HOMEPAGE for this issue: January 18, 2012 // Download PDF Version // Click to install/update Adobe Reader on your computer

Dignity of life to be honored with Mass, teen boot camp

By Nissa LaPoint

The stakes are high and the results can be devastating in the battle against the culture of death.

On such delicate ground, Catholic pro-life leaders are seeking to expand their attack on life-threatening practices by providing youth with an arsenal of knowledge.

This Saturday, the Denver Archdiocese will host a Pro-Life Boot Camp for youth to inform them about the historic, medical and Catholic perspective on conception, abortion and current affairs.

“We thought the boot camp would be a great idea, because we’re trying to equip our soldiers, which is the next generation coming up, with the catechesis and apologetics they need to confront this culture,” said Lynn Grandon, director of the Respect Life Office.

Statistically, if a teenager becomes pregnant, the first person they tell is not a parent but a friend, Grandon said.

With these facts, she said, the Jan. 21 hands-on class will help save lives if youth are prepared to answer questions and inform friends about the truth of abortion.

“They can save the babies—and save their friends a future full of heartache,” Grandon said.

The free boot camp is designed for youth in the eighth through 12th grades. Grandon will lead the camp that will be held in the Knight of Columbus Hall at 1555 Grant St. in Denver.

Before the camp, apostolic administrator Bishop James Conley will celebrate a “Mass for Giving

Thanks to God for the Gift of Human Life” at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception then lead a “Rosary for Life” in the cathedral’s Marian Garden.

The educational boot camp will address the topics “When did you become you?” and “Understanding the American Holocaust” from a medical and historic perspective, Grandon said.

First, boot camp recruits will learn about embryology and early human development with a medical explanation aided by life-like soft plastic baby models and a DVD of 3D ultrasound images.

“We will actually show them live babies in the womb at very early stages of pregnancy,” she said.

The tactile learning approach is something Haley Timmons, youth director at All Souls Parish in Englewood, thinks will be helpful for the youths.

“I know teens love examples when they’re learning and I know she has all those props,” Timmons said.

She said she’s planning on bringing teenagers from the parish’s youth group to the camp.

“We want them to have a strong opinion and have the knowledge to back it up,” Timmons said.

After a scientific and surgical explanation of abortion, Grandon will provide a historic understanding of events leading up to legalized abortion.

“When they have that basis of scientific understanding, then the second part (will cover) what has happened in the U.S. on the abortion issue,” she said.

Participants are asked to reserve a spot in the boot camp and bring a sack lunch.

But the battle against the culture of death isn’t limited to abortion.

Grandon is also visiting various parishes throughout the Denver metro area and leading talks about chastity, artificial contraception, teen pregnancy and advanced medical directives.

On Jan. 29, Grandon will speak to parishioners at Shrine of St. Anne Church in Arvada about being pro-life and making a difference. She will inform families about how they can further become involved in respect life efforts and address chastity.

She’s also visiting Mother of God Parish in Denver Jan. 31 and speaking about advanced medical directives and making moral choices regarding end-of-life issues.

Her tour to various parishes will continue with a two-night series Jan. 23 and Jan. 30 at St. James Parish in Denver during which she’ll address the spectrum of respect life issues Christians face today.

“I’ve done this for so many years so I’m comfortable doing it,” she said.

Grandon was named the new director of the Respect Life Office in June. She formerly served as director of the Office of Respect and Human Dignity for the Diocese of Peoria, Ill.

She’s married to Father Douglas Grandon, a former Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism in 2003 and is parochial vicar at Risen Christ Church in Denver.

A native of Chicago, Grandon is the mother of six children.