A messenger for the Gospel of Life

The route to the statehouse in Augusta is one with which Suzanne Lafreniere is well familiar. As the Diocese of Portland’s director of the Office of Public Policy and its pro-life liaison, she has been traveling there regularly for the past 12 years.

“My job is varied. I am the registered lobbyist for the Diocese of Portland, but I also advise and work in collaboration with other offices at the chancery, and I am the Catholic Church’s liaison with the pro-life community,” she says.

Although much of Suzanne’s job is related to politics, that is not what lies at the heart of her work. Rather, is it the protection of Catholic values and advocacy for human rights.

“We are the perfect messengers of the Gospel of Life because we do it, because we live it, because we serve the poor, because we clothe the naked, because we assist pregnancy support centers, because we really do what we’re called to do. So, the Church is the perfect messenger in that way. We’re not just there standing with a microphone,” she says.

While some may question whether the Church should speak out at all in the public square, Lafreniere warns of the dangers of remaining silent.

“We can’t stay out of politics because the secular voice is so loud. Many things that I oppose in Augusta aren’t things that we are imposing on others but that others are imposing on us in an attempt to reduce our religious liberty rights, for example, taxpayer funding for abortion. That’s something we never had pre-2019,” she says. “There are conscience rights of not just Catholics but of others who are secular, who don’t even believe in God, for instance, those who find abortion abhorrent. The rights of those individuals have to be represented in the public square. We can’t allow the dictatorship of relativism to just roll over us.”

Lafreniere’s work is challenging and, at times, heartbreaking. She points, for instance, to the late-term abortion bill passed in 2023 and to the defeat of a bill in 2018 that would have expanded Medicaid access to more struggling families.

“We lost by two votes. I left the capitol that day in tears. It was the first time I left in tears. I was, like, this could have made such a difference for people. This would have helped single moms who were trying to work but weren’t poor enough to qualify for assistance. I remember thinking, I wish I cared just a little less,” she says.

Asked if she has thought about giving up the fight, she answers, no.

“If I had just taken my cards and walked away, that would be the ultimate defeat,” she says. “That allows the devil to win in a way.”

Instead, in moments of distress, she turns to God and her rosary beads.

“You can feel a level of selfishness and deceit and evil at certain times, and so, I’m, like, ‘Lord, just stay with me,’” she says. “I always have my rosary with me, on me.”

While the positions she takes on behalf of the Church sometimes lead to angry looks, she says she tries not to take it personally and always tries to keep in mind that opponents are not enemies. They, too, are children of God.

“We have to pray for people, even if we believe they have wronged us,” she says. “I am always very careful, even if I’m very frustrated or annoyed, to remember that I am representing Our Lord, so I’m always going to try to be the best I can be.”

Although there have been setbacks, there have also been successes. Lafreniere points, for instance, to a bill passed in 2015 that ensures pregnant women who learn their babies might have Down syndrome or another condition are provided with information about what that might mean.

“There was no law on the books that would require scientific, accurate information be given to them, even in pamphlet form. And so, a lot of women, who would understandably be nervous or scared, would take the opinion and advice of their provider as kind of gospel, and unfortunately, a lot of physicians or midwives would say you should abort,” Lafreniere explains. “Hopefully, now, in that moment of panic and concern, moms get the information they need to make an informed choice because without the right information, it’s really not a choice at all.”

Despite the often contentious atmosphere at the statehouse, Lafreniere says she has been blessed to have made friends through her work and says she feels she has played a role in reconnecting some people with the Church.

“That’s been amazing,” she says. “Sometimes, because we do not have a full-time Catholic chaplain up there, people will say they want to talk with me about something, and it will have nothing to do with policy. They just really need to talk with somebody, and I’m like, ‘OK, Lord, that’s also a reason why I am here.’”

The statehouse, however, is not a place where Lafreniere says she ever expected to be.

“I’m the youngest of four adopted girls, and I always wanted to do adoption law,” she says. “I just thought it would be great to put together families who couldn’t have children with mothers who were considering making an adoption plan.”

Raised Catholic, she also felt a call to service, something she says really took hold when she attended Loyola University in Maryland. She remembers, even before starting school, participating in a three-day program aimed at raising awareness about homelessness.

“That really opened my eyes to being the hands and feet of Jesus and doing community service,” she says. “It really changed the way that I looked at the world.”

Lafreniere met her future husband at Loyola, and the couple would eventually settle in Maine. Not finding an opportunity in adoption law here, she began working at a law firm but says she found the work boring. When a job working in faith formation for the diocese opened up, she applied but didn’t get it. Not long after, however, she was contacted about a position as the executive assistant to the then-public policy and communications director.

“The rest, as they say, is history,” she says.

She got that position and would later take over the director’s position.

 Now the mother of three girls, she believes being a woman and a mother is a benefit in her work.

“Having a woman, having a mom, represent the Church at this moment, with some of these critical life and death issues, can hopefully make someone think twice,” she says.

Despite her years of experience, Lafreniere says the job has gotten more difficult, not less, because lawmakers are now often entrenched in their positions.

“It’s 500% more partisan,” she says. “Many of the issues I work on are so partisan. Trying to be a credible witness to Christ oftentimes means annoying the Republicans in the morning and then being with them in the afternoon.”

 She says in a place where party now often comes first, it’s an uncommon position to be in.

“It is really unusual, but it’s not about me. It’s not about party,” she says. “It is never party first. It is always Jesus first.”