The Catholic Advocate Easter HOSANNA TO THE KING! Vol. 63 No. 4 • April 2014 2 Our Archdiocese April 2014 Adoption advocate speaks at pro-life rally By Melissa McNally With his wife Bethany, ty. We all share much more in Editor Bomberger founded The Radi- common than you think. When ance Foundation, an “education- you live with so many different ffering a unique perspective on the is- al life-affi rming organization” types of people, you get to know sue of pro-life, Ryan Bomberger en- (www.theradiancefoundation.org). what’s inside. My pigmentation gaged the crowd of hundreds of young “We are relentless about ex- doesn’t tell you anything about people at the New Jersey Pro-Life posing the (abortion) industry my moral conviction.” Youth Rally at Seton Hall University, that says the only plan for an un- Bomberger used bold graph- OSouth Orange, April 4. expected pregnancy is destruc- ics, music, multimedia and inter- Bomberger was adopted at six weeks old and tion. Some of the best things in active question and answer seg- is one of 10 foster children raised in a loving, life are unplanned” he explained. ments to engage the audience. multi-racial Christian family of 15. With sib- Presented by the Respect During his presentation, he asked lings of varying ethnicities, he grew up with a Life Offi ce of the Archdiocese those who were adopted to stand great appreciation for diversity. Ten of the of Newark, New Jersey Right up and be recognized. 13 children were adopted by the Bomb- to Life and the Knights of Co- “Adoption unleashes pur- ergers and he tours the country as lumbus, the Pro-Life Rally gath- pose,” he explained. “Main- an adoption advocate and pro-life ered high school students from stream media speaks about speaker. throughout the state. Archbishop adoption negatively. Adoption is Bernard A. Hebda celebrated an a loving, courageous choice by afternoon Mass with the young the birth mother. My parents de- adults. liberately chose me to be a part Raised on a farm in Lan- of their family. My life shatters caster, PA, Bomberger believes the myth of the unwanted child. his diverse family environment Adoption is an act of social jus- shaped the way he sees the tice.” world. “My brothers and sisters Bomberger also believes Advocate photo- Melissa McNally are white, black, Vietnamese- abortion is a social justice issue Ryan Bomberger, one of 10 adopted children in a multi-racial family, addressed hundreds of local high this is America. This is heaven. and not just a religious issue. school students at the New Jersey Pro-Life Youth Rally. There is such beauty in diversi- Continued on page 3 Deaf Catholics show strength in community at annual conference By Melissa McNally Fr. Klusman stressed the idea Editor of openness within the deaf com- munity in his talk “Discipleship: od made me Journey to the Great Banquet.” deaf,” Father “We have to share our expe- Christopher riences and form a bond to help Klusman of overcome our everyday frustra- the Archdio- tions,” he explained. “Gcese of Milwaukee, WI, proud- Fr. Klusman is one of only ly signed to the audience at the eight deaf priests in the United 4th annual DeaFest. “Some peo- States. He is associate pastor at ple have a lot of anger because Saint Roman Parish in southeast they want to be like everybody Wisconsin and associate director else. They want to ne ‘normal.’ of the deaf/hard-of-hearing min- You can’t let that anger consume istry for the Archdiocese of Mil- you—it will become poison.” waukee. Fr. Klusman was keynote The youngest of four children speaker at the March 29 confer- in a devout Catholic family, he ence held at the Archdiocesan attended a regular “mainstream” Youth Retreat Center, Kearny. school and would sign with his The conference, sponsored by family. pastoral workers with the Catho- “Growing up, I dealt with lic deaf from all fi ve New Jersey both the hearing and non-hearing dioceses, drew 250 participants. communities. I think that infl u- Advocate photo- Melissa McNally All presentations, including enced why I wanted to become a priest. I wanted everyone to be Ordained in 2011, Father Christopher Klusman is one of only a handful of deaf priests in the United Mass, were signed with voice in- one big happy family,” he said. States. He is associate pastor at a southeast Wisconsin parish and is associate director of the deaf/ terpreting and open-captioning hard-of-hearing ministry for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. for non-signers. Continued on page 3 Most Reverend John J. Myers President and Publisher OFFICE HOURS: Deacon Alfred Frank Associate Publisher [email protected] Monday thru Friday • 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Melissa McNally Editor [email protected] Tel: 973- 497-4200 • Fax: 973-497-4192 • Web: www.rcan.org/advocate Marilyn Smith Production Supervisor [email protected] ADVERTISING: Marge Pearson-McCue Director of Advertising & Operations [email protected] The Catholic Advocate Online does not endorse the services and goods advertised in its pages. Very Rev. Michael M. Walters, JCL, V.F. Copy Editor [email protected] e Online Community Newspaper Acceptance of advertisers and advertising copy is subject to the publisher’s approval. of the Archdiocese of Newark PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT: Neither the publication nor publisher shall be liable for damages if an advertisement fails The Catholic Advocate Online is published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark to be published or for any error in an advertisement. at 171 Clifton Ave., Newark NJ 07104-9500. FREQUENCY FOR 2014: May 14, June 20, July 16, August 20, September10, NJPANew Jersey Press Association October 8, November 12 and December 17 2014. April 2014 Local News 3 truth, people are up in arms,” he pro-life rally said. According to his Web site, The New York State Depart- ment of Health reports that in Continued from page 2 2011, for every 1,000 black ba- “Abortion impacts more lives bies born alive, 1,223 are abort- than modern slavery and hu- ed. “People who are pro-choice man traffi cking. Now people are can be as explicit as they want trying to enshrine abortion as a but when someone pro-life has human right. Abortion is the ul- something to say, freedom of timate violation of human and speech goes out the window,” civil rights.” Bomberger added. Through the Web/ billboard Organizations like Planned campaign www.TooManyAbort- Parenthood, he argued, do not ed.com, The Radiance Founda- believe all human life has value. tion launched the fi rst pro-adop- As a Christian, he believes all tion themed ad campaign created life is sacred. to address the disproportionate “Purpose has been embla- impact of abortion in the black zoned on your heart from the community. Since 2010, over moment of conception,” Bomb- 500 billboards have been placed erger explained. “Human beings in major cities across the coun- overcome all the time; that is try with seven different themes, how we are wired. God has de- signed us to do the impossible. including “Black & Beautiful” Advocate photo- Melissa McNally and “Black Children Are an En- He created each life that is irre- Local students celebrated Mass with Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda at the annual youth rally. dangered Species.” The effort placeable and unique. Planned received massive media cover- Parenthood crushes purpose encouraged young people to stressed. “Love and boldness age including “The New York about 1,000 times every day.” defend their stance for life. is a delicate balance. You never Times” and CNN. Although mainstream cul- “Don’t ever fear engaging in know how many lives you are “When you try to speak the ture might say otherwise, he the conversation,” Bomberger going to save.” Deaf Catholics Offi cial Continued from page 2 Appointments Fr. Klusman studied linguis- Archbishop John J. tics at the University of Wiscon- sin-Madison with the goal of be- Myers has announced the ing an American Sign Language following appointments: instructor. While in college he attended Bible study with a PASTORS priest involved in deaf ministry. Reverend Peter K. Funesti, “I realized I had never met Pastor of the Nativity Parish, a deaf priest before. I became Midland Park, has been reappointed enlightened like a candle. I to a second six-year term ending thought I could be a role mod- July 1, 2020. el for someone to follow,” he Reverend Monsignor said. Ordained in 2011, he be- Robert E. Harahan, Pastor of came the fi rst-ever deaf priest Saint Elizabeth Parish, Wyckoff, has to attend Saint Francis de Sales been reappointed to a second six- year term ending July 1, 2020. Reverend Andrzej Ostaszewski, Pastor of Saint Casimir Parish, Newark, has been reappointed to a second six-year Advocate photo- Melissa McNally term ending July 1, 2020. Most Rev. Thomas A. Donato, Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, left, welcomed attendees at the 4th Annual DeaFest. PAROCHIAL VICAR Seminary in Milwaukee. leads us to the “grand banquet” waiting in the end. Advertising is Reverend Sabinus During his lecture, he empha- with God in heaven. “While here always trying to deceive you. In Iwuchukwu, S.D.V. has been sized that by banding together, on earth, we do the prep work for our society, we pursue the wrong appointed Parochial Vicar of Saint Catholics can become devout, the banquet. We have a taste, a things. We, as Catholics, need to Michael Parish, Newark, effective mature followers of Christ. sampling of what is in store for keep our eyes on the prize.” March 1, 2014.