FLORIDA: MHCC HOSTS 7TH ANNUAL TAMPA BAY PRO-LIFE YOUTH RALLY

By Lili DeGrasse

(Tampa, Fla. – March 11) – Mary Help of Christians Center in Tampa hosted the 7th annual Tampa Bay Pro-Life Youth Rally on March 1-2. The yearly event, co-sponsored by the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Diocese of St. Petersburg, aims to evangelize and teach young people about the sanctity of life and the inherent dignity of every human being from conception to natural death.

Students from various Catholic schools of the St. Petersburg Diocese (Clearwater Central, Jesuit, Bishop McLaughlin, St. Stephen, Cristo Rey Tampa) attended the first rally day, while youth groups and families attended on the second. Each day included workshops, lunch, Mass, the opportunity for confession, and a keynote speech by Ryan Bomberger of the Radiance Foundation. Ryan spoke passionately about the beauty of human life, stressing that every life has a purpose, and shared his own story: he is part of that 1% used to justify 100% of abortions (i.e., a baby conceived from the horror and violence of rape), yet his biological mother was stronger than her circumstances, had her baby, and gave him up for adoption.