Thousands demonstrate support for life in Trenton
From Staff Reports
Those who take stances on controversial issues are often heartened to learn they’re not a lone voice. Approximately 1,700 members of the pro-life community reaffirmed their commitment to their beliefs and to each other during the first ever Faithful Citizenship and Witness to Life event at the Statehouse in Trenton Oct. 18.
Activities began in the morning with a Mass concelebrated by the Catholic Bishops of New Jersey in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. After Mass, participants marched from the cathedral to the steps of the Statehouse. Their goal – to impress upon state legislators their concern for the sanctity of life, from the moment of conception to natural death.
Jennifer Ruggiero, diocesan director, Pro-Life Activities, served as “master of ceremonies” for the Statehouse activities.
“It’s important to have the public at large, legislators in particular, hear the bishops and the intense level of commitment they have for the defense of human life,” said Bill Bolan, chairman of the New Jersey Catholic Conference. “I also think it’s important for the people who attended, that they can get the opportunity to worship together and have some public expression so that the world can see how large their commitment is.”
For the state of New Jersey, the event was “truly a day that the Lord has made,” said Bishop John M. Smith, Diocese of Trenton, in his greeting to the congregation who assembled in the Cathedral. He was joined by Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski, Msgr. Herbert K. Tillyer, vicar general of the Diocese of Patterson who represented Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli, Archbishop John J. Myers, Diocese of Newark and Bishop Joseph G. Galante, Diocese of Camden, who gave the homily at Mass.
“We have a right, we have a duty, we have an obligation to let our faith touch, influence and determine how we live out not only our dutires, but all of the things that we do in our everyday world,” said Bishop Galante.
Referring to recently published articles about religion and politics in secular newspapers, Bishop Galante criticized the lack of a common denominator between politics and faith life. “That common denominator is people,” he said, “because politics is the involvement of people in a process and everything that touches people brings with it moral questions. There are, or should be no, separations between issues that we call political and moral questions.”
He added, “There can’t be a separation between those moral principals which we have learned, which we have been taught and which continue to be expressed and practiced by the Church.”
In regard to those who try to separate their personal beliefs from public policy, Bishop Galante said, “There can’t be a dichotomy between what we believe and how we act. We can’t say, ‘Well, yes, I believe this, but it is not practical to apply it to life.’ There is a schizophrenia that takes place in that. We are either people who are whole or we are people who are split.”
“That’s why it’s not OK to be pro-choice but ‘personally opposed to abortion,’” said Cathleen Cleaver Ruse, director of Planning and Information in the Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and one of the speakers at the event. “To be pro-choice is to favor the law’s protection for some, but not all; a fundamental injustice which we as Catholics can’t support. The Catholic vision of humanity says there is no‘them;’ there’s only ‘us.’”
Citing the statement of Pope John Paul II that “abortion is the greatest civil rights issue of our day,” she said, “as Catholics, we understand what he means. Faith and reason teach us that protecting the right to life must come first, because without the right to life, the rights to health, to home, to work and to family have no meaning. That’s why it’s not alright to be pro-choice.”
Sometimes, doctors recommend abortion if there are complications in the pregnancy and the child isn’t expected to survive. That was the recommendation for Gabriel Jonathan Cascia. During his mother’s 20-week ultrasound appointment, it was discovered that he had a lethal form of dwarfism and would not survive.
“When I told my doctor that we did not want to terminate the pregnancy, he suggested that I speak to a counselor,” Jo- Anne Cascia recalled. “I called the number [he gave me] and began to tell my story to a counselor. I had no idea [she] was a counselor for an abortion clinic. She explained that I was so far along with the pregnancy that they would have to do a procedure and that my baby would not be intact after the removal.”
Instead, the Cascia family switched obstetricians and cared for Gabriel through delivery. He lived for an hour and a half after birth. His funeral was attended by more than 200 people (see sidebar).
It’s for children like Gabriel that people attended Faithful Citizenship and Witness to Life. “We wanted to raise awareness of the issues that are important to us as Catholics,” said Ruggiero. “It was a groundbreaking event for us as Catholics from across the state to do this.”
In Her Own Words Gabriel Jonathan Cascia was born February 24, 2004. He weighed six pounds, four ounces. He lived for an hour and a half. During his short life, he touched many people, and the path he traveled to birth is testimony to the effect that every life has on its community. Gabriel’s mother Jo-Anne told her son’s story to those who attended the Faithful Citzenship and Witness for Life event in Trenton, Oct. 18. Below are excerpts from her speech. “Gabriel’s journey began in the summer
of 2003 when we found out we were expecting
our second child. Our son Patrick had just
turned one three months earlier and we were
so excited to be expecting another child so close
in age to Patrick. My initial visits to the doctor
were routine and uneventful, as was my initial
ultrasound. We could never be prepared for the
news we heard after the 20-week ultrasound
to learn if we were having a boy or a girl. The
doctor doing the ultrasound told us we were
having a baby boy and that he would not live. “We sought second and third opinions.
We met with obstetricians, geneticists, radiologists
and other specialists. The overwhelming
determination of the medical community
was that we should terminate the
pregnancy. Their reasoning was that since
the baby would die anyway, why should I
put my body through a difficult pregnancy
with possible complications and endure the
mental anguish of being pregnant for another “When I told my doctor that we did not want to terminate the pregnancy he suggested that I speak to a counselor and he gave me a phone number. I called it and began to tell my story to a counselor. I had no idea she was a counselor for an abortion clinic. She said that I had to make an appointment quickly. I only had two more weeks to terminate. She also explained that I was so far along with the pregnancy that they would have to do a procedure where my baby would not be intact after the removal. “I can not explain to you the feeling I had at that moment. It was a combination of shear horror and complete peace. Horror at the thought of killing my baby in such a horrific way and peace that our decision was so completely confirmed. I realized during that conversation abortion is just abortion. It doesn’t matter what medical terminology doctors use to describe it, it doesn’t matter if doctors use the term terminate, procedure or options. It doesn’t matter if there’s a medical diagnosis involved. None of these things change the fact that a baby is being killed. For us there were no options. We would have this baby and love this baby. We would hold him and kiss him and hug him as long as God will allow us. “My husband and I felt strongly about our decision. We felt that God had made us parents of this baby right from the beginning and as parents our only job was to see him through his short life and make sure that he went with peace and dignity and love. We also felt he was a very special baby, with a special reason for coming. Although we did not know the reason, we did know that God had chosen us to be his parents and for that we were honored. We knew we had a very big job to do and we wanted to be sure we did it right. We started by choosing a name for him. We chose Gabriel Jonathan; Gabriel meaning Angel of God and Jonathan, meaning God’s most precious gift. “We switched doctors because my original doctor was uncomfortable with my continuing the pregnancy and his delivering the baby. He thought that it was too risky. My husband and I felt the same way, so at five months pregnant I began searching for a new doctor and a new hospital. “We found St. Peter’s University Hospital. The doctors, nurses, geneticists and social workers helped turn a very difficult pregnancy into a beautiful experience. These doctors fully respected our decision and valued our son’s life. My husband said to me, “Do you realize that this is the first doctor’s appointment we’ve had where no one has mentioned an autopsy?” He was right. The doctors at St. Peter’s were the first to focus on our baby’s life and not his death. “Gabriel was born by C-Section on February 24, 2004 at 8:25am. He weighed six pounds, four ounces. He lived an hour and a half. During that time he was surrounded by the family who loved him. He was dressed in an outfit that we had bought for him and most importantly, he was held and kissed for his entire life. We arranged for his baptism with a deacon from our church. We had family members there to share in his life and all who were present were glad to have been there. It was a beautiful experience and we feel honored to have given Gabriel a life. His life touched so many others, and those who were there to prepare him for his journey fell better for it. “Gabriel’s funeral service and burial were attended by more than 200 people. Oh how we wished that all of those doctors who felt that his life was nothing could have been there that day. We wish they could have seen all the police in our town who were stopping traffic that day at every intersection. This is a life that mattered, a life that made a difference. The Cascia family has created a fund
called Gabriel’s Gift in their son’s memory.
Money raised is used to ensure that all families
of children like Gabriel go home with special
keepsake items. “Families need to have
pictures, they need to have mementos and
they need have closure,” said Jo-Anne Cascia. “We hope
that by providing families with these
items of comfort, we can help them to remember
and to heal.” |
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law