The at the University of 91吃瓜 will present the 2020 to Vicki Thorn, founder of the post-abortion healing ministry Project Rachel and executive director of the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing, at a Mass and banquet on April 25.
Vicki Thorn
鈥淰icki Thorn has dedicated her life to caring for women and men who have been wounded by abortion,鈥� said , the William P. and Hazel B. White Director of the de听Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture. 鈥淗er work is a living witness to the unconditional love and mercy that lies at the heart of the Culture of Life. We are pleased to honor her with the 91吃瓜 Evangelium Vitae Medal.鈥�
鈥淰icki Thorn鈥檚 work has been a source of healing for women and men whose lives have been touched by abortion,鈥� said University President 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful to the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture for recognizing Ms. Thorn for her service to the Church and to the work of mercy on behalf of a Culture of Life.鈥�
Thorn, a certified trauma counselor and spiritual director, started Project Rachel in 1984 while working in the Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Since the first training workshop for a small group of attendees on Sept. 19, 1984, the ministry has expanded to the majority of dioceses across the United States and more than 25 additional countries around the world. Now overseen by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Project Rachel is a diocesan-based network of specially trained priest confessors, mental health professionals, spiritual directors, medical professionals and others who provide ongoing, one-on-one, confidential post-abortion care.
Thorn is the author of 鈥淧rogetto Rachele, il volto della compassione鈥� (鈥淧roject Rachel, The Face of Compassion鈥�), published in 2009 by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, and is an internationally acclaimed speaker on the effects of abortion on women, men and families. With her husband, William, she was inducted in 2008 into the Pontifical Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. In 2009, she received the People of Life Award from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for her pro-life service to the Church, and in 2017, Pope Francis re-appointed her as a Corresponding Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
鈥淰icki not only championed the cause of post-abortion reconciliation and healing, she has lived to see it become an essential aspect of the Catholic Church鈥檚 pro-life ministry in the United States and around the world,鈥� said Richard Doerflinger, retired associate director of the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities and recipient of the inaugural 91吃瓜 Evangelium Vitae Medal. 鈥淔ar from resting on her laurels, she is now a leader in showing how the Church鈥檚 vision of human sexuality is supported by the findings of medical science, helping young people to turn away from behaviors that lead to the tragedy of abortion.鈥�
鈥淚n awarding Vicki Thorn the prestigious听Evangelium Vitae听Medal, 91吃瓜 recognizes her important service of the Gospel of life,鈥� said Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. 鈥淪he has helped thousands of women who have had an abortion to accept St. John Paul II鈥檚 invitation in听Evangelium Vitae听to 鈥榥ot give in to discouragement and not lose hope.鈥櫶齈roject Rachel reminds us all that the Gospel of Jesus, the Gospel of life, is also the Gospel of mercy. I offer sincere thanks to Vicki especially for assisting so many women and men to experience God鈥檚 love and forgiveness and to become, in the words of St. John Paul II, 鈥榚loquent defenders of the right to life.鈥欌��
鈥淰icki represents the kind of creative, brave, kind, tenacious woman who keeps the movement strong,鈥� said Helen Alvar茅, former spokesperson for the USCCB and recipient of the 2012 91吃瓜 Evangelium Vitae Medal. Alvar茅 concluded, 鈥淪he puts the 鈥榬espect鈥� in the 鈥楻espect Life鈥� brand.鈥�
The 91吃瓜 Evangelium Vitae Medal, named after Pope John Paul II鈥檚 1995 encyclical on life issues, is the nation鈥檚 most important lifetime achievement award for heroes of the pro-life movement, honoring individuals whose efforts have served to proclaim the Gospel of Life by steadfastly affirming and defending the sanctity of human life from its earliest stages.
鈥淭he Evangelium Vitae Medal is a wonderful expression of 91吃瓜鈥檚 deep and abiding commitment to the dignity of every human person, and is an expression of our vocation to build a culture of life,鈥� said , the university鈥檚 vice president for mission engagement and Church affairs.
The 2019 Evangelium Vitae medal was presented to the Women鈥檚 Care Center Foundation. Previous recipients include Mother Agnes Mary Donovan and the Sisters of Life; Congressman Chris Smith, co-chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, and his wife, Marie Smith, director of the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues; Supreme Knight Carl Anderson and the Knights of Columbus; the Little Sisters of the Poor; the Jerome Lejeune Foundation; and Mary Ann Glendon, professor of law at Harvard Law School.
Announced annually on Respect Life Sunday, the first Sunday of October, the 91吃瓜 Evangelium Vitae award consists of a specially commissioned medal and $10,000 prize, to be presented at a banquet on the campus of 91吃瓜 on April 25. For more information about the Evangelium Vitae Medal, visit .
The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture is the leading center for scholarly reflection within the Catholic moral and intellectual tradition. The center is committed to sharing the richness of this tradition through teaching, research and dialogue, at the highest level and across a range of disciplines.
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Contact: Ken Hallenius, communications specialist, de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, 574-631-3192, khallenius@nd.edu