The way forward
BY RAYANNE BENNETT Associate Publisher
It has been two years since the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade, bringing about a wide range of developments, some expected, some confounding and all consequential.
Some states have passed stricter abortion laws and other states have pushed back at the ballot box and in state legislative bodies to enshrine or even strengthen abortion access.
Contradictory statistical shifts have been reported, citing an increase in the number of abortions performed in the last two years ... a deepening of the nation’s support for access to legal abortion ... and an growing demand for the services and support of pregnancy aid centers.
Through it all, the Church remains steadfast in its mission to stand with both the expectant mother and her child in the womb. Our leaders recognize the need to advocate for laws that respect all human life, while working to transform hearts. Most importantly the Church wants every pregnant woman who is vulnerable to abortion know that she is not alone.
Progress is slow but moving. While some Catholic-based efforts have been in place for decades, others are newly-established responses to the growing need in the wake of the Dobbs
Continued on 31
Post-Dobbs Progress Report
With abortion numbers rising, leaders assess causes and impact on aid, services
BY KATIE YODER OSV News
Georgette Forney still remembers when, at 16 years old, she sought an abortion.
“I kept thinking, ‘I don’t want to embarrass my family,’” the co-founder of Silent No More Awareness Campaign and president of Anglicans for Life said. “I also kept thinking, ‘I can’t have a baby. A baby threatens my future, my plans.’”
She wanted to go to college. Get married. And a baby, she thought, threatened that.
“Instead of saying, ‘Wow, women are strong and we can do whatever needs to get done’ – which is how I look at it now – I thought, ‘I can’t handle both. I can’t handle school and a baby,’” she described her abortion in 1976.
Forney, along with other leaders and experts, spoke with Our Sunday Visitor newspaper after the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive research organization that supports abortion, estimated earlier this year that the number of abortions is the highest it has been in over a decade.
The increase came as a surprise: A growing number of state pro-life protections for the unborn limit abortion following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs
Pro-life outlook and needs change
v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The decision, handed down on June 24, 2022, overturned the court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade that previously legalized abortion nationwide, freeing individual states to decide abortion policy.
Leaders of national pro-life organizations addressed reasons for the increase and shared their responses, while emphasizing that even one abortion is too many. They pointed to pregnancy centers and maternity homes as a solution – one that empowers women to choose life for their babies.
Networks of pregnancy centers revealed that, while Guttmacher estimates an increase, they also see an increase in women turning to them for help. Women are seeking abortions now, they said, for the same reasons they did before Dobbs.
First and foremost, they wanted pregnant and parenting women to know: You are not alone, and we are here to help you.
For her part, Forney openly shares her story, which she now calls God’s story. She regrets her choice – one that she has testified before Congress about – and has since dedicated her life to saving lives. That includes her work with the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, which represents more than 21,000 people wounded by abortion.
year after the Dobbs decision – according to Guttmacher’s “Monthly Abortion Provision Study.”
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
An estimated 1,037,000 abortions took place in the formal health-care system in 2023 – the first full calendar
“The Visitation,” circa 1445, which was created by Luca della Robbia, was featured in an exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The Visitation is a vivid reminder of the Church’s embrace of the expectant mother and the gift of human life.
CNS
photo/courtesy National Gallery of Art
That number translates to a rate of 15.9 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age and an 11% increase since 2020, the last year with comprehensive estimates available, according to a Guttmacher policy analysis.
These numbers – which combine data from abortion providers with statistical modeling – are likely higher, according to Guttmacher, which does not count abortions outside the formal health care system.
Guttmacher’s policy analysis explored possible reasons behind the increase, beginning with new efforts to increase abortion access for women in states with pro-life laws.
The states that ban abortion have been “counterbalanced by monumental efforts on the part of clinics, abortion funds and logistical support organizations to help people in ban states access care through financial and practical support,” the analysis reads.
It also suggests abortion access improved for women who live in states that don’t restrict abortion. The analysis listed potential factors, including broader availability of telehealth for abortion pills, increased financial support –particularly from abortion funds – and state policies that protect abortion.
Several pro-life leaders pointed to easier access to the abortion pill as help-
ing drive the overall increase. Among its findings, Guttmacher’s study estimated that abortion pills made up 63% of U.S. abortions in 2023, an increase from 53% in 2020.
MORE FOCUS ON ABORTION PILL
“I think a really important element to take into account is the use of abortion drugs and how high the usage is,” Anna Callahan, communications director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration first approved the drug mifepristone, which is paired with another drug, misoprostol, for earlier abortions in 2000. Currently permitted for use through 10 weeks gestation, this type of abortion is also called the abortion pill, chemical abortion, medication abortion or telemedicine abortion.
A brief led by SBA Pro-Life America in a case concerning the abortion pill mifepristone argued earlier this year before the Supreme Court asked the court to affirm the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The Fifth Circuit ruled last year to sustain the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone while rejecting the federal agency’s more recent decision to lift regulations that prohibited mailing the drug and prescribing it by telemedicine, among other things. The brief argued that the FDA’s current protocol not only makes informed consent about risks impossible but also endangers women.
But on June 13, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the challenge to mifepristone finding that the challengers – SBA Pro-Life America and other prolife opponents of mifepristone – lacked standing to bring the case.
Katie Daniel, state policy director for SBA Pro-Life America, called it “a sad day for all who value women’s health and unborn children’s lives, but the fight to stop dangerous mail-order abortion drugs is not over.”
In their interviews with Our Sunday Visitor, several pro-life leaders, while addressing the increase in abortions, questioned the numbers available on
abortion, particularly with the abortion pill. Some said that just because pills are distributed doesn’t mean women ingested them. Others pointed out the difficulty in tracking drugs sent in the mail.
Still others said that women may have tried to reverse the effects of the abortion pill in what’s known as “abortion pill reversal.” The process attempts to overcome the effects of mifepristone, which blocks the hormone progesterone, by giving women more progesterone.
These estimates, some said, are just that: estimates.
ADDRESSING CAUSES
At Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action, Kristi Hamrick, vice president of media and policy, highlighted that following Dobbs more children were born. According to an analysis published by the Institute of Labor Economics, an estimated 32,000 more babies were born annually due to pro-life laws enacted after Dobbs.
Other pro-life leaders looked beyond the numbers.
q A pregnant pro-life demonstrator is pictured in a file photo outside the Supreme Court in Washington. National pro-life leaders continue to advocate for legislation that will help and protect both expectant mothers and their babies in the womb. OSV News photo/ Kevin Lamarque, Reuters
“Regardless of the current legal landscape, one abortion is too many and we hope that no woman or child ever has to experience the pain and suffering caused by it,” March for Life President Jeanne Mancini stressed.
To empower women, Lauren Muzyka, president and CEO of Sidewalk Advocates for Life, which works to train, equip and support communities in sidewalk advocacy outside of abortion clinics, emphasized responding to why they seek abortions.
“Our role is to uncover the woman’s reason for seeking abortion and to provide her with the support and resources she needs to deal with her actual problem,” Muzyka said. “When we are able to help that woman deal with the issue that truly is the problem, she can see that her pregnancy is not the problem – and she can freely choose life for her child.”
“More than 2,750 pregnancy centers nationwide provide $367 million in goods and services every year, with the vast majority of those goods and services provided free of charge,” they said, citing a CLI report. “These pregnancy centers are estimated to have saved 800,000 lives in a recent five-year period.”
OSV image
Studying the stats
Earlier this year, a piece published in Science Advances, “The ‘abortion imaginary’: Shared perceptions and personal representations among everyday Americans,” examined Americans’ perceptions of abortion. The piece, led by sociologist Tricia C. Bruce, states that most women seek abortion for financial reasons.
“In addition to finances, when making an abortion decision women commonly weigh factors such as pregnancy timing, their relationship with the person involved in the pregnancy, future plans and the needs of their other children,” it reads. “While 14% of abortion patients are married and about a third cohabitate with their partners, ‘bad relationships with men’ and the likelihood that a ‘new baby would derail life plans and career goals’ commonly factor into abortion decisions.”
“A sizable minority seek an abortion
reads. “Most women reported multiple reasons for seeking an abortion crossing over several themes (64%).”
At Charlotte Lozier Institute, or CLI, the research arm of SBA Pro-Life America, researchers said that a majority of women would prefer to keep their babies with more support.
“A recent CLI analysis of state data shows that over 95% of abortions are for elective (which includes emotional and financial) reasons,” Senior Research Associate Tessa Longbons Cox and Research Associate Mia Steupert said.
because they want ‘to be good moms to their existing children,’” it adds. “While some abortion patients have completed their childbearing or do not want children, almost 40% want children in the future.”
The piece referenced other studies, including “Understanding why women seek abortions in the U.S.” published in BMC Women’s Health in 2013. It found women’s reasons fell into 11 themes.
“The predominant themes identified as reasons for seeking abortion included financial reasons (40%), timing (36%), partner-related reasons (31%) and the need to focus on other children (29%),” it
“Other CLI research shows that 60% of women would have preferred to have their babies if they had received more emotional support or had more financial security.”
They called pregnancy centers and other life-affirming assistance critical because “when women receive love and support, lives are saved.”
ROLE OF PREGNANCY AID PROGRAMS
“More than 2,750 pregnancy centers nationwide provide $367 million in goods and services every year, with the vast majority of those goods and services provided free of charge,” they said, citing a CLI report. “These pregnancy centers
are estimated to have saved 800,000 lives in a recent five-year period.”
Networks of pregnancy centers that directly minister to pregnant and parenting women in need said they see women seeking abortions now for the same reasons as before Dobbs.
“I think the heart of it all does still remain,” Andrea Trudden, vice president of communications and marketing at Heartbeat International, which includes a network of more than 3,000 pregnancy help organizations, said. “They’re scared and they’re nervous.”
Her group manages Option Line, a 24/7 pregnancy helpline, which hears around 1,100 stories daily from women and men.
“They’re contacting us because they’re caught up in the moment, they’re either just graduating school or they already have children and are concerned about finances,” she said.
As president and CEO of Care Net, a nonprofit that supports a network of 1,200 pregnancy centers, Roland Warren shared what they see driving women toward abortion.
“Most often, it is the same reason they visited a pregnancy center before Dobbs: their perception that they have missing support for their child,” he said. “And this is most often linked to the fact that the father of the unborn child is unable or unwilling to provide the support that the mother and child need.”
He also called the wider availability of the abortion pill “a common post-
An ultrasound photo shows a developing child in its mother’s uterus. Stock photo/Pexels
USCCB graphic
Dobbs factor” that shortens the window to reach clients and makes them more desperate for help.
Pregnancy centers are also seeing more people turning to them for support. Trudden pointed to two recent reports that show increases, her organization’s 2024 “Life Trends” report and a CLI report, “Hope for a New Generation.”
“The suspicion at this point, really, is the fact that people are talking about pregnancy centers more over the past couple of years,” she said.
They are seeing an increase in clients overall, as well as an expansion of services within their pregnancy help organizations, she said. At Heartbeat International, which manages the Abortion Pill Rescue Network, that includes pregnancy centers that are expanding to include abortion pill reversal.
At Care Net, Warren said that, overall, their network is busier than before Dobbs.
“Some centers are seeing more clients, and others, while they may be seeing the same number of clients, are facing more challenging work due to the shifting legislative climate and changes in the availability of the abortion pill,” he said.
CLI’s report notes that the over $367 million in goods and services provided by over 2,750 pregnancy centers in 2022 represents a more than $100 million increase since 2019.
VOICE OF THE CHURCH
Kat Talalas, assistant director for pro-life communications at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, shared the bishops’ response. Most recently, they launched a nationwide prayer initiative leading up to the Supreme Court ruling determining the future availability of the abortion pill.
She stressed the many services available within the Church, from Catholic
Charities and Catholic hospitals to the Sisters of Life, who serve women vulnerable to abortion, and Project Rachel Ministry, for those wounded by abortion.
Talalas encouraged Catholics to participate in the bishops’ nationwide parish-based initiative, Walking with Moms in Need, which works to ensure that any woman unexpectedly pregnant or parenting small children in difficult circumstances can turn to their local Catholic church.
“We want everyone to know – people in and outside the pews – the Church is here for moms in need,” she said.
Pro-life leaders encouraged supporting pregnancy centers and maternity homes. Some asked people of faith to pray and called on citizens to vote prolife. Others wanted pro-life Americans to be aware of nearby help so that they could direct women in need.
At Heartbeat International, Trudden recommended people type in their zip code at OptionLine.org to find the closest pregnancy help.
Warren, at Care Net, called on prolife Americans to see the increase as an opportunity to become “Pro Abundant Life” or “focused on God’s design for family and God’s call to discipleship.”
He encouraged people to mobilize their churches. They should also educate and equip themselves to transform hearts and minds, beginning in their churches, he said, highlighting that 54% of women who have abortions identify as Catholic or Protestant.
Forney shared her advice for engaging women seeking abortion: “We can’t talk at them. We have to listen to them.”
She spoke from personal experience. Forney revealed that she once opened up her home to a young pregnant woman who wanted an abortion. That woman ended up choosing life, giving birth on Thanksgiving – and placing her baby for adoption.
She recently connected with the adoptive family and planned to visit her.
“That, to me,” Forney said, “is a story of hope and redemption.”
Katie Yoder is a contributing editor for the Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.
The Holy Family is depicted in this stained glass window in Holy Family Church, Union Beach.
Monitor file photo
Pew study shows support for legal abortion growing 2 years after Dobbs
BY KATE SCANLON OSV News
WASHINGTON • Nearly two years after the Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision making abortion a constitutional right, a majority of Americans said they support legal abortion in all or most cases, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center.
The Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022, in a case involving a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks, where the state directly challenged the high court’s previous abortion-related precedents in Roe v. Wade and the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision.
The Supreme Court ultimately overturned its own prior rulings, undoing nearly a half-century of its own precedent that held abortion was a constitutional right and returning the issue to the legislature. In the two years since that ruling, individual states have moved to either restrict abortion or expand access to it.
... individual states have moved to either restrict abortion or expand access to it.
The study found that a majority – 63% – of Americans said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, an increase of four percentage points from 2021, the year prior to the Dobbs ruling. That includes 59% of Catholics surveyed.
Although the vast majority – 85% –of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said abortion should be
legal in all or most cases, and just 41% of Republicans and Republican leaners said the same, the latter group also saw an uptick in support for legal abortion.
A majority of Americans – 54% –said the statement “the decision about whether to have an abortion should belong solely to the pregnant woman” describes their views extremely or very well. Meanwhile, 35% said the statement “human life begins at conception, so an embryo is a person with rights” describes their views extremely or very well. But 32% of Americans said both of those statements reflect their views at least somewhat well, in what Pew described as being “cross-pressured” in their views.
The new Pew survey was conducted April 8-14 among 8,709 adults. “Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American
Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses,” Pew said. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 8,709 respondents is plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.
The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, opposing direct abortion as an act of violence that takes the life of the unborn child.
After the Dobbs decision, Church officials in the U.S. have reiterated the Church’s concern for both mother and child, and called to strengthen available support for those living in poverty or other causes that can push women toward having an abortion.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington.
USCCB pro-life chair:
‘We have a challenge on our hands’
The Church must be there for ‘every woman and every child’
BY KATE SCANLON OSV News
WASHINGTON • Prior to the second anniversary of a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its prior abortion precedent, pro-life activists, including a representative of the U.S. Catholic bishops, said much of their work remains to be done.
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, told OSV News in a June 10 interview “we realized quickly we have a challenge on our hands,” pointing to losses at the ballot box after the Dobbs ruling, with more such contests on the horizon.
“So after two years, there is still reason to celebrate because we know God’s
grace is more powerful than all this, but also, we have to embrace the challenge that faces us,” he said.
While Roe and its ensuing precedents were in place, states were generally barred from restricting abortion prior to viability, or the point at which a child could survive outside the womb. When Roe was issued in 1973, fetal viability was considered to be 28 weeks gestation, but current estimates are generally considered to be 23-24 weeks, with some estimates as low as 22 weeks as medical technology continues to improve. After the Dobbs ruling, states across the country quickly moved to either restrict or expand access to abortion.
Though supporters often described Roe as settled law, opponents argued the court in 1973 improperly legalized abortion nationwide, a matter opponents
“... there’s a lot of misinformation out there right now.”
said should have been left to legislators in Congress or state governments. Many, including the Catholic Church, opposed the ruling on moral grounds that the practice takes the life of an unborn child. Opponents of the ruling challenged it for decades, both in courts and in the public square, such as the national March for Life held annually in Washington.
WHAT IS NEEDED NOW
Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life organization, told OSV News that after Dobbs, there was “so much confusion about what that means and anger and frustration from people who are confused about the inherent dignity of the unborn child and how abortion impacts women. So, I think that we’re still very much in the middle of that reverberation.”
When discussing abortion policy, Mancini said, pro-life advocates should strive “to get very clear” on the specific state, law or situations involved “because there’s a lot of misinformation out there right now.”
In the years following Dobbs, some women in states that restricted abortion said they were denied timely care for miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies or experienced other adverse pregnancy outcomes as a result of medical professionals’ hesitation due to unclear abortion legislation. But pro-life activists said laws restricting abortion contained exceptions for such circumstances. Their opponents claimed bill texts insufficiently addressed those circumstances or lacked clarity on exceptions.
Public support for legal abortion also increased after Roe was overturned, according to multiple polls conducted in the years following the Dobbs ruling. In multiple elections since the ruling, ballot measures on abortion have so far proven elusive for the pro-life movement. In elections in both 2022 and 2023, voters
Freepik photo
Good Counsel Homes answer immediate need for expectant mothers in crisis
BY EMMALEE ITALIA Contributing Editor
Maternity shelters like Good Counsel Homes are seeing an increase in expectant mothers seeking assistance over the past two years.
“We’ve definitely seen increases in both occupancy and the number of births. At the end of 2023 we had 42 babies in our homes; the year before was 27, and in 2021 was 24,” said Jo-Ann Venezia, Good Counsel Homes CEO. “As of June, we have 24 births in 2024 already – which is amazing.”
Good Counsel Homes has been at work since 1985 with a mission to support life from conception and provide a pathway for families to thrive independently.
“We operate at or near-capacity, and even over sometimes,” said Michael Phelps, GCH parish engagement coordinator, of its Riverside home – the only one of its homes in New Jersey; the remaining three are in the Bronx, Richmond (Staten Island) and Rockland, New York.
“We operate at near-capacity, and even over sometimes.”
Ten mothers can be sheltered at once at the Riverside location, and occasionally a few more, as other rooms in the home are repurposed. No expectant mother is turned away.
Beyond any connection to the Dobbs decision, Venezia feels that the increased numbers reflect growing need and greater awareness about their facility and services. “I think if people are looking for a safe place for themselves and their unborn child, they know GCH has that reputation: we do all in our power. Our
mission is to provide help and support to mothers who understand the sanctity of life and want to keep their babies.”
A nationally recognized nonprofit, GCH assists not only homeless, expectant and new mothers, but also their children. GCH operates a 24/7 helpline – 800-723-8331 – to respond immediately to pregnant mothers in crisis, including those struggling with mental health or addiction.
“We’re seeing more and more women who have anxiety, depression, mood disorders or even psychosis – but we will not turn them away,” said Venezia, who has a background in nursing and psychiatry. GHC assists the mothers with finding prenatal care and counseling, even having a licensed psychotherapist on staff in Riverside who is available for appointments, all of them confidential.
In addition to shelter and supplies, GCH provides transportation for healthcare appointments and job interviews, childcare, assistance with ongoing education, GED completion and more.
As a rule, GCH does not accept government funding, allowing the homes to continue living out their Catholic identity and values. The GCH vision relies
on the intercession of Our Lady of Good Counsel and Mary’s Missionaries.
“We try to expose our moms to the faith, but nobody has to be Catholic to receive help,” Phelps said.
As a liaison to parishes, he speaks at weekend Masses in different locations.
“I share what we do, what Good Counsel Homes are about, then there’s an appeal with a collection or envelopes that go home,” Phelps noted. “When I go, I bring a list of 25 items GCH always needs.”
Parishes’ responses to the visits and appeal vary. Some locations closer to the Riverside home have run baby showers on behalf of GCH.
“St. Luke Parish in Toms River has a corner reserved for ongoing collection of baby items. And St. John Neumann Parish in Mount Laurel held a concert recently and gave us the proceeds of the free will offering,” he pointed out.
Both volunteers and staff are needed to help cover three shifts in GCH homes, as well as to speak in parishes. For more information, visit GoodCounselHomes.org, or contact Phelps, 609-221-5603, michael_phelps@goodcounselhomes.org.
Toddlers enjoy playtime in the Good Counsel Homes residence in Riverside.
Courtesy photo
You are invited to New Jersey’s Mass for Life
Thursday, September 26, 2024
9:30 a.m.
Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
151 N. Warren Street, Trenton
New Jersey pro-life advocates invited to Trenton for show of solidarity Sept. 26
For full information, visit: dioceseoftrenton.org/nj-march-for-life
BY EMMALEE ITALIA
Contributing Editor
Two events planned in Trenton Sept. 26 will allow pro-life advocates from across the state a chance to show unwavering support for life – first by praying for the lives of the unborn and the mothers who carry them, and secondly by showing lawmakers their desire for policies that protect life in all its stages.
The Rally and March for Life will serve as public witness ...
Beginning in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, 151 N. Warren Street, New Jersey Catholics are invited to a 9:30 a.m. Mass for Life with Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of the Archdiocese of Newark as main celebrant and Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., as homilist. The Mass is co-sponsored by the New Jersey Catholic Conference – the New Jersey bishops’ public policy arm – and the pro-life/respect life offices from the
Archdiocese of Newark and Dioceses of Trenton, Camden, Metuchen and Paterson, as well as the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic.
No RSVP is required for Mass attendance; however, seating at the Cathedral will be available on a first come, first served basis; overflow seating will be available in the lower level with livestreamed viewing on large screens. Catholic priests of the Diocese of Trenton interested in concelebrating the Mass are invited to visit dioceseoftrenton.org/nj-mass-march-clergy and complete the response form.
Following Mass, the inaugural New Jersey Rally and March for Life will kick off at the New Jersey Statehouse Annex, 131 W. State Street – a short walk from the Cathedral. Keynote speakers will address attendees from the Statehouse steps beginning at 11 a.m. From there, the March for Life will depart at 12 p.m., following a one-mile loop through Trenton and returning to the Statehouse Annex.
Schools, organizations, parishes and individuals are encouraged to utilize chartered school bus travel, as parking for individual cars will be limited due
to road closures for the event. Buses are strongly encouraged to register with March for Life organizers to ensure free parking in a reserved lot and to assist organizers with logistics; visit dioceseoftrenton.org/ nj-march-for-life for full information about the day’s events, including bus registration and much more.
Scan for more info on the Mass for Life.
The Rally and March for Life will serve as public witness to the desire for life in all its stages to receive equal protection under the law and help advocate for state legislation and policies that support mothers, babies and families. Organized by the National March for Life and New Jersey Right to Life, representatives from the Diocese of Trenton’s Respect Life Ministry, as well as representatives from other NJ dioceses and pro-life organizations in the state, this first New Jersey March for Life was planned in response to New Jersey’s being one of many states that continue to espouse pro-choice legislation; the National March for Life has mobilized efforts to hold state marches for life in these states.
*Mass will end in time to walk to the Statehouse Annex for the NJ Rally & March for Life
Principal Celebrant Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, CSsR Homilist Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.
Parish group conducts collaborative outreach to help pregnant women, families in need
BY MARY STADNYK Associate Editor
The way Dr. Linda Dix sees it, collaboration is key to any ministry. And in collaborating with others, the St. Vincent de Paul Conference in Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Moorestown, has been able to better meet the needs of the more than 200 guests they serve, including pregnant women in vulnerable situations and their children.
“We had several guests who came to us for help with their newborn babies and we began to really explore ways to help them,” said Dix, conference president.
The St. Vincent de Paul conference’s overall work is to assist clients from the Moorestown area with rent and utility payments and access to food, clothing, gas vouchers and other necessities. Much of the conference’s efforts are accomplished by working with other parish ministries, the parish school, religious education program and Knights of Columbus council and a host of other organizations and churches of varying faith traditions in Moorestown and throughout Burlington County.
“We have the ability to build the kingdom of God here on earth.”
For families with pregnant mothers and young children, the conference also provides items like formula, food and diapers and collaborates with other area pregnancy outreach agencies such as First Way, God’s Precious Infants and Good Counsel Homes.
Supporting this work is the parish’s garden ministry, which provides fresh produce to families twice a week from an outdoor garden on the parish campus, Dix explained. During the school
year, students from the parish school help tend the garden, she said.
The local Knights council holds food drives throughout the year in support of the SVDP ministry. Parishioners also donate food every week which is given to pantries operated by other churches in the Moorestown Ministerium “where the moms and families can access food at no cost.”
Other generous support comes from the Stitching Bees group in an area senior residence, which knits hats and baby clothes as well as donates food, especially cereal, for young children. Additionally, the Confirmation classes in OLGC and in the nearby Lutheran church collect toiletries for families.
The conference has also assisted mothers with obtaining ongoing education and certifications so they can get better paying jobs and benefits, Dix said.
One story Dix shared from this past Christmas when the conference worked with the parish-based Boy Scouts in assisting a pregnant woman and her four-year-old child who were living in
A volunteer with the St. Vincent de Paul conference in Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish packs a truck with food to be delivered to the area food pantries.
a hotel room. There was no kitchen, and their only cooking appliance was a Crockpot. The Scouts came through with donations of diapers, clothes and other needs for the baby and toys for the child. Gifts for mom, were a small refrigerator, Crockpot recipes, and being familiar with camping gear, the Scouts thought she could use a collapsable sink.
“I couldn’t help but think that as we prepared our hearts for the fragile Baby in the manger during Advent, we were preparing this family to bring a small baby into the world who was homeless but certainly loved and among friends,” Dix said.
“We have realized the need to work more closely together and help one another in this journey of life, and I do believe when we work together in this ministry, God is revealed,” Dix said.
When there is an openness to dialogue and there are many hands working together, “We have the ability to build the kingdom of God here on earth,” she said. “You just need the courage, faith and openness to do that.”
Courtesy photo
New Catholic center aims to assist pregnant women in need and their children
BY MARY STADNYK Associate Editor
When the Southern Ocean County branch of Birthright had to shutter its doors and could no longer assist pregnant women and mothers with children, a group of parishioners from three area parishes – St. Francis of Assisi, Brant Beach; St. Theresa, Little Egg Harbor, and St. Mary, Barnegat -stepped in to help fill the void. Their efforts resulted in the establishment of the recently formed St. Michael the Archangel Help Center.
noting that on May 9, 2023, the center filed for non-profit status. For now, the center operates out of his home and the 12-member board rents two storage space units to store items.
“The response from the community has been terrific,” he said, noting that from the different fundraisers have been held, “the people have been very positive to our efforts and very generous.” Currently funds are being raised to purchase a home, he said, and the goal is to be centrally located between the three towns of Little Egg Harbor, Barnegat and Brant Beach.
ACROSS THE NATION
Continued from 15
in Ohio, California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont and Kansas either rejected new limitations on abortion or expanded legal protections for it.
Several states -- including Maryland and Florida -- have ongoing efforts to enshrine abortion protections in their state constitutions on the ballot, with more states likely to follow suit.
TRANSFORMING HEARTS
Deacon Bob Cunningham of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, the center’s founder and chairman, said it’s the hope and prayer that one day in the not-to-distant future the recently formed center will reach its ultimate goal of becoming a fully functional shelter that provides room and board to pregnant women in need and to help them after the birth of their child for up to two years.
But for now, the center provides assistance by making basic necessities available such as clothing, food, car seats, swings and cribs. The women seeking assistance are referred to the center by the Southern Ocean Medical Center in Stafford Township.
Deacon Cunningham explained that the center came about when the Birthright facility had closed almost two years ago due to a decline of operating resources . He was invited to attend a meeting in St. Mary Parish, Barnegat, by the pastor, Msgr. Kenard Tuzeneu, to meet with other like-minded people to discuss alternate ways to assist pregnant women in need.
Deacon Cunningham admitted that there’s been a learning curve to being the director of a business and securing the logistics of its operation. Along with acknowledging the wealth of guidance he’s received from the staff of Good Counsel Homes in Riverside, he is also pleased with the support he receives from the three parishes as well as the 12-member board who has been able to handle the work load.
However, “as we are able to serve more people we will need more volunteers,” he said. “As our needs grow, so will our volunteer staff.”
Deacon Cunningham added that although the center is not directly associated with anyone parish or the Diocese, he emphasized that it is authentically Catholic with Catholic volunteers who strictly abide by the teachings of the Church.
Asked about how pro-life advocates should approach ballot initiatives on abortion, Bishop Burbidge said that efforts have been made, and should continue to be made, “to win minds by proclaiming the truth and proclaiming the Gospel of Life.”
“So we have the truth. So there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “And we’ve proclaimed that clearly and we will continue to do so without compromise. But I think what we’ve learned is that we also have to transform hearts.”
“We have to speak to the hearts of people who love women and love children. So do we. So do we, and we want to be there for every woman and every child,” he added.
“I think beyond our role in advocacy too, the Catholic Church has long offered hope, healing, and material support to vulnerable mothers and children,” he said, noting that Walking with Moms in Need and Project Rachel are a means of such support.
It was from there that St. Michael the Archangel Help Center was created, he said,
Donations to St. Michael the Archangel Help Center may be sent to P.O. Box 2127, Brant Beach, N.J. 08008. To learn about the center, visit stmichaelhelp.org. For assistance, call 609-709-9549.
Bishop Burbidge said that those seeking to aid the pro-life cause should offer their prayers, and they can sign up for alerts and resources on the committee’s work by visiting respectlife.org.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington.