Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark came to our diocese last October to receive the Saint John Neumann award from the Diocese of Camden for his work on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised. The award was given to him at a splendid dinner at Resorts International Conference Hall in Atlantic City. Hundreds of people from around our diocese attended.
In the context of his acceptance speech the Cardinal mentioned how we must personally and directly see the face of those who are marginalized. In this way, we are prevented from reducing individuals or groups of people to abstract conceptions. In particular, he stressed that we must give a face to the unborn in order not to conceptionalize the baby as merely “an appendix." Only then will we come to our senses about this issue and find a solution that reveres the life of every unborn child. Cardinal Tobin noted how this principle applies across the board to all those considered expendable.
As we approach another anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, may the words of Cardinal Tobin resound through the hearts of all Americans, especially those who hold governmental power, and sound a new era of reverence for all human life, from the moment of conception to natural death.
St. John Neumann, pray for us.
Fr. Tim Byerley
Pastor