(LifeSiteNews) – As I’m sure you can imagine, the sponsors of the Rome Life Forum in Exile are out of the ordinary.
This year’s Rome Life Forum will be held next week in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 17 and 18. This huge undertaking, presented by LifeSiteNews, will bring together speakers and other participants from all over the U.S. and beyond. It would not be possible without the help of generous supporters UbeCube; The Fatima Center; the Coalition for Canceled Priests; John Gerard Lewis, the author of Catholic Voting and Mortal Sin; and Jason Jones’ The Vulnerable People Project.
UbeCube stands out among the sponsors as the innovative why-didn’t-I-think-of-that manufacturer of a “multi-crate system,” that is, plastic boxes you can stick together like Lego to create storage units for yourself. Think old milk crates, only collapsible and with hinged lids and removeable panels. Strong and light, they can be used as carry cases or stacked up into furniture. You could build a bookcase out of them — or a shoe rack — and snap on more UbeCubes as you acquired more books — or shoes. Meanwhile this is an American manufacturing company based in Grandview, Missouri.
The Fatima Center is a Catholic apostolate dedicated to spreading the full message of Fatima, that is, the lessons taught by apparitions of the Angel of Peace and then the Blessed Virgin Mary to the young seers of Fatima from 1917, and fostering devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart. Founded by the late Father Nicholas Gruner in 1978, the Fatima Center runs conferences and writes and distributes literature about Our Lady of Fatima and the traditional Catholic faith to thousands of people every year.
The Coalition of Canceled Priests probably needs no introduction to readers of LifeSiteNews, but just in case I’ll explain that it is a not-for-profit organization created to support priests who have been unjustly removed from ministry by their bishops. These are not priests who are guilty of clerical sexual misconduct or embezzlement or anything that would justify their suspension from active ministry. No, these are good priests who have fallen afoul of their bishops, sometimes simply for remaining faithful to traditional Catholicism or for using forthright language. The ultimate mission of the organization, while providing the canceled priests a platform and the laity the opportunity to help them spiritually and financially, is to return them to public ministry.
John Gerard Lewis, the author of Catholic Voting and Mortal Sin, is a most interesting individual. He is the founder of VotingCatholic.org, which helps Catholics choose candidates based on sound doctrine, as well as the Board Chairman for the 1st Amendment Partnership, which is dedicated to protecting freedom of religion for Americans of all faiths. He is the president of Lewis Legal News, Inc, which owns several publications as well as a columnist at both SeekingAlpha.com and “The Trading Deck” at MarketWatch.com. In addition to supporting the Rome Life Forum, Mr. Lewis might be considered one of the hosts; he lives in Kansas City.
The most recent addition to our roster of supporters is The Vulnerable People Project (VPP), another endeavor that will be familiar to LifeSite readers. Founded by Hollywood producer Jason Jones, VPP seeks to help the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. Jones launched the initiative in 2021, after the U.S. military withdrawal left Afghanistan in chaos. Originally, he meant to rescue a friend’s mother trapped in the country; now, according to the VPP webpage, “it has evacuated hundreds of religious minorities and former Afghan allies, provided safe houses, and worked on resettling vulnerable Afghans in safer locations.” Expanding further, the program has also helped people in Sudan, Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia, and Hawaii. After the devastating fires in Lahaina, Hawaii, VPP was one of the first groups on the spot, and it enabled pupils of a destroyed Catholic school to continue their studies. Meanwhile, Jones himself will be speaking at the Rome Life Forum.
Other speakers at next week’s conference will include Bishop Joseph Strickland; George Farmer, the CEO of his wife Candace Owens’ “Candace” podcast; LifeSiteNews Editor-in-Chief John-Henry Westen; theologian Dr. Janet Smith; author and Mariologist Xavier Reyes-Ayral; and David Rodriguez from The Fatima Center. In addition, our interesting sponsors will also be attending.
READ: Bishop Strickland to give keynote speech at this year’s Rome Life Forum
There will also be a host of like-minded people. Attendees are expected to take part fully in the discussions, particularly in the question-and-answer sessions. The Rome Life Forum attracts Catholics from all over the world, and everyone has a unique perspective to share. Doing what can humanly be done to steer back on course is not the work of only a few, but of as many of the faithful as are called to do it.
The Rome Life Forum in Exile (that is, outside the Eternal City) will be held in the InterContinental Kansas City at the Plaza hotel. To buy tickets and for more information about the Rome Life Forum, please visit our Rome Life Forum page here.