New Jersey Catholics are rallying for a culture of life in post-Roe America

MORRISTOWN, New Jersey (LifeSiteNews) — Catholic faithful in New Jersey are responding in massive numbers to the state’s permissive abortion laws in the post-Roe v Wade era. Their prayers, vigils, fundraisers, rallies and peaceful protests are promoting a vigorous pro-life culture.

In Trenton, the state’s capital, thousands showed up in late September for an inaugural Mass and March for Life. Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney of the Diocese of Paterson was recently named a ‘LIFE Runners’ bishop after he led a prayer gathering at a crowded Pro-Life 5K in Morristown. The event was hosted by the nearby St Cecilia’s (Rockaway, NJ) chapter of the US-based LIFE Runners organization.

Meanwhile, New Jersey’s Catholic dioceses are highlighting resources for pregnant and parenting moms in need, amplifying the Walking with Moms in Need initiative of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. https://rcdop.org/resources-for-moms-in-need

More than two years after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, America’s fractious abortion politics are being transformed. Abortion is no longer regarded as a federal constitutional right but a matter for each state. Thus, it is now often a hot potato in local politics. New Jersey offers a striking example of how pro-lifers who live in one of more than a dozen abortion-extremist states (where abortion is legal up to birth) can fight back – and make a positive impact, according to analysts. In 2023, New Jersey had the sixth highest number of abortions per state in the US at 58,420, or 29.2 per 1,000 women of reproductive age, versus the 14.4 national rate, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Yet despite the pro-life enthusiasm, Catholic leaders still see challenges for New Jersey.

“More work must be done for New Jersey to realize a reduction in the number of abortions, both legislatively and philosophically,” said James King, executive director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference in a September statement.

“As a Church, we’re fighting a two-front battle,” he added. “Not only do we need to effectively advocate to the Legislature for more restrictive abortion laws, we also need to educate pregnant mothers who are contemplating abortion that the Catholic Church and its Catholic charities have resources available to help them through the most difficult times, following the birth of their child.”

King, picking up the “Walking with Moms” theme resonating in Catholic circles in New Jersey, concluded: “As the largest charitable organization in the world, we [Catholic Church] don’t just condemn abortion; we offer many programs to help people choose life over the alternative.”

It takes a lot of energy. The pro-life movement in New Jersey, led by New Jersey Right to Life, and a busy network of other pro-life groups and Church ministries, has had a singular focus for years on fighting abortion, and in practical outreach at the state and national level. Still, the new reality in the post-Roe v Wade world has emboldened many local pro-lifers even more, say analysts.

“The overturning of Roe v Wade in the Dobbs decision was a decisive victory for the pro-life moment nationwide and, most importantly, for little babies in the womb. And it helped set a proper new legal and moral tone for America,” said one New Jersey pro-life activist. “Now the battle has shifted to states like New Jersey for the protection of life in the womb.”

The Mass and March for Life in Trenton was held in late September this year – instead of around the anniversary of Roe v Wade on January 22, as was the custom in past years – and was a joint effort by New Jersey’s five Roman Catholic dioceses, and the national March for Life organization.

READ: A-Cross America Relay launches the largest spanning Pro-Life event in the world

In November, the annual St Cecilia’s LIFE Runners’ Pro-Life 5K and fundraiser for its affiliated Rockaway Denville Catholic Respect Life Ministry was launched from Assumption Parish in Morristown. The 5K memorialized the late Thomas A. Haltigan, a passionate pro-life leader at St Cecilia’s Parish.

A record crowd joined the 5K, running, walking, and pushing strollers. The 5K followed the sidewalks to the local Planned Parenthood in Morristown, and then back to Assumption Parish. At Planned Parenthood, participants stopped briefly to join a prayer vigil outside the abortion business.

Earlier, at a separate local fundraiser hosted by the pro-life Care Net Pregnancy Resources, Hollywood celebrity Jennifer O’Neill, the fundraiser’s keynote speaker, endorsed the Pro-Life 5K and posed for a photograph announcing the event. (O’Neill, an actor and a pro-life speaker, appeared in the recent Ronald Reagan biopic as the late president’s mother Nelle Reagan.)

At Assumption Parish, Bishop Sweeney led a prayer gathering and spoke before the start of the 5K. Msgr. John E. Hart, Assumption’s pastor, welcomed the crowd. U2’s “Beautiful Day” played quietly in the background as the gathering watched video footage of the late Thomas A. Haltigan.

Bishop Sweeney accepted a special LIFE Runners’ jacket from John Aidan Byrne, leader of St. Cecilia’s LIFE Runners. The jacket presented to the bishop was embossed with the words, ‘Remember the Unborn (Jeremiah 1:5).’ Bishop Sweeney now joins the roster of 28 US Catholic Bishops listed as LIFE Runners.

The leader of the Catholic Diocese of Paterson, NJ is a seasoned pro-life activist. Bishop Sweeney celebrates a monthly Mass and Rosary Procession for Life at St. Margaret of Scotland Church in Morristown. After the Mass, he leads the faithful in an outdoor rosary procession for life to the local Planned Parenthood abortion clinic.

Elizabeth McCormack, Haltigan’s daughter, said it was “incredibly inspiring” to see so many young faces at the St. Cecilia’s LIFE Runners’ 5K. “[Haltigan] believed deeply in the power of young people to bring about change, and seeing all of you here today–from different backgrounds, experiences, and walks of life–is a true testament to his vision of a compassionate and courageous future,” McCormack told the large crowd.

Democratic Presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, took in 15 percent fewer votes in the Garden State than Joe Biden had in 2020. President-elect Donald Trump accumulated four percent more than in 2020.

John Aidan Byrne finds hope in the new mood of the local pro-life community, and in voting patterns.

“The vote in New Jersey was as much about a large-scale rejection of woke and abortion extremism and leftist progressive policies, as it was a vote on the economy and the cost of living,” he said.

“People of decency, which is the majority of New Jersey residents, realize abortion is not the solution in difficult and crisis pregnancies. Abortion is the problem. We must therefore continue to restore a loving culture of life.”

READ: Pro-lifers excluded from NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade highlight abortion crisis from sidelines

McCormack told the crowd at the LIFE Runners’ 5K in Morristown, that her dad always said that the strength of a pro-life movement is in the passion and dedication of those who carry it forward.

“Each of you is doing just that,” she said.