Imago Dei, University Ministry co-sponsor Respect Life Banquet

On January 24, University Ministry and Imago Dei co-sponsored the annual Respect Life Banquet and more than 40 students and members of the Saint Leo community gathered in the Student Community Center boardrooms to promote the sanctity of life and the end of legalized abortion.

Imago Dei is the university’s pro-life organization that supports efforts to affirm and protect life from conception to natural death. Imago Dei meaning “Image of God,” stands for the protection and preservation of human life—all who were made in the image and likeness of God regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sex, political affiliation, class, or physical ability, according to the organization’s bylaws.

January 22 was observed as the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children as the day marked the 49th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision. Saint Leo’s annual observance featured a formal dinner and a presentation by guest speaker Dr. Dan Pepin, a consultant on the Bioethics Committee for the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

Before the presentation, Father Randall Meissen, university chaplain, offered a blessing of the meal and Dr. Thomas Humphries, associate professor of religion and theology, introduced the event and the speaker.

Now retired, Pepin was a professor of human biology at North Central Michigan College; professor of anatomy and physiology at Edison and North Central Michigan colleges; and a clinical instructor and professor of oral pathology at Delta College. He was the 2007 recipient of the Respect Life Award from the Diocese of Venice.

Pepin’s presentation focused on the abortion provider Planned Parenthood, and he discussed myths and misconceptions about the organization.

For more information about University Ministry, contact ministry@saintleo.edu or (352) 588-8331.

View photos below.