Service emphasizes 'culture of life'

Princeton Pro-Life hosted the University's second interfaith "Respect Life Sunday" yesterday, an annual nationwide event intended to foster "a culture of life in our world," including advocacy against abortions and the use of embryonic stem cells.

"We realize that there are a lot of people that reach the pro-life position because of their faith, and we wanted to recognize and applaud those people," Tom Haine '08, the president of Princeton Pro-Life, said in an interview.

He praised the ceremony for providing an edifying and constructive look at the faith behind the pro-life position.

"It's not a very controversial service, as far as they go," he said. "In fact, it's probably the least controversial pro-life event because it's a very positive service. It's a positive acknowledgment of faith."

Ashley Pavlic '07, former president of Princeton Pro-Life, emphasized the ceremony's inclusive and communal aspects.

"It was very important to make Respect Life Sunday an interfaith service," said Pavlic, who helped organize the speakers for the service and first brought the event to campus last year. "Princeton Pro-Life is not affiliated with any one religion, but many students who are pro-life are also religious. This event could, therefore, bring everybody together."

The University Chapel service featured the personal reflections of three speakers — Richard Nadler, the Rev. Matt Ristuccia '75 and Sister Mary-Elizabeth — along with student prayer readings and musical performances, which supplemented and acted as interludes for each speech.

Ristuccia, the only repeat speaker from last year, spoke first, following a reading from the Book of Proverbs, the text of which "may seem distant ... but in fact is both current and fitting," he said.

Though "we live in a cacophonous time," a time in which a profusion of voices are amplified and distorted by a profusion of media, "there are fundamentally two choices: Wisdom and Folly," he said, referencing the text.

"Rising above the cacophony, let us press on in pursuit of a culture of life."

Nadler, who spoke on behalf of the pro-life Jewish community, explained why he believes the pro-life stance is most consistent with the teachings of the Hebrew Bible. Establishing the religious legitimacy of the pro-life position is vital because "only the sacerdotal and covenantal view of human life will always protect it," he said.

The third and final reflection was offered by Sister Mary-Elizabeth, a member of the Sisters of Life, a religious organization in New York which offers spiritual guidance and practical support to women struggling with the difficulties of an unplanned pregnancy.

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"In the end, it will not be through well-crafted arguments that we establish a culture of life, but through the language of the heart," she said.

The speakers did not confine themselves to the controversial beginning-of-life questions. They all urged the audience not only to be vigilant in protecting the life of the unborn, but also in alleviating the plight of the oppressed, the handicapped, the impoverished and the terminally ill.

"I think the important thing to remember is that everyone is more united on this issue than divided," Pavlic said. "I hope this service will illustrate that we have a lot more in common than in difference, which is why we decided to take a more holistic view of the issue and not focus solely on the areas that divide us."