At their 20th anniversary event, the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast organizers recognized Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., with its Christifideles Laici Award, named for St. John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation for the laity.
In his acceptance speech, the longtime Catholic Congressman hailing from the Diocese of Trenton and human rights advocate pointed to religious persecution in places like Nigeria, Nicaragua and China as issues that should be key priorities for the U.S. on the world stage, and reducing abortion.
“Even though at times we get tired and grow weary – I know I do – none of us has the luxury of growing weary,” Smith said. “The existential threats to life and human dignity today have entered a new phase that absolutely begs our time, our talent and our intervention.”
On the pro-life front, he remained hopeful in his outlook. “We know that the cruel injustice of abortion need not be forever,” Smith said, “and that each day, despite setbacks, many unborn children and their mothers have been and are being protected and by the grace of God, a culture of life is coming.
“Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade … half the states today have laws to protect unborn children saving over 200,000 children over two years,” he said.
Smith thanked his wife, Marie, who has been by his side in the pro-life movement for more than 50 years.
“She has been – and continues to be – a powerful, talented and incredibly wise, faith-filled pro-life leader,” Smith said, “especially in the battle to defend human life around the world, serving on Holy See delegations at the UN and … the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues. Words are inadequate to express my love, respect, admiration and gratitude for her.”
He also applauded the ongoing support of Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., when he recalled St. John Paul II’s exhortation that the laity must embrace their co-responsibility to the mission of the Church.
“Thankfully the amazing people in this room – laity and religious alike have answered the call; we are all in,” he said. “Indeed, Marie and I are richly blessed in our Diocese to have an inspiring, and remarkable leader, Bishop David O’Connell.”
Besides authoring hundreds of pieces of pro-life and other legislation, Smith has chaired multiple bipartisan congressional caucuses like combatting antisemitism and physical health concerns, including as co-founder of caucuses on autism, Alzheimer’s disease, Lyme disease and human trafficking. He wrote a bill on the forced organ harvesting of Uyghurs imprisoned in detention camps in China and held a November 2023 hearing on the Chinese Communist Party’s use of forced child and adult labor in cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
During his speech at the breakfast, Smith advocated for PEPFAR, the U.S. government’s global effort to combat HIV/AIDS, a program he has long supported, but argued the Biden administration “hijacked” the program with abortion advocacy.
“I was all in – and still am all in – for PEPFAR, but not when you double-hat it and say, ‘Oh, we’re also going to push the abortion issue and change laws all over the world,’” Smith said.
The future of PEPFAR remains unclear amid a broader pause on foreign aid implemented by the Trump administration.
Earlier in the event, Vice President JD Vance spoke and offered a prayer for Pope Francis’ recovery, and Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the U.S., delivered an invocation and thanked those in attendance for their prayers for Pope Francis during his hospitalization.
“Please know the spiritual closeness of the Holy Father, Pope Francis. He cares for the people of this country and he values our unity with him in faith and in hope,” Cardinal Pierre said.