Chris Smith by United States Congress / Wikimedia Commons (Left), Catholic University of America / Adobe Stock
CV NEWS FEED // Catholic University of America (CUA) recognized Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., with an honorary degree on May 17 for his commitment to the rights of the unborn.
Catholic University also noted that Smith has authored legislation to prevent human rights violations, such as the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000.
In a speech at the CUA Honorees Dinner the prior evening, Smith thanked the university for the degree. He also celebrated the election and inauguration of Pope Leo XIV as the first American pope.
“The renewed hope and well-founded expectations are remarkable,” he stated. “Apart from the Holy Spirit, who saw that coming?”
Speaking in Father O’Connell Hall — named after Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., of Trenton, New Jersey, whom Smith called “the extraordinarily effective, wise and holy” shepherd of his own diocese — the congressman reflected on his decades of advocacy rooted in Catholic conviction and moral clarity.
“Protection of human rights is the core motivator for my service in Congress and it begins with the right to life,” Smith said. “Stopping the violence of abortion is what led me to run for the House, with the complete support of my dear wife Marie.”
Smith traced his political calling to his college years, where he and Marie co-founded a pro-life student group that would help pave the way for today’s Students for Life.
“She has been a powerful, talented and incredibly wise, faith-filled pro-life leader,” he said of Marie, who was unable to attend due to illness.
He praised her for her decades of international advocacy, including service with Holy See delegations to the United Nations and her founding of the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues.
Even amid global suffering, from forced abortion in China to modern-day slavery and organ trafficking, Smith’s message focused on unwavering Christian hope.
“We are a people of indomitable hope—we absolutely refuse to entertain discouragement or defeat,” he said.
Bishop James Su Zhihim, part of China’s Underground Church, is an example of this hope, according to Smith.
Even after enduring decades of torture, Bishop Su still prayed for his captors, Smith noted: “An awe-inspiring example of faithfulness to Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel from Luke: ‘To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.’”
Smith spoke of his continued work to expose and end human rights atrocities. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 has led to more than 2,225 convictions.
“The TVPA created a new, well-funded whole-of-government domestic and international strategy,” he stated, “and established numerous new programs to protect victims, prosecute traffickers and to the extent possible, prevent human trafficking in the first place.”
His latest legislation, the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2025, targets what he called “the worldwide barbaric practice of murdering victims to steal their vital organs.”
“Each year, tens of thousands of young victims, perhaps more — average age 28 — are slaughtered by the Chinese Communist Party for their organs,” he explained.
Ethnic and religious minorities like Uyghurs and Falun Gong practitioners are disproportionately targeted in what he called “a genocide for profit.”
Smith implored Catholic University, and, in particular, the Center for Human Rights, to raise up moral leaders in a world aching for justice who will put an end to these atrocities and protect victims.
Quoting Christ in Matthew 25:45, he offered a reminder that anchored his entire speech: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story characterized Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., of Trenton, New Jersey, as “late.” We are happy to confirm Bishop O’Connell is in fact alive and well, but we deeply regret this error.
