Diocesan Catholic Charities welcomed some 400 golfers at its 48th annual Wiegand Farm Golf Classic at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg June 20. Sponsored by Lakeland Bank, it was a record number for the golf outing that is one of Catholic Charities’ largest fundraisers.

On June 24, the Chancery staff gathered to honor six longtime employees, who will retire after serving the Church of Paterson faithfully for many years. These employees are Rosemary Donnelly, executive assistant of the Diocesan Clergy Personnel Office; Deborah Duane, associate superintendent of the Dio­cesan Schools Office; Barbara Fierro, executive assistant to Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney; Maria Nunez, administrative assistant in the Diocesan Vocations Office; Richard Sokerka, diocesan director of the Communi­cations Office and editor/general manager of The Beacon; and Joan Valk, diocesan director of Human Resources.

A new stained-glass window depicting the Visitation of Mary was blessed this past weekend at Holy Family Church here dedicated to all mothers. Frank and Barbara Tinari, co-chairs of the pro-life ministry at Holy Family Parish, sponsored the window of the meeting of the Blessed Mother and her cousin, St. Elizabeth.

Life is a gift that comes to us from God from the moment of conception. Our laws should protect the dignity and value of life at every moment from conception until natural death. That the Supreme Court has recognized that life begins at conception is an answer to prayer and is the beginning of a process of reclaiming our society’s respect for the fundamental dignity of every human person.

We the Catholic Bishops of New Jersey express our deepest gratitude for the United States Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. This decision ends a very dark chapter in American history and now is the time for our nation to move forward to heal wounds and social divisions.

After nearly 50 years, pro-life advocates serving as a voice for the voiceless in the womb at each March for Life in Washington D.C. in January, saw their efforts rewarded as the U.S. Supreme Court made its historic decision last week to overturn Roe v. Wade that had legalized abortion in 1973. The decision brought joy to the faithful from the Diocese who had traveled by the busloads in freezing temperatures and rain, sleet and snow to make the annual pilgrimage to Capitol Hill to defend life in the womb.

A few Catholic young men stretched every muscle as they scaled an indoor rock ­climbing wall at Camp Shiloh last Friday. Wearing safety harnesses, they grip ascending plastic rocks to get to the top of a 40-foot-high wall. Once there, they ring a bell proclaiming their accomplishment to a crowd applauding below.

June 24, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, was a watershed moment in our nation’s history as the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a decision that ends nearly a half-century of nationwide legalized abortion in the U.S. The decision not only overturned Roe, the landmark 1973 abortion case, but also Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 1992 decision that affirmed Roe.