The Respect Life Convocation 2025 of the Paterson Diocese in New Jersey on Oct. 25 examined Invitro Fertilization (IVF) and healthcare ethics. The event, presented in English and Spanish, was held at St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Parsippany, N.J.
The convocation offered a powerful day of faith, learning and honest conversation in exploring the Church’s teaching on IVF and Catholic health care. Participants gained the tools to navigate these sensitive topics with compassion and clarity in their families and communities. One in six couples experiences infertility.
The speakers that day included Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney; Father Pawel Tomczyk, director of pastoral formation and assistant professor of moral theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology in South Orange, N.J.; Dr. Monika Potocki, an obstetrician and gynecologist at St. Peter Healthcare System in Somerset, N.J.; and Karla Semen, a fertility care practitioner at the Gianna Center of Philadelphia.
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That day, Bishop Sweeney also celebrated a Mass in St. Peter’s Church, concelebrated by priests in attendance.
Alyssa Renovales, director of the diocesan Respect Life Office; Eni Honsberger, director of the diocesan Office of Marriage and Family Life; Father Paul Manning, diocesan vicar for evangelization and education; and a team from St. Paul Inside the Walls Evangelization Center in Madison, N.J., planned the convocation.
On social media, Bishop Sweeney said he and the convocation’s other speakers, offered “detailed and educational presentations and conversations on what we believe and how we can teach the truth with love.”
