Right and Wrong

A Unique Conference

“How to Form Our Consciences” 

St. Patrick’s Parish Center

115 Maple Avenue, Victor N.Y.

Thursday, October 25, 7:00 PM

Doors Open 6:45

Free Admission, Desserts, Beverages

and Instrumental Music

An evening of lecture and discussion on the Role of Conscience...in voting and in life, how conscience differs from opinion, how to form our consciences, and how to resist the challenges against following our consciences. 

The program will open with a lecture by Daniel Kane, UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights and continue with a facilitated discussion for personal application led by Jann Armantrout, Director of the Diocese of Rochester’s Respect for Life Office. 

This Conference will be non-partisan and apolitical. No candidates or political parties will be discussed, and no candidate presentations will be made or any of their materials distributed.  The presentations will be consistent with the Life Ethic of the Christian Faithful, and help equip families to develop conscience from an early age, to hear and respond lifelong to the ‘silent voice within’.

Voting, among other human activities, should reflect the exercise of a well-formed conscience.  Speakers will discuss how conscience is formed, exercised and communicated, and why Truth matters.  Questions for discussion include:  What sources are valid and useful in forming conscience?  Is voting really a moral act?  Can voting ever be a sin?  How do we ‘know’ the Truth?  Can conscience be at odds with Church teaching or with the consciences of others?  How can we communicate our discernment of conscience with love, charity, respect, humility and hope, to our families, neighbors, business colleagues and to the community?   Must we always follow our consciences? 

All are welcome to join this important discussion, whether they are Catholic, of other faiths, or of no faith, since the basic natural law principles apply to everyone.

To reserve your free admission - and for further information, please contact:

Stephanie Ramos @ St. Patrick’s  -  585-924-7111

BIO’S

 Dan Kane

Born and raised in Geneva, New York, Dan returned to the area after an almost 30 year absence to care for his family. A devout Catholic, scientist, entrepreneur and home schooling father of three; Dan spends most days as an imaging physicist and his free time promoting a culture of life.

In 2008 Mr. Kane was named an Institute Fellow of the Westchester Institute for Ethics and the Human Person. In 2010 he became a Director of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights at the European University of Rome and the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. Both entities serve the greater good by promoting the dignity of the human person.

Work in both institutions involved different aspects of human dignity - the moral status of the human embryo, protection of conscience, questions involving same gender marriages, organ donation with heart-beating donors, human embryo adoption, promoting bioethics through art and emergency contraception in Catholic Healthcare Institutions.

On October 25th,  Mr. Kane will be sharing his thoughts on forming a moral conscience.

 Jann Armantrout

Jann has worked at the Diocese of Rochester for the past twelve years.  She was recruited by the Diocese for the position of Diocesan Life Issues Coordinator in 2000 as a result of her experience, both paid and non-paid, in Rochester, working on the issues of the consistent life ethic.  The CLE includes the protection of life from conception through natural death, and resistance to capital punishment, economic injustice and violence as a solution to domestic and international problems. The first half of her career included a decade of service to the developmentally disabled population of New York State and a decade of being a stay at home mom.

Jann’s undergraduate degree is in Political Science and she did masters work in Public Administration.  In 2005 she was certified through the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Health Care Ethics, studying with Fr. Tad Pacholczyk.  There are many different dimensions to the job of Diocesan Life Issues Coordinator including education, advocacy, administration and faith formation.  Of the many tasks she does, one that she enjoys most is being out in the parishes, helping parishioners to know and understand Catholic Social and Moral teaching on life issues.

She is currently a member of the NYS Empire State Stem Cell Board, having been nominated by Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb.  She was invited to serve on the Democrat and Chronicle’s Board of Contributors in 2012. Her greatest satisfaction however comes from her two sons aged 22 and 21 continued practice of  Catholicism.  Jann resides in Webster where she and her late husband Kenneth Arnold, raised their family.

On October 25th, Jann will be discussing Conscience regarding personal applications in today’s culture.