About Us

Our Role

Our Staff
The Respect Life Office of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph was founded in April 2006 to provide pro-life education, pastoral care, prayer and worship, and public policy advocacy for our Catholic faithful and for the residents of northwest and western  Missouri.   

All programs, activities and events reflect the authentic teachings of Sacred Scripture, the Magisterium and Church Tradition under the direction of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities.

The Respect Life Office has three key roles:
  1. Support parish Respect Life ministries -- Pro-life programs designed and developed at the diocesan level are made available to local parishes, schools and Catholic organizations which in turn customize the programs to meet the particular needs of their respective communities.  The success of each programs is ensured through the faithful efforts of pastors, teachers, parents, youth and parish volunteers.
  2. Host diocesan-level activities and events -- Annual events such as pilgrimages, conferences and Masses are a great way to share in the fellowship and in the pro-life experiences of all of our faithful. 
  3. Provide guidance and resources  -- Issues at the beginning of life and at the end of life affect us all and the teachings of the Church, although always consistent, sometime require clarification and confirmation.  Personal or professional resources in the form of referrals or documentation can also be requested. 
Bill Francis, MT(ASCP), MHCE
Director, Respect Life & Human Rights Offices
(816) 756 -1850, x 544
francis@diocesekcsj.org 

Bill joined the Chancery in 2009 after 12 years as a
Sr. Program Manager/Process Architect for a local healthcare information systems organization.   He previously worked as a board-certified Medical Technologist in a number of area hospitals and clinical laboratories. 

Bill earned his M.S. in Health Care Ethics from Creighton University School of Medicine and his B.S. in Medical Technology and B.S. in Business Administration from Missouri Western State University.  He has a Certification in Catholic Social Teaching from Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice and Catholic University of America.

Bill is past Chair of the Missouri Catholic Conference Public Policy Committee.  He and his wife, Melanie, have a son and a daughter.
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​Chelsea Voboril
Program Coordinator, Respect Life & Human Rights Offices
(816) 756-1850, ext. 558
email: voboril@diocesekcsj.org 

​Chelsea joined the Chancery in 2022.  She has been in a number of advocate roles on behalf of vulnerable populations, including beginning and end of life care, and she served as Director of Religious Education/Youth Minister at Church of the Good Shepherd in Smithville.

Chelsea earned her M.A. in Theology with a concentration in Bioethics from Holy Apostles College and Seminary.  She also has a Certificate in Health Care Ethics from the National Catholic Bioethics Center.   Chelsea earned her B.A. in Theology from Rockhurst University. 
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Chelsea and her husband, Matt, are actively involved in several parish ministries and have several nephews, nieces, and Godchildren.

Our Model

Everything the Church does could in one form or another be considered, "pro-life".  As a result, the Respect Life Office could potentially find itself participating in so many activities and events that we would not be available to do the work that only we are uniquely qualified to do.  

Therefore, every Respect Life Office program, activity, and event must meet all three of the following criteria:

  • Must directly defend  or preserve the sanctity of human life  
  • Must have a Catholic identity or reflect a core tenet of the Catholic faith
  • Must provide an opportunity for our faithful to give back using their God-given gifts of time, talent, and treasure.

A key step in developing all of our Respect Life Office programs is identifying our stakeholders:
  • All Respect Life Office programs, activities, and events must be as effective as possible and must meet the needs of everyone who relies on us for education, pastoral care, prayer and worship, and public policy advocacy. 
  • There will always be important requests for critical assistance or for needed activities that do not necessarily meet the criteria above; therefore, these will be referred to the most appropriate Chancery office, community partner or local parish.
  • There will be some requests for assistance or activities that may meet all of the criteria above, but for any number of reasons the Respect Life Office is either not the most appropriate Catholic organization to address the need or another organization is already serving the need.  The Respect Life Office will actively work to ensure the need is met in the most effective and most efficient manner.
  • The Respect Life Office is truly blessed to be able to focus on so many important and worthwhile activities but there will be times when we are unable to meet every valid request due to either current priorities or a lack of expertise in a specific area.  By always working to provide "opportunities for our faithful to give back using their God-given gifts of time, talent, and treasure", we can also ensure all valid requests receive the same level of attention by asking the right volunteers to assist us if and when necessary.

All of our stakeholders fall into at least one of three roles:
  • "Shareholders" -- Externally contribute to the work of the office  
  • "Customers" -- Externally benefit from the work of the office 
  • "Associates" -- Internally do the work of the office

To reflect that we are truly all doing His work, we label the recipient whom we ultimately serve, “The Father”, the donor who made the ultimate sacrifice, “The Son”, and the team member without whom we could do nothing, “The Holy Spirit”. 
 Examples:

  • Recipients of Ministry Services --  woman assisted by the Project Rachel post-abortive healing program
  • Donors -- donor contributes financially to the Project Rachel program
  • Team Members -- Respect Life Office associate manages the Project Rachel program
  • Parish Volunteers & Committees -- Parish Respect Life Coordinators promote Project Rachel program in their parish
  • Community Partners -- Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas post-abortive healing program refers women to our Project Rachel program
  • Chancery Offices -- Family Life Office provides Project Rachel program referrals to mothers and grandmothers
  • Program Volunteers & Committees  -- parishioner who goes through the Project Rachel program decides to assist the Respect Life Office as a post-abortive speaker or Project Rachel consultant for other post-abortive women



“Catholics must be committed to the defense of life in all its stages and in every condition”
                                                                                                                                                                                              St. Pope John Paul II, 1995
Respect Life Office ~ Diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph  ~ 20 West Ninth Street ~ Kansas City, MO 64105 ~ ​(816) 756-1850 ~ francis@diocesekcsj.org