Bishop gives keynote address at annual pro-life rally

TRENTON — Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act Jan. 12, two days after the legislation was passed. In light of that, the 2022 New Jersey Rally and March for Life that occurred two days later appeared to take on an increased spirit of urgency and commitment amongst the participants.
 

Bishop James F. Checchio gave the keynote address at the rally at the State House Annex.
 

Other speakers included members of both houses of the state legislature and representatives of groups working to end abortion by providing support and assistance to women and families facing unplanned pregnancies.
 

Bishop Checchio thanked the Piscataway-based New Jersey Right to Life organization for what its members do in support of life, especially its executive director, Marie Tasy, a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Milltown, for organizing the rally.
 

The bishop also acknowledged the “army of generous folks who work tirelessly in the pregnancy help centers all across the state.” He announced that during the past year, two new life centers opened in the areas served by the diocese, New Brunswick and Warren County.

Emphasizing the belief in the sanctity of life, Bishop Checchio stated, “My heart breaks that people can be so blind and not respect and protect innocent human life. The New Jersey bill just passed basically declares the children in the womb have no rights at all…and allows for abortion up until birth for any reason.”

The bishop added that he just read, “that the United States is one of only four countries, including China and North Korea, that allows abortion of a child in the womb at any time during pregnancy.” He promised to continue working to educate all about this vital moral issue.
 

Although the weather was cold and windy, Bishop Checchio assured those gathered that the breeze was the Holy Spirit blowing amongst them.
 

Jennifer Ruggiero, secretary, diocesan Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life, who was a regular speaker at the event in past years, said, “It was energizing to see so many parishioners from across the Diocese of Metuchen and the state gather to give a public witness to the sanctity of all human life, especially the vulnerable unborn.”
 

She also echoed the bishop and other presenters of the need to, “persevere in fighting for life even in the face of obstacles.”
 

Carolyn Alaimo, a member of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish, Bridgewater, who has participated in numerous pro-life rallies and marches in New Jersey and Washington, D.C., was inspired by the turnout for a protest rally Jan. 10, given the extreme cold that day and the very short notice. However, she felt that the Rally for Life, held only four days later, “was marked by a sense of discouragement after the legislature passed that despicable bill.”
 

However, she also recognized, “a real sense of determined commitment resulting from the rally to continue to fight for the most innocent among us — the voiceless babies in the womb as well as the young mothers.”
 

Among the speakers were the state legislature’s Republican leaders, Senate Minority Leader Steven V. Oroho (R-Franklin) and Assembly 

Minority Leader John DiMaio (R-Warren). They assured attendees that better times were ahead regarding pro-life legislation with two of the major proponents of the pro-abortion legislation just passed no longer in office. They also emphasized that for the first time the minority leaders in both houses were strongly pro-life.
 

The Rev. Clenard Childress Jr., pastor of New Calvary Baptist Church, Montclair, engaged the crowd by asking them to repeat the chant, “Pro-choice is a lie, children do not choose to die.” The refrain became a recurring theme for many of the speakers throughout the day.

At the conclusion of the rally, Childress led the participants in a march for life to the governor’s office.