Breakfast for Life focuses on pending legislation
By Chris Donahue
Staff Writer
NEW BRUNSWICK — To Father William J. Halbing, passage of the Freedom of Choice Act would not only put the lives of more unborn children in danger, it would also have a coarsening effect on society.
Father Halbing, the guest speaker at the Breakfast for Life at Rutgers University, urged Catholics to contact their legislators to express opposition to the bill, which would remove restrictions placed on abortions at every level since the 1973 Roe V. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision.
As of Oct. 6, the bill, also known as FOCA, was in the judiciary committees of both the Senate and House of Representatives.
On Sept. 19, Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, sent a letter to all members of Congress that expressed opposition to the bill.
The USCCB also asked directors of Respect Life offices in dioceses across the nation to help educate people about the implications of FOCA, said Jennifer A. Ruggiero, director of the Diocese of Metuchen’s Office of Respect for Life.
Ruggiero also serves on the Breakfast for Life Executive Committee.
“We sent out a legislative action alert and a fact sheet on FOCA to all pastors and to our parish network of volunteers,” she said. “Hopefully, this information will appear in church bulletins to help educate the people in the pews.”
In his speech, “The Freedom of Choice Act...Uncovering the Truth,” Father Halbing said abortion denies basic human rights and helps contribute to the selfishness of society, which too often lives by the “unholy trinity of me, myself and I.”
“FOCA gives me the blessing to say, ‘If abortion is OK, everything else will be OK very soon,’ ” Father Halbing said. “It helps us slide into a world of chaos and no values.
“We have to call everyone to life by the life we live, by being obedient to God,” he added. “We need new martyrs for the faith. I believe there are new Dorothy Days and Mother Theresas here because you who have a passion for life, a passion for the Gospel and a passion for Jesus.”
Fostering a strong spiritual life at home is also needed to produce a culture of life, said Father Halbing, who serves as pastor, St. Antoninus Parish, Newark.
“The Judeo-Christian tradition is that we always stand up for the defenseless,” he said.
Among those who attended the breakfast were several members of the new Rutgers for Life group at Rutgers University.
Stephanie Jablonsky, a junior, said: “It was nice to be able to gather with people who agree with you on this issue. I have never attended a rally or anything like this before and I want to start going.”
Sophomore Anna Galica said Father Halbing’s speech reminded her that the abortion issue “is so much more complex than a right to privacy.”
Julie Ross, a member of St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Paterson, said the Breakfast for Life provides encouragement and inspiration.
“We need to evangelize a message of life,” she said. “It can get frustrating at times, but if we all work together we can accomplish a lot.”
The Breakfast for Life, an interfaith gathering first held in 1995, is intended to inform and educate the pro-life community about issues and legislation, said John C. Howard, chairman of the Breakfast for Life Committee. Howard is also a member of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Old Bridge.