given to 34 Catholics over the years who have dedicated most of their lives to giving a voice to the voiceless in the womb.

We salute this trio of pro-lifers who believe in the sanctity of life from the moment of conception to natural death and who have taken that belief into the public square to save lives.