Two diocesan offices tasked with fostering the culture of life are now operating as one.

Effective July 1, the Office of Family Life assumed the responsibilities previously handled by the Office of Respect Life and Human Dignity. The change was announced by Patricia Gibson, chancellor of the Diocese of Peoria, on July 14.

In her statement, Gibson thanked Lynn Grandon, the founding director of the Office of Respect Life and Human Dignity, for her past assistance and managing the affairs of that office.

Adding her gratitude was Jeanne Whalen, director of the Department of Pastoral Services within the Office of Family Life. For the time being, she is serving as the contact for persons seeking information about respect life issues.

“We thank Lynn for all the wonderful work she did in establishing the office and in putting up one of the most thorough diocesan respect life Web sites,” Whalen told The Catholic Post.

She anticipated a smooth transition, saying the two offices have been closely related.

“The missions are so intertwined — it would be impossible for the church to have one mission without the other,” Whalen explained.

“The Office of Family Life has had a long tradition of carrying on the consistent tradition of the church in proclaiming the Gospel of Life,” Whalen said. “We do several of those already.”

Whalen also emphasized that the Office of Family Life would continue the public speaking that has become a trademark of the Office of Respect Life and Human Dignity. Among the topics that have been offered are contraception, infertility, post-abortion, NFP and stem-cell research.

Current plans call for linking the Web sites of both offices, she said.