News
Featured Image
Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral and conference center in downtown Los AngelesShutterstock.com

LOS ANGELES, June 21, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – The Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has cancelled an event featuring Planned Parenthood activists scheduled to take place Friday on its cathedral property.

“Uncertain Times: Charting the Path Forward for Women's Health,” an event by the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County, was booked to be held at the Conference Center at Cathedral Plaza located  on the grounds of Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral. 

It's “a full-service event site located in a convenient downtown location, adjacent to LA's impressive landmark, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels,” the Center's website boasts. “The Conference Center at Cathedral Plaza offers a wide variety of options to serve all meeting and special event needs. We can host special events from 10 up to 4,000 guests.”

“The future of women’s health in the U.S. is uncertain,” promotional materials for the event state. It touted its speakers' careers as abortion activists with Planned Parenthood, America's largest abortion company.

Planned Parenthood commits more than 300,000 abortions annually.

“For more than 20 years, Kathy Kneer has been President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, the statewide public policy office of the seven independently incorporated California Planned Parenthood affiliates. … Susan Dunlap is the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles (PPLA). Seeing 250,000 patient visits each year and providing comprehensive sex education in schools and communities across Los Angeles County, PPLA is one of the largest Planned Parenthood affiliates in the country.”

Dunlap's bio highlighted that she has been honored by Equality California.

“Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender civil rights organization,” according to its website

Church Militant first reported on the conference, which was scheduled for June 23. The archdiocese responded after Church Militant published an article on the event with an email saying they'd only just learned of the event and it was cancelled. The archdiocese then issued a longer statement, which does not appear to be on its website but was published at Church Militant.

On June 20, Adrian Marquez Alarcon, a spokesperson for the archdiocese, emailed Church Militant: “The Archdiocese became aware of the matter yesterday evening. The event will not be taking place at the Center on the Cathedral Plaza.”

The following day, Church Militant reported that the archdiocese had issued a longer statement:

Dear Friends of Life,
Thank you for bringing the Uncertain Times: Charting a Path Forward for Women's Health event to our attention at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The information was acted upon immediately, and the event has been moved.
The topic for the event, as well as the occupations of both speakers listed in the promotional material, stands in direct contradiction to Catholic moral doctrine and violates our policy for the use of our facilities in the ADLA handbook, which states, “speakers should not contradict the mission and principles of the Catholic Church, especially in the area of objective Catholic moral teaching.”
The Office of Life, Justice and Peace, under the leadership of Archbishop Gomez, are committed to the dignity of every human life and the protection of the right to life for all. We ask that you join us in prayer today and every day for an end to the tragedy of abortion and a commitment to supporting women and families in need.
“God is our Father and he calls us to take responsibility for our brothers and sisters, to promote and protect human life, beginning with the most defenseless members of our human family.” Archbishop Gomez, For Greater Things You Were Born

LifeSiteNews has been unable to locate the statement on the archdiocese's website. The archdiocese did not respond to an inquiry by press time.

The webpage promoting the “Uncertain Times” event and facilitating the purchase of tickets still lists the “Center at Cathedral Plaza” as its location as of 5:29 p.m. EST on June 21.

The Center staff will “make your event planning easy with our professional staff known for their prompt response time for customized proposals,” its website says. “As a full-service conference meeting facility, we check availability in minutes, offer a competitive rate and product, and have the team and equipment to deliver a great meeting.”