Incoming pro-life chair to keynote National Catholic Prayer Breakfast

Washington D.C., Apr 23, 2018 / 14:00 pm

The keynote speaker at the 2018 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast will be Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, incoming chairman of the US bishops' pro-life committee.

The breakfast will be held May 24 in Washington, DC.

Naumann became the 11th bishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City on January 15, 2005. He was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Kansas City in 2004.
 
Last November, he was elected chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and will begin a three-year term in that position in November 2018. He is a member of the USCCB Administrative Committee, the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, the USCCB Religious Liberty Committee, the USCCB Communications Committee, and the bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

The archbishop has drawn attention for bold statements on cultural issues. Naumann has spearheaded efforts to restrict abortion in Kansas, and is well-known for challenging Catholic politicians espousing pro-choice positions.

Last year, he cut ties with the Girl Scouts, saying that the organization was "no longer a compatible partner in helping us form young women with the virtues and values of the Gospel." Parishes were instead encouraged to start troops of American Heritage Girls, an alternative scouting organization.

The National Catholic Prayer Breakfast began in 2004, "in response to St. John Paul II's call for a new evangelization." The event is officially nonpartisan and people of all faiths are invited to attend. Past keynote speakers include Cardinal Robert Sarah and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.