Rep. Smith receives honorary CUA degree for pro-life efforts
June 2, 2025 at 10:13 p.m.
In recognition of his longstanding commitment to the rights of the unborn, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), was bestowed an honorary degree May 17 from Catholic University of America, Washington.
Smith was presented with the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, or “Honoris Causa,” by CUA President Peter Kilpatrick, joining other honorary degree recipients the University has conferred since 1896, including presidents Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson, as well as Rev. Mother (now Saint) Katharine Drexel, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Cardinal John O'Connor and others.
Thanking Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., for his pastoral leadership in the Diocese of Trenton and several of his pro-life cohorts for their ongoing efforts, Smith spoke at the CUA Honorees Dinner the evening before and expressed his gratitude to the university for “offering students a world-class education … that is faithful to and centered on the teachings of Jesus.
Rep. Chris Smith receives an honorary degree at Catholic University of America’s commencement May 17 from university president Peter Kilpatrick. Courtesy photo
“And of course, we absolutely celebrate our new American Pope Leo XIV,” he continued. “Apart from the Holy Spirit, who saw that coming?”
Protection of human rights – including the right to life, Smith said – has been at the center of his service in Congress.
“Stopping the violence of abortion is what led me to run for the House, with the complete support of my dear wife Marie.”
He lauded Marie, who could not be present for health reasons, and her dedication to the pro-life movement from their earliest years together at Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey), Ewing, through her work on Holy See delegations at the United Nations and the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues, which she founded two decades ago.
“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.”
Calling Catholics “people of indomitable hope,” he drew attention to the work of Bishop Su, a leader in the Underground Catholic Church he met in 1994 in Beijing, who has worked through incarceration and torture to pray for his persecutors – “an awe-inspiring example of faithfulness to Jesus’ teaching.”
Smith’s work for human rights includes authoring the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, a comprehensive government initiative combatting sex and labor trafficking in the U.S. and world stage.
“The scourge of modern-day slavery, sex and labor trafficking is denying millions of people their human rights,” Smith explained. “The TVPA created new, well-funded domestic and international strategies, and established new programs to protect victims, prosecute traffickers and, to the extent possible, prevent human trafficking.”
Other human rights initiatives Smith has championed and sponsored include the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2025, which “targets the worldwide barbaric practice of murdering victims to steal their vital organs,” he said.
“Each year, tens of thousands of young victims … are slaughtered by the Chinese Communist Party for their organs,” Smith continued, pointing to the Muslim Uyghurs and Falun Gong as targeted ethnic groups.” Under his bill, “Anyone complicit with these crimes would face both civil and criminal penalties including up to 20 years in prison.”
Smith implored those present to be human rights warriors and prayed that CUA and its Center for Human Rights would help create them.
“We must never quit or grow weary in the defense of human rights,” he said. “Many are depending on us.”
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In recognition of his longstanding commitment to the rights of the unborn, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), was bestowed an honorary degree May 17 from Catholic University of America, Washington.
Smith was presented with the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, or “Honoris Causa,” by CUA President Peter Kilpatrick, joining other honorary degree recipients the University has conferred since 1896, including presidents Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson, as well as Rev. Mother (now Saint) Katharine Drexel, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Cardinal John O'Connor and others.
Thanking Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., for his pastoral leadership in the Diocese of Trenton and several of his pro-life cohorts for their ongoing efforts, Smith spoke at the CUA Honorees Dinner the evening before and expressed his gratitude to the university for “offering students a world-class education … that is faithful to and centered on the teachings of Jesus.
Rep. Chris Smith receives an honorary degree at Catholic University of America’s commencement May 17 from university president Peter Kilpatrick. Courtesy photo
“And of course, we absolutely celebrate our new American Pope Leo XIV,” he continued. “Apart from the Holy Spirit, who saw that coming?”
Protection of human rights – including the right to life, Smith said – has been at the center of his service in Congress.
“Stopping the violence of abortion is what led me to run for the House, with the complete support of my dear wife Marie.”
He lauded Marie, who could not be present for health reasons, and her dedication to the pro-life movement from their earliest years together at Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey), Ewing, through her work on Holy See delegations at the United Nations and the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues, which she founded two decades ago.
“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.”
Calling Catholics “people of indomitable hope,” he drew attention to the work of Bishop Su, a leader in the Underground Catholic Church he met in 1994 in Beijing, who has worked through incarceration and torture to pray for his persecutors – “an awe-inspiring example of faithfulness to Jesus’ teaching.”
Smith’s work for human rights includes authoring the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, a comprehensive government initiative combatting sex and labor trafficking in the U.S. and world stage.
“The scourge of modern-day slavery, sex and labor trafficking is denying millions of people their human rights,” Smith explained. “The TVPA created new, well-funded domestic and international strategies, and established new programs to protect victims, prosecute traffickers and, to the extent possible, prevent human trafficking.”
Other human rights initiatives Smith has championed and sponsored include the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2025, which “targets the worldwide barbaric practice of murdering victims to steal their vital organs,” he said.
“Each year, tens of thousands of young victims … are slaughtered by the Chinese Communist Party for their organs,” Smith continued, pointing to the Muslim Uyghurs and Falun Gong as targeted ethnic groups.” Under his bill, “Anyone complicit with these crimes would face both civil and criminal penalties including up to 20 years in prison.”
Smith implored those present to be human rights warriors and prayed that CUA and its Center for Human Rights would help create them.
“We must never quit or grow weary in the defense of human rights,” he said. “Many are depending on us.”