State & Region

Dawn Teresa Parkot does not mince words when she speaks about the Aid in Dying bill.

“I firmly believe that assisted suicide is homicide and those who assist, regardless of their intentions, are guilty of taking a life just as surely as if they participated in a state-sanctioned execution,” Parkot said, using a computer-based communication system to speak.

A bill that would allow terminally ill residents to end their lives now goes to the New Jersey governor after passing both houses of the state Legislature March 25.

The Aid in Dying bill, A1504/S1072, passed the Assembly 41-33 and the Senate 21-16.

Moments before the vote, Assemblyman Jay Webber, R-26, addressed his colleagues, saying, “This bill will make New Jersey neither more compassionate nor more just.”

Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law Jan. 8 a bill that doubles funding for security in nonpublic schools.

Under the bill, religious and private schools in the state will see security funding increase from $75 to $150 per student. The additional $11.3 million in funding will go to various security measures and upgrades.

PATERSON – Retired Bishop Frank J. Rodimer of Paterson died Dec. 6 in St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa. He was 91.

When Bishop Rodimer became the sixth bishop of the Diocese Feb. 28, 1978, he had the unique distinction of being installed as the only priest of the Paterson Diocese to have ever been raised to the episcopacy. He retired in 2004. Earlier this year, he moved into St. Joseph’s Home.

The New Jersey assisted suicide bill, which was scheduled for a vote Oct. 29, has been postponed to an undetermined later date.

Patrick R. Brannigan, executive director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s bishops, said that the delay is an opportunity for people to call their legislators and let them know why they oppose assisted suicide.

William F. Bolan Jr., who spent more than two decades advancing key initiatives on behalf of New Jersey’s Catholic Bishops, died Oct. 25 in his Hopewell Township home following an illness. He was 75.

Bolan served as executive director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s bishops, from 1984 until his retirement in 2006. 

The “Aid in Dying for Terminally Ill Act” (A1504) is expected to be up for a vote Oct. 29 in the Assembly. The state Senate could move an identical bill (S1072) forward if the Assembly bill passes.

The bill would allow terminally ill adults of sound mind to obtain drugs they could take to hasten their demise. If passed, the bill could be on Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk before end of year.

Superstorm Sandy-weary diocesan and parish officials are lauding a Federal Emergency Management Agency policy change announced Jan. 2 that reverses a prior exclusion for religious organizations and houses of worship from applying for federal aid to recover from natural disasters.

The state’s most vulnerable residents have been dealt a blow as Gov. Chris Christie vetoed legislation that would have increased funding for those receiving welfare assistance. 

As it stood, the legislation would have increased funding for the state’s Work First program, or TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The program is geared to help families become self-sufficient. It also offers job search and family counseling resources.

Currently, a family of three receives the maximum benefit of $424 per month, the same as it was 29 years ago. Additional legislation would have repealed the family caps that currently prevent Work First grants from increasing due to the birth of a child. Christie vetoed both bills June 30.

Marie Gladney, executive director of Mount Carmel Guild in Trenton, said it was disappointing because families that receive TANF are working to improve themselves.

“It is a sad commentary when programs that help the most vulnerable populations are used as bargaining chips to negotiate a budget,” she said. “A blow to the program like this sets us backward in alleviating poverty.”