As we await the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision and witness an uptick in pro-abortion debates, conversations, and protests, we see more and more the need for charitable, truthful and firm discussions about what the Church believes about life and human dignity.
“With an impending Supreme Court ruling on the Dobbs v. Jackson case that could reverse Roe v. Wade, abortion is one of our nation’s biggest discussions,” said Lauren “Lo” Castillo, Director of Mission Advancement at Students for Life of America, who is hosting an apologetics training session at St. Thomas More in Centennial on Thursday, June 23 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Indeed, Castillo continued, “We have to be prepared to engage in great conversation with those around us on abortion and have the confidence to have those conversations with love, compassion and the information we need to convey our pro-life position well.”
As for the event, Castillo aims “to provide the skills needed to have compassionate conversations about abortion with friends, family, and really anyone who has questions about why we protect life from conception. It will be an introductory apologetics training that is based in science with supporting philosophical arguments, along with an introductory dialogue training.”
With this training, attendees will be empowered and equipped to enter into these daunting, even scary, conversations with whomever they might encounter in a compassionate and loving manner. In fact, while the facts and the truth are certainly important, Castillo said, “It is through these conversations that we can make meaningful encounters with others, diffuse the frustration, and authentically convey our pro-life position in a way that can profoundly impact others.”
“We may not change their mind in that moment (it does happen, though!), but we can plant that seed, a positive experience with kind, loving, and articulate pro-lifer, and that makes all the difference to someone being open to hearing the truth about abortion in their life,” Castillo said.
“I always like to say,” she concluded, “if you don’t feel confidence and prepared to talk to someone who may be just as if not more pro-choice than you are pro-life, then you need some apologetics and dialogue training! It’s not as scary as you might think, it just takes practice. Join this awesome group of people who want to gain or sharpen the pro-life apologetics skills and I can guarantee you will leave having learned something you can put into practice right away to ensure you don’t stay silent on our nation’s largest human rights crisis of our lifetime.”
Pro-Life Apologetics Training Thursday, June 23 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. St. Thomas More 8035 S. Quebec St., Centennial, CO 80112