Catholic teen honored for pro-life commitment despite obstacles

METUCHEN, N.J. (CNS) - At a young age, Theresa Hanntz has already battled opposition to her pro-life activities, yet she remains undaunted.

Hanntz was honored by the Diocese of Metuchen with a Pro-Vita Award for fighting for her beliefs when the Girl Scouts initially rejected a chastity program she organized at her high school as a project to earn her the Scouts' Gold Award. A compromise was eventually reached and she received the Scouting honor. She and three others were given Pro-Vita Awards during a presentation at St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral Jan. 21. Last year, as a senior Girl Scout at Immaculata High School in Somerville and president of the Pro-Life Club, Hanntz wanted to earn her Gold Award by organizing a five-week True Love Waits program at her school. The program, aimed at freshmen and sophomores, educates students on issues such as chastity, abortion and understanding God's plan for sexuality. The Girl Scouts organization, however, did not feel that such a program was appropriate and denied Hanntz the Gold Award. But Hanntz, now a freshman at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, remained committed to the project. "I just became so involved in that issue and it became such a passionate topic for me," Hanntz told The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Metuchen Diocese. "I really wanted to spread the word." She appealed the Girl Scouts' decision, arguing that the program was voluntary and required parental consent, but the Girl Scouts still felt the topic itself was too controversial. Eventually, a compromise was reached when Hanntz agreed to rename the project "Implementing a Long-Term Program." She restructured her proposal to focus on organizing a program rather than promoting pro-life issues and finally received the Gold Award. The True Love Waits program was a success at Immaculata, with 30 students participating. Hanntz said that she received strong feedback from her classmates who took part. Everyone who participated then signed a purity pledge saying they would wait for marriage before engaging in intercourse. Hanntz first became involved in pro-life work as a freshman at Immaculata. She accepted an invitation to join the school's Pro-Life Club from teacher Kathleen Reid, a 2006 Pro-Vita recipient. "I'd always been pro-life, but I'd never really known much about it," said Hanntz. "Once I started, everything kind of snowballed." At the University of Scranton, Hanntz has already become the secretary of Students for Life and hopes to help the organization grow during her time at the school. She is also seeking opportunities to work outside the university, for example, speaking to teenagers at local high schools. Although Hanntz has found the student population on a college campus to include a wider range of beliefs than her high school, she sees this as a welcome challenge. "It gives you a really interesting environment to work in," she said. Hanntz has learned that fighting for one's beliefs can be difficult, but she still believes it is a worthy cause. "It's hard to bring out what you believe when the politically correct thing to do is not to share that," she said. "A lot of the time you are in the minority, but to know that you are standing up for what's true and what's right is so much more rewarding," she added. Hanntz is the youngest recipient of a Pro-Vita award. Past winners have been primarily individuals or groups who have made a contribution to the pro-life cause on a state or national level. The diocese selected Hanntz as an example for other young people that, regardless of age, anyone can make a contribution. The Pro-Vita Awards, given each year as part of the diocese's annual Respect Life Mass, were started in 1998 by the late Bishop Vincent DePaul Breen to recognize people who had made personal sacrifices and shown great dedication to the pro-life cause. Past recipients include U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., and Princeton University professor Robert P. George.

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