Bishop John M. Smith, Diocese of Trenton, has announced that the recipient of this year’s St. Thomas More Award will be Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04). The award honors the Congressman’s significant contributions to the state and nation, and his willingness to witness to the faith in both public and private life.

The award will be presented to Rep. Smith at the fifth annual Red Mass and Dinner, slated for June 16 beginning at 4 p.m. in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. Sponsored by the diocesan St. Thomas More Society, the event is held for all lawyers, judges and government officials – and all those who support these communities -- who reside or work in Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean and Burlington Counties.

Chris Smith resides in Hamilton with his wife Marie and four children. He and his family attend St. Gregory the Great Parish. Rep. Smith has represented the citizens of New Jersey’s Fourth Congressional District since 1981, when he was sworn into office at the age of 27. Throughout his 25 years of service, he has established himself as one of the hardest-working, and most compassionate and dedicated members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

While the Congressman is respected and admired for his steadfast advocacy on behalf of the people in his district and their specific needs, he is also recognized for his efforts in championing the cause of human rights, locally, nationally and globally. From children forced to toil in sweatshops to women kidnapped and sold into prostitution and to unborn children whose opportunity for life is threatened, Rep. Smith has dedicated his life to protecting human rights and helping the world’s most vulnerable.

Known as one of the fiercest opponents of abortion in either house of Congress, Rep. Smith has worked to stop abortions in military funding and has fought to restrict support for international abortion advocacy and services. He was a prime mover of legislation to ban partial-birth abortions and continues to push for his legislation, the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, which requires doctors to inform pregnant women of the position by some experts that fetuses can feel pain after 20 weeks.

Among his many achievements is a series of landmark laws dealing with the scourge of human trafficking, which together strengthen the government’s ability to investigate and prosecute traffickers, and provide funding to assist the victims. Other key pieces of legislation written by Rep. Smith include a stem cell law that authorized funding for the collection of umbilical cord blood stem cells, shown to be successful in treating nearly 70 known diseases, and the Torture Victims’ Relief Reauthorization Act. He was also responsible for reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, the most significant law to protect women who are victims of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence.

The congressman has likewise lent his legislative efforts to advancing initiatives in support of religious freedom, health care, veterans’ affairs, national security, Third World development and international relations. He authored the pre-9/11 Embassy Security Act and serves as a ranking member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which works to promote and foster democracy, human rights and stability in Eastern and Central Europe. Rep. Smith has also written legislation that seeks to promote regional health security, providing for access and training in the response of disease outbreaks and bioterrorism attacks.

Rep. Smith has served as chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, a panel responsible for the well-being of our nation’s 25 million military veterans, and has worked to enhance and expand veterans’ health care and benefits programs. He has authored laws that delivered a 46 percent increase in the GI Bill, which helps veterans pay for college, and funding for programs to help homeless veterans find and retain jobs while being provided with housing, counseling and medical care.

Congressman Smith is active in several health care task forces and caucuses, drawing necessary attention and funding to such issues as Alzheimer’s, Autism and Spina Bifida. He is a champion of legislation protecting the unborn and co-chairs the bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.

The St. Thomas More Society is an association of legal professionals who seek to embrace the ideals of St. Thomas More in their personal and professional lives. Thomas More was an English lawyer and statesman who was beheaded after differing with King Henry VIII over the issues of marriage and the supremacy of the pope. Formed in 2001, the St. Thomas More Society is an organization aimed at providing opportunities for lawyers, judges and government servants to discuss common challenges to the faith experienced in their shared professions and to advance the importance of ongoing education about the Catholic faith.

Past recipients of the St. Thomas More Award include Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.; U.S. Senior District Judge William G. Bassler; the late State Superior Court Judge Arthur A. Salvatore, and the late State Superior Court Judge Paul R. Kramer.

For more information about the St. Thomas More Society or the annual Red Mass, contact the Diocese of Trenton, Office of Family Life/Respect Life, (609) 406-7400, ext. 5558.