INDReporter

Fox's Bret Baier speaking in Lafayette

by Heather Miller

Bret Baier's talk on "the Obama Administration, Congress and a look at politics in America" is the drawing card of the fourth annual fundraiser for Pope John Paul II Academy.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier, widely remembered for his repeated interjections during a one-on-one interview with President Barack Obama that took place days before the historic health care vote, will be in Lafayette March 12 as the guest speaker at a fundraiser gala.

Baier hosts Fox's "Special Report," a news program and haven for political pundits that's touted by the news channel as the highest rated cable news show in the 6-7 p.m. (ET) time slot.

His talk on "the Obama Administration, Congress and a look at politics in America" is the drawing card of the fourth annual fundraiser for Pope John Paul II Academy, a 4-year-old Lafayette private Catholic school of about 150 students.

Headmaster Kevin Roberts says Baier was requested as guest speaker because of his Catholic faith - and in hopes of bringing in a "larger net" for the school's planned move to a permanent campus on Carmel Drive at Magnolia Community where the De La Salle Christian Brothers are housed. The academy is currently operating out of a temporary facility on the Carencro-Lafayette border until students move to the Carmel Drive campus in the fall.

In addition to his role at the academy, Roberts - himself a guest speaker at various events - is politically active both locally and nationally. He founded the activist group Catholic Families for America, which this year merged with Catholic Vote, a national conservative Catholic lobbying organization. Roberts serves on the advisory board for Catholic Vote's political action committee, and also has been a guest speaker at TEA Party of Lafayette-sponsored events.

Baier's speech is boasted on the school's website as one of "humor and insight ... with exclusive, poignant analysis on what's going on at the White House, on Capitol Hill and what (e)ffect it will have on the 2012 elections."

Tickets for the gala are $59 each until Feb. 28 and $79 after. They are available by calling 896-6050 or visiting the school's website at www.pjpa.org.