2019 La Crosse Conference
2019 Queen of the Americas Guild Conference
“Our Lady of Guadalupe, Guide and Intercessor in Witnessing to the Gospel”
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
La Crosse, Wisconsin
July 26 & 27, 2019
Printable Poster:
Updated QAG Poster 2019
Our 14th Annual conference at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin will be held on July 26 & 27, 2019. The theme of this year’s conference is “Our Lady of Guadalupe, Guide and Intercessor in Witnessing to the Gospel”. In addition to the keynote address by His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, others confirmed on the panel of presenters include:
Dr. Robert Royal is the founder and president of the Faith & Reason Institute in Washington, D.C. and editor-in-chief of “The Catholic Thing” (www.thecatholicthing.org), an online publication that appears daily and is translated into five foreign languages. He writes and speaks on questions of ethics, culture, religion, and politics, has appeared frequently on EWTN as a special commentator on Church matters, various television and radio stations around the U.S. , and has lectured in fifteen foreign countries. His most recent book is A Deeper Vision: The Catholic Intellectual Tradition in the 20th Century (Ignatius 2015). Dr. Royal holds a B.A. and M.A. from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Catholic University of America. He has taught at Brown University, Rhode Island College, and The Catholic University of America. He received fellowships to study in Italy from the Renaissance Society of America (1977) and as a Fulbright scholar (1978). From 1980 to 1982, he served as editor-in-chief of Prospect magazine in Princeton, New Jersey.
Austin Ruse is a conservative political activist, journalist and author. He is the longtime president of the Center for Family and Human Rights, also known as C-FAM, a New York and Washington, DC-based research institute/think tank focusing on international law and policy related to life and family.
Austin is the author of two recent books; Fake Science: Exposing the Left’s Skewed Statistics, Fuzzy Facts, and Dodgy Data (Regnery, 2017), and Littlest Suffering Souls: Children Whose Short Lives Point Us to Christ (Tan Books, 2017).
Austin has published more than 1,000 columns, essays, and articles in recent years. He is a bi-weekly columnist for Crisis Magazine, and a founder of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. He holds undergraduate degrees in political science and journalism from the University of Missouri, and an Honorary Doctorate from Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Austin is a Knight of Magistral Grace in the Order of Malta, and a Knight in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher.
Austin is married to the former Cathleen Cleaver, who is senior legal advisor to the Family Research Council. They have two daughters, Lucy and Gigi. They live in the state of Virginia where Mr. Ruse’s family first arrived from England in the early 1700’s.
Cathy Ruse has devoted her professional career to promoting the dignity of the human person. Her professional experience spans the fields of communication, public policy, and law.
Mrs. Ruse was Chief Counsel to the Constitution Subcommittee in the House of Representatives where she had oversight of civil rights and human rights issues, as well as religious freedom and free speech matters which came before the House.
Mrs. Ruse received her law degree from Georgetown University and a certificate from the National Institute for trial advocacy during her work as a litigator in the District of Columbia. She holds an honorary doctoral degree from Franciscan University of Steubenville.
She has published scholarly legal articles on a variety of constitutional issues, has filed “Friend of the Court” briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court in cases involving abortion, euthanasia, and pornography, and has testified as an expert in congressional hearings in the U.S. House and Senate.
Mrs. Ruse served for several years as the chief spokesperson on human life issues for the U.S. Catholic Bishops. She was co-host of the cable television program Legal Notebook, and has made national and international media appearances, including PBS’ “Firing Line,” CNN’s “Crossfire,” and Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor,” among many others. Her writing has been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Times, and other national and regional newspapers and publications. In 1997, Wired magazine called Mrs. Ruse “one of the most influential opinion shapers in the country.”
Mrs. Ruse served as legal director of Family Research Council in the mid-1990s and was legal counsel and program director for the National Law Center for Children and Families, a law firm devoted to strengthening and defending laws against pornography.
In 2004, she and her husband, Austin Ruse, received the John Paul II Award for Advancing the Culture of Life from the Institute for the Psychological Sciences. In 2006 they received the Defender of Life Award from American Collegians for Life.
Marty Rotella will perform a special concert during the conference. Marty is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and has appeared on EWTN, written, performed and produced many musical CD’s, docudramas and documentaries on a variety of religious subjects. Marty will also serve as our Master of Ceremonies.
