by Francis X. Maier

This is a column about Betty and Les Ruppersberger. To the eye, they look like any other ordinary married couple. And in a way, they are like other ordinary couples. Keep them in your memory because I'll come back to them in a moment. But first, consider the following.

One of the most vivid chapters in Scripture is Genesis 18. In the course of its thirty-three verses, God hears of the wickedness in Sodom and Gomorrah - the biblical "cities of the plain." He comes down to investigate for himself in the guise of three travelers. On the way, he appears to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre, resting at Abraham's tent and promising his wife Sarah a son despite her advanced age.

Then, as Genesis notes:

[The] men turned from there and went toward Sodom; but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous in the city; will you then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked. . . . Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" And the Lord said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

Abraham, though a creature (in his own words) of mere "dust and ashes," is nonetheless an accomplished wheedler. He presses his appeal to God's justice. He begs God to spare Sodom if only forty, or even thirty, or even only ten righteous persons can be found in the city. And moved by this, God gives His word. Alas, the rest of the story is a matter of unhappy record. God's forbearance has a limit to the abuse it will take. Sodom lacks even ten righteous souls. Lot and his family, Abraham's kin, are warned to flee the city. As Sodom is destroyed, Lot's wife looks back. She instantly becomes a pillar of salt.

So how does any of this relate to ordinary Betty and Les?

At the start of his career, Les - Doctor Les (he specialized in obstetrics and gynecology) - was asked if he'd be willing to do abortions. He said no. Les was a Catholic, of the nominal sort, but he'd been adopted as an infant himself, so abortion was the one ugly procedure he wouldn't do.

On the other hand, he was happy to offer contraceptives and sterilizations. He did that for many years. He rose rapidly in his profession. He earned an enviable reputation as a leader. He made a very comfortable living. And he carried a commensurate level of stress, along with the chronic anger it produced. The results were predictable. In 1991, he survived a stroke. He tracks the beginning of the change in his life from that point.

Les returned to the Church and the sacraments. He also continued to provide sterilizations and contraceptives as part of his medical practice. It wasn't until 1999, after a retreat, a direct challenge from a priest acquaintance, and the encouragement and support of Betty, that Les told his medical partners - partners in the practice Les himself had cofounded - that he would no longer prescribe contraceptives or do sterilizations. They immediately cut his income by a third.

Betty and Les sold their house and moved to a smaller place. And they did more - much more in life - with less. They've been married fifty-four years. Betty (as Les would be the first to say) has been key to everything they've done. Together they've taught natural family planning, marriage prep, RCIA, given scores of chastity talks, produced a radio program, and been vigorous in prolife causes.

Les is a past president of the Catholic Medical Association (CMA), and served on the CMA board for thirteen years. He currently serves as the medical director for three crisis pregnancy centers that saved 426 babies from abortion last year and some 4,000 others over a 15-year history. In 2019, Pope Francis named Betty and Les as a pontifical dame and knight in the Order of St. Gregory the Great, an exceptional honor by the Holy See, ...