“God’s Plan for Growing Up,” a program for mothers and daughters to discuss female physical development and related issues, will be offered to preteen girls and their mothers May 17 at the Academy of St. Joseph in Brentwood.
The program, which will include a speaker from Generation Life, a national movement of young people promoting Church teaching on love and human life, will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will include brunch. Girls aged 10 to 12 and their mothers are invited. A similar program for girls 13 to 15 and their mothers is set for June 21 at 11:30 a.m. at the academy.
The programs are sponsored by the diocesan Respect Life Office. The cost for each event is $25 per family for up to three people. Families can participate in both programs for $40. Those interested can contact the Respect Life Office at 516-379-8292, or by e-mail, at respectlife@drvc.org.
Mary Worthington, 25, high school coordinator for Generation Life, will give the keynote address at the May 17 program. “I will be talking about appreciation and respect for our bodies and our sexuality as gifts from God,” Worthington said. “I’ll also be talking about how God has a plan for our bodies and our sexuality.”
The larger culture often tries to exploit the female body, she commented. Catholic teaching better reflects the dignity of women, God’s plan and encourages chastity and marriage, she noted.
Other speakers will include Jennifer DeMarco of Amityville, a physician, and Lorraine Pace of Breast Cancer Help, Inc.
“This is something that we are happy to offer to young women and their families,” said Msgr. Francis Maniscalco, director of the diocesan Respect Life Office. “These are the issues that young people are facing. Much of the information that they will receive from peers and from the media is contrary to the Catholic understanding.
“What we hope to do through these programs is not only offer them reliable information and let them know what the Church teaches, in all its fullness and richness, but also to foster communications between young people and their families on these issues,” Msgr. Maniscalco commented. His office is hoping to sponsor a similar program for fathers and sons in the fall.
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