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DIOCESE OF METUCHEN TO PRESENT PRO-VITA AWARDS (METUCHEN) – A Princeton University professor who has written extensively about moral issues and a pro-life activist are the recipients of the Diocese of Metuchen’s 2005 Pro-Vita awards. The individuals, Robert P. George and Mary Oswald, will be honored on January 16 at the Diocese’s Annual Respect Life Mass to be held at 12 noon in St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral. The Most Rev. Paul G. Bootkoski, Bishop of Metuchen, will celebrate the Mass and present the awards to George and Oswald. The Pro-Vita awards recognize the accomplishments of outstanding individuals who have had a major impact on the pro-life movement on the state and national level. George will receive the Pro-Vita award in recognition of his commitment to promoting a culture of life in the academic world and beyond. At Princeton George is a McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. He is the author or editor of several books including: Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality; and The Clash of Orthodoxies: Law, Religion and Morality in Crisis. A member of President Bush’s Council on Bioethics, George served as a presidential appointee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from 1993-98. He is also a former Judicial Fellow at the U.S. Supreme Court where he received the 1990 Tom C. Clark Award. A graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School , George earned a doctorate in philosophy of law from Oxford University . “It is extremely important to have someone with Professor George’s reputation speak out on the moral issues affecting our lives. He is very effective in promoting the culture of life. He was instrumental in the establishment of a pro-life group at Princeton and is a very positive influence on young people throughout the country,” noted Jennifer Ruggiero, director of the Diocese’s Pro-Life Office. While George will be honored for his work which is recognized nationally, Oswald will receive the Pro-Vita award for her courageous witness to the miracle of each human life and her steadfast work in defending it. The eldest of six children, Oswald was born a congenital amputee. She considers her disability a gift from God and has spent the past two decades speaking and singing about the beauty of life. Oswald began giving pro-life talks while a student at the College of St. Elizabeth where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She received a master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation counseling from Seton Hall University and currently is a staff member at the Legal Center for the Defense of Life in Morristown . For the past eight years, Oswald has been a member of the Metuchen Diocese Ministry for Persons with Disabilities, and for the past 15 years has served as the pro-life representative for St. Brigid Parish, Peapack. Ruggiero characterized Oswald as an extraordinary example of faith in action. “Through her speeches, her songs, and her work as an activist, Mary has been an inspiration to all in the pro-life movement,” Ruggiero said. The Pro-Vita Awards were introduced to the Diocese in 1998. Prior recipients include Congressman Chris Smith, the Sisters of Life and Dr. Joel Brind. All are invited to the Respect Life Mass and Pro-Vita Awards ceremony.
# # # The Diocese of Metuchen serves over 500,000 Catholics in Middlesex, Somerset , Hunterdon and Warren counties. The Diocese includes 108 parishes. It serves its faithful through 25 ministries that provide educational, pastoral and charitable outreach.
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