Exemplary Pro-Lifers Honored

Details: 09 November 2012

The Bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro Life Activities, the official pro-life program of the Catholic Church in the U.S., calls for pro-life organization and activity at the national, state, diocesan and parish levels. In Nebraska, we are blessed to have about 375 parish pro-life coordinators who implement the Pastoral Plan in their respective parishes.

The pro-life efforts by these parish coordinators are critically important to the Church’s mission of building a culture of life and love. In order to recognize exemplary efforts to promote the Gospel of Life, my office initiated the Gospel of Life Award in 2007. One individual is chosen annually from each of the three dioceses in Nebraska and honored at the Bishops’ Pro Life Conference banquet in October.

At this year’s pro-life conference banquet Oct. 12, the following individuals were presented with the 2012 Gospel of Life award:

Father Dave Rykwalder

Father Dave Rykwalder received the award for the Diocese of Grand Island, where he served for 11 years as the Diocesan Pro-Life Director. In this capacity he worked tirelessly to make sure that every parish in the Grand Island Diocese has an active pro-life coordinator. He was also very active in promoting Life Chain and the diocesan pro-life essay contest. He put a special effort into promoting the essay contest in the small parish communities along with the parochial schools in the diocese. His dedication to the project is reflected by the increasing numbers of entries over the years.

Father’s generosity to the Church’s pro-life efforts becomes significantly more impressive when you consider that he also serves as pastor of All Souls Parish in Bridgeport, which has two mission parishes in Bayard and Dalton. And his active participation in statewide pro-life activities was almost Herculean, given that his parish is just shy of 400 miles from Lincoln, where many of the meetings and events take place.

Mr. William Sullivan

Mr. William Sullivan from St. Patrick Parish in Imperial received the award for the Diocese of Lincoln. In addition to being the pro-life coordinator for more than 10 years, Mr. Sullivan is actively involved in his parish in many capacities.

As a pro-life coordinator he has initiated a variety of educational, pastoral and prayer activities. He has organized the Life Chain in Imperial NE for many years, conducts an adult Bible study at the nursing home, stocks an evangelization library in the church vestibule with pro-life, NFP and Catholic CDs.

Each year during the county fair, when hundreds of people walk near his church building, Bill sets up a pro-life banner in front of the church, along with a card table containing pro-life literature. And as a member of the Knights of Columbus, Bill motivates his Council to put up and maintain the road side pro-life billboards around Imperial.

Miss Rita Evans

The recipient of the award for the Archdiocese of Omaha is Miss Rita Evans. For at least three decades, Rita has served as the parish pro-life coordinator for St. Joseph Parish in Omaha.

In this capacity she helps coordinate the annual Life Chain and makes sure that her parish stays informed on pro-life issues with regular bulletin notices. Rita also helps coordinate the annual pro-life "Living Rosary" and is a long-time volunteer with Essential Pregnancy Services and Nebraskans United for Life in Omaha.

Like most of her fellow pro-life coordinators, Rita gives generously of her time and talent to her parish in other ways. She transports parishioners to Mass every Sunday demonstrating her dedication to those with special needs. And she has volunteered for many years as a reader and extraordinary minister of the Eucharist.

On behalf of the Bishops of Nebraska and the entire Church, I extend our gratitude and admiration to these three individuals for their exemplary commitment to the Gospel of Life and to the Church’s mission of building a culture of life and love.

You can contact Greg at The Nebraska Catholic Conference, 215 Centennial Mall South Suite 310, Lincoln, NE 68508; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.