Pope Paul VI Institute to celebrate 25 years in Omaha

Omaha, Neb., Aug 14, 2010 / 15:48 pm

Early next month, the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in Omaha, Nebraska will celebrate 25 years since its inception with several festivities, including two days of international conferences.

The Celebration of Love & Life event will be held in the Quest Center in Omaha from Sept. 2 - 5.  Celebrations include carnival events, a gala banquet, and special opening and closing Masses. Conferences on Sept. 2 and 3 will address the topics of “The Pastoral Directives of Humanae Vitae” and the “International Conference on NaProTechnology.”

Chairman of the U.S. bishops' pro-life committee, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, will celebrate the opening Mass on Friday afternoon with Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha attending and speaking during Thursday's lunch as well as on Saturday night.

Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, the president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, will be traveling from Rome and speaking on Friday. The prelate will also celebrate the closing Mass on Sunday morning.

The Pope Paul VI Institute, which opened its doors in 1985, is inviting all who support its work to partake in the 25th anniversary celebration. 

In a letter commenting on the event, Dr. Thomas W. Hilgers, director of the institute, said “I would like to take this opportunity to invite you and your family to a very special anniversary party and celebration.”

“This is our 25th anniversary Celebration of Love & Life. The Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction is 25 years old and we very much want to share this time with you,” he added.

“We have lived in a medical environment where much of women’s health care has involved either the suppression of their reproductive system or its destruction. We have lived in an era where the diagnosis of an underlying problem is often ignored.”

The institute director noted that we as a society have “lived in an era when many patients and their very real problems and difficulties have been neglected and where patients feel abandoned. During this period of time, the Pope Paul VI Institute has conducted its research and education programs to try to overcome this.”

“We want for you to come to Omaha and celebrate with us,” Hilgers concluded. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime to make a statement to the world that there truly is another way to approach these problems that is positive, effective, and moral.”