Health Care Updates - have the bishops endorsed PelosiCare?

because this story is changing by the minute please follow my live updates on twitter.

Today Pelosi is trying to get enough votes together to approve her deeply-flawed health care bill.

It has been an eventful morning. From what I can tell, after failing to get enough promised votes for health care without an abortion-neutrality amendment, Pelosi decided to allow it.

Right now Politico is reporting that the US Bishops have endorsed the bill.

That's not true - rather, it appears that the bishops are encouraging that members support the abortion-neutrality amendment (which is finally coming to a vote) and have laid out other conditions under which their primary reservations will be resolved.

[update - Politico has changed the title of their "live pulse" story to clarify that the bishops have only endorsed the Stupak/etc amendment - not the whole bill. The Politico homepage remains unchanged and this is deeply disturbing considering the probability that politicians will use this to claim the bishops have endorsed the bill - because this story is changing by the minute please follow my live updates on twitter.]

Politico has published a letter from the bishops that they issued today. It looks like in the final crucial hours of health care the "social justice" side of the bishops is calling the shots. I'll explain later.

Also, as much as some people try to downplay the importance of abortion funding in this debate, another article in Politico today basically concedes that this entire process of approving PelosiCare was almost ground to a halt solely on this issue.

Things on the hill are apparently crazy today. They are crazy because Pelosi is trying to push this health care bill through without time for deliberation and prudence. She wants to rush through an overhaul of the way one-in-six dollars is spent in this country without listening to the majority of the American people.

That's a heck of a way to run a government.

Please continue to email and call (202-224-3121 ) your representatives to demand that they vote YES on the pro-life stupak amendment, and then vote NO on HR 3962.

Bishop Conley: health care reform "fatally flawed ... needs to be opposed and defeated"

Once you have contacted your representatives, read Bishop James Conley's lucid and comprehensive exposition of why Catholics must oppose to current form of health care reform.

Here is his bottom line:

With the exception of a few leaders, like Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak, Congress has ignored or rejected every attempt at resolving the serious concerns voiced by the bishops—or alternately, has pushed solutions like the Capps Amendment that do not solve the problems, and even create new ones. The White House has done nothing to intervene. “Common ground” thinking in Washington apparently has more reality as public relations than as public policy. And as a result, all of the main healthcare reform proposals in Congress, including the huge, 2,000-page merged House bill, are fatally flawed. Unless they are immediately and adequately amended, they need to be opposed and defeated.

For all of Congress’ public talk about “consensus building” and “consensus health care,” Washington has proved once again that hearing loss can be job-related. Most American Catholics, from people in the pews to pastors and bishops, want healthcare reform to work. But too many people in Washington don’t know how to listen, or don’t want to listen, or just don’t care.

Read the full text for his reasons here.

Update: What to say to *your* representative about healthcare

Today is the last opportunity to call your representatives on health care. Let's light up the phones!

Please email and call (202-224-3121 ) your representatives to demand that they vote NO on HR 3962.

update: I found a list of the 69 democrats who have expressed opposition to health care - these are the representatives Pelosi and Obama are trying to win over to their side - this list also includes their individual statements which means you can hold them to their promise!

(they are also receiving pressure from pro-abortion democrat groups - so they need to hear your side!)

See my previous post on this pressing issue here. God Bless you for your activism on this issue.

Action: Stop PelosiCare before it gets voted on this Saturday

PelosiCare will be voted on this Saturday evening. Before that vote happens, we need to email and call (202-224-3121 ) our elected representatives to demand that they vote NO on HR 3962.

Whatever you've heard, 1) this legislation still funds abortions with our taxpayer dollars. 2) Its price tag is outrageous and will be crippling to our economy. 3) Nationalized health care systems always disadvantage the elderly and the very sick. 

I'm blogging at APP about the problems with this health care bill:

• Chapter and Verse: How PelosiCare pays for abortions
• Facts: few more reasons to oppose HR 3962
• Report: "Health Care Reform Assumes Millions Will Pay Fines"
• Video: Ordinary Americans Against Health Care "Reform"

Even if you've never contacted your representative before, please do so today. It's really important.

It's especially important to contact moderate Democrats, as almost all Republicans have promised to vote against it, and almost all liberal Democrats have promised to vote for it.

Pro-abortion organizations, which stand to profit massively if this legislation passes, are mobilizing their members to contact their representatives. Well our voice needs to be heard as well, and now.

You are welcome to say anything you want to your representative, but a very effective thing to tell them - if it is true - is something along the lines of: "If you vote for this health care bill, I will not vote for you again, and if there is an acceptable candidate running against you, I will vote for them, and ask my friends to do the same."

Politicians listen to promises like that. It's a promise I intend to keep.

Urgent: As health care goes to a vote this Saturday - no change in abortion funding

Here in Washington DC, Nancy Pelosi is reportedly scrounging around for the last pledges she needs to bring her health care reform bill to a vote THIS SATURDAY.

NARAL and Planned Parenthood are fully engaged, lying that pro-lifers are trying to take away the current abortion coverage some women have. Well, we're not (would that we were!) - we're simply trying to keep the status quo and prevent health care "reform" from becoming a vehicle for pro-aborts to further mainstream, normalize and even subsidize abortions with our money (abortion fees are big business for NARAL and Planned Parenthood. Of course, we don't have a financial stake in this. They do.)

Jill Stanek does an excellent job pointing out clearly how the new "pro-life amendments" offered this week are "phony" and amount to nothing more than "cosmetic" changes. 

And even though Bart Stupak appears to be hanging tough...

“I am disappointed the manager’s amendment introduced Tuesday night does nothing to change, let alone improve, the inadequate language on federal funding for abortion currently in the health care bill. I will continue to oppose, and will continue whipping my colleagues to oppose, bringing the bill to the floor for a vote until there is satisfactory language to prevent public funding for abortion.”

... matters have since been thrown into doubt because, due to a death in the family, Rep. Stupak will not be in Washington DC this week for any of the votes! Obviously Pelosi sees her opportunity.

Folks, there's no rest for the weary. Please continue to contact your representatives and demand that they vote NO on health care at least until genuine pro-life amendments are offered and approved!

(And even then, I strongly believe we should still vote no on this flawed and irresponsible bill.)

Planned Parenthood President Attacks Catholics over Health Care

Memo to President Obama: Please tell your friend, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards, to stop attacking the leaders of the Catholic Church.

Planned Parenthood's most recent action alert reads in part:

"Don't let Catholic bishops and other anti-choice groups push Congress into passing anti-choice amendments to health care reform. Take action now to protect women's health."

Cecile goes on to write her Planned Parenthood supporters in an email plea for money and action:

One thing I know for sure — the bishops don't speak for all Catholics. From one Catholic Planned Parenthood supporter:

What bothers me most is this: Millions of people are uninsured and hundreds of thousands die every year as a result. And, to see my church sacrifice health care reform for the sake of this one issue is just going too far. They don't represent me, and they don't represent my beliefs. I'm speaking out, and I'm asking my Catholic friends and family to do the same.

If you're Catholic and you disagree with the bishops, please let your legislators know when you send your message. Your voice as a pro-choice Catholic needs to be heard NOW.

Make no mistake: Cecile Richards is smart. She knows who is fighting for pro-life health care reform: Catholic bishops, the faithful, and their allies. That's why she's targeting us as a community of believing Christians, and our Catholic leaders and bishops in particular.

Well, let's fight back. Visit http://www.usccb.org/action today, and invite 12 of your friends to do the same.

Catholics have a very good record of success when we pray for God's grace and roll up our own sleeves.

After all, we're still winning converts. And that should scare Cecile very much.

AmP Poll: Did your parish talk about health care reform?

Last week, the US bishops undertook an unprecedented effort to inform Catholics in 19,000 parishes about the problems in the current health care reform bill.

Their effort also aims at mobilizing Catholics to contact their elected representatives requesting that they vote down the current health care bill unless critical aspects of it are fixed (pro-life, etc).

The health care bill will probably be voted on this week, which means last weekend was the best chance to contact Sunday Mass-attending Catholics.

So .... did your parish heed the call of their bishop? Let's find out!

(please note the options proceed in descending order from most supportive to least support of the bishops' message. I've even included an option that your parish is contradicting the clear message of the bishops that the current health care reform bill ought to be strongly opposed.)

Please help me get the word out about this poll. As always, I'd like to get as large a sampling as possible. Fr. Z is running a very similar poll on his blog. You are welcome to vote in his poll as well.

It is not yet too late to ensure the US bishops' materials get into the hands of American Catholics.
You can help make that happen!

Last call: Seeking paid volunteers for Hoffman in upstate New York

I promise this will be one of the last times I bug you about Doug Hoffman, the conservative candidate in upstate New York for its seat in the US House of Representatives.

This is the last weekend before folks up there go to the polls next Tuesday. I can connect anyone who is free this weekend with pro-life, pro-family organizations on the ground up there who can pay for travel, lodging and daily expenses. I think this is a very worthwhile use of your time.

The latest polls show Hoffman in a dead heat with the Democrat candidate Bill Owens, but Democrats typically have a much stronger turn-out-the-vote campaign, so Hoffman needs help this weekend and up until election day.

If you have a car and can donate some of your time this weekend or before and during the election day to this campaign, please do so. As I've said before, this may be a local race, but it has a potential to send a clear message to politicians in Washington DC that pro-life, pro-family, and economically-responsible candidates are the way to win in future elections, and now.

Please email me at "thomas dot americanpapist dot com" if you are interested or know someone who might be interested.

If you can't make it to upstate New York, but still want to help financially, here's how.

Through your assistance, I look forward to reporting good news next Tuesday.

Imperative: US Bishops urge *every* parish to utilize bullet insert on health care reform

Yesterday I blogged about my claim that "How many bishops support the current health care reform? None of them."

My claim is born out today by this email sent out by the USCCB Pro-Life Activities secretariat. It represents an unprecedented mobilization of the Catholic faithful on a particular political issue.

It is simply incredible - the US Bishops want every parish in America to help them get the message out. It explicitly says that individual dioceses ought not to "opt out" of this innitiative.

I don't care if I overload my bandwidth having indivividuals download these materials - we need to take action, starting in your parish:

From: Tom Grenchik, Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities

To: Diocesan Pro-Life Directors & State Catholic Conference Director

Re: URGENT: Nationwide USCCB Bulletin Insert on Health Care Reform

Attached [see below], please find an Urgent Memorandum highlighting USCCB plans and requests for diocesan and parish based activation on health care reform.

The President of the Conference and the Chairmen of the three major USCCB committees engaged in health care reform have written all the bishops and asked that the attached USCCB Nationwide Bulletin Insert on health care reform be printed or hand-stuffed in every parish bulletin and/or distributed in pews or at church entrances as soon as possible.

Congressional votes may take place as soon as early November. If your Arch/bishop is not in agreement with disseminating the bulletin insert, you will be hearing from his office immediately. You may wish to check with his office ASAP to see how you may be of assistance in distributing the Bulletin Insert, far and wide.

Tomorrow, the USCCB will be e-mailing these same materials to a large number of parishes across the country, already on a USCCB contact list. The parish list is incomplete, so we will still have to rely on diocesan e-mail systems to reach EVERY parish. Thank you for your great help with this.

Also included are suggested Pulpit Announcements and a Prayer Petition.

There is also a copy of a newly-released ad for the Catholic press, which may be printed as flyers for the vestibule or copied on the flip-side of the Bulletin Insert. The flyer/ad directs readers to www.usccb.org/action where they may send their pre-written e-mails to Congress through NCHLA’s Grassroots Action Center. If you wish to sponsor the ad in your local Catholic paper and need a different size, please contact Deirdre McQuade at dmcquade@usccb.org.

Please encourage parishioners to pray for this effort as well. More information can be found at www.usccb.org/healthcare.

Thank you for your urgent actions and prayers on behalf of this nationwide effort!

With this email are four attached documents - print these out, share them and take action:

1. HC Cover Note to Leaders, Final.doc (a digital version of the email above)
2. HC Bulletin Insert 10-23-09 Final.pdf (the one-stop nationwide parish bulletin insert)
3. HC Pulpit Announcement & Prayer, Final 1.doc (a how-to for distributing the materials)
4. HC Ad Saving_Lives_Flyer_FINAL.pdf (a flyer to be placed on bulletin boards, etc.)

Note especially this Suggested Prayer of the Faithful:

"That Congress will act to ensure that needed health care reform will truly protect the life, dignity and health care of all and that we will raise our voices to protect the unborn and the most vulnerable and to preserve our freedom of conscience. We pray to the Lord."

This prayer perfectly illustrates the main themes I have been harping on throughout this debate - that health care reform, as it currently stands, is not truly pro-life and universal, and that it contains no respect for (Catholic) conscience protection. These are glaring shortcomings that urgently need to be addressed!

Action items:

• Please ask your pastor if he intends to use these materials. If he is not aware of them - forward them to this post on AmP so he has access to them. Or, print them out and bring them to him personally.
• Perform the action items described in the materials I've provided in this USCCB bulletin insert.
• Pray that health care reform not be passed unless it is truly universal and pro-life.

Health care reform could be voted on as early as next week. These materials need to be in the hands of Catholics starting this weekend. Thank you for your efforts in serving our bishops and getting the word out. Godspeed.

Action: Donate to Help Elect a Pro-Lifer in NY-23 (who has a good chance!)

I've written before about the situation in New York's 23rd congressional district which goes to the polls next Tuesday.

My friends have been hard at work getting the word out about the pro-life candidate, Doug Hoffman, with a photo and an article in today's New York Times.

The Catholic Family Association has endorsed Hoffman:

CFA Executive Director: "Doug Hoffman embodies what our group promotes: pro-family stances on every important issue--from taxes to healthcare to abortion--facing Americans. Given the radicalism of his opponents, the choice is clear in NY-23."

The latest polls show Hoffman pulling into the lead, but with only days to go, we ought to help the pro-life, pro-family organizations on the ground seal the deal.

This is a local race with national consequences, for the reasons I've explained before, so if you can do anything to help out the efforts in NY-23, especially by donating any amount through the Susan B. Anthony List, it would be a good thing.

Let's send a message to the politicians in Washington DC that pro-life, pro-family, and economically-responsible candidates are the way to win in future elections. Let's start now.

Stupidity: Rep. Kennedy attacks the Church, and Bishop Tobin takes him to task

Patrick Joseph Kennedy II, a democrat US House representative from Rhode Island and the son of the late Edward Kennedy, viciously smeared the Church in an interview with CNSNews.com (updated - fixed):



Transcript of Kennedy's comments:

“I can’t understand for the life of me how the Catholic Church could be against the biggest social justice issue of our time, where the very dignity of the human person is being respected by the fact that we’re caring and giving health care to the human person - that right now we have 50 million people who are uninsured,” Kennedy told CNSNews.com. “You mean to tell me the Catholic Church is going to be denying those people life-saving health care? I thought they were pro-life?” said Kennedy. “If the church is pro-life, then they ought to be for health care reform because it’s going to provide health care that are going to keep people alive. So this is an absolute red herring and I don’t think that it does anything but to fan the flames of dissent and discord and I don’t think it’s productive at all.”

Local Bishop Thomas Tobin wasn't about to let Kennedy get away with it, responding:

“Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s statement about the Catholic Church’s position on health care reform is irresponsible and ignorant of the facts. But the Congressman is correct in stating that “he can’t understand.” He got that part right.

As I wrote to Congressman Kennedy and other members of the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation recently, the Bishops of the United States are indeed in favor of comprehensive health care reform and have been for many years. But we are adamantly opposed to health care legislation that threatens the life of unborn children, requires taxpayers to pay for abortion, rations health care, or compromises the conscience of individuals.

Congressman Kennedy continues to be a disappointment to the Catholic Church and to the citizens of the State of Rhode Island. I believe the Congressman owes us an apology for his irresponsible comments. It is my fervent hope and prayer that he will find a way to provide more effective and morally responsible leadership for our state.”

"Irresponsible. Ignorant. A Disappointment. Owes us an apology."

... now that's taking the gloves off language. As Bishop Tobin is justified in using. Kennedy completely deserved this strong rebuke, because of his pro-abortion record, and because of his recent comments which are squarely against the facts, and unabashedly anti-Catholic.

Action items - updated:

• Contact Rep. Kennedy (through his press secretary kerrie.bennett@mail.house.gov) and demand he apologize to Catholics for his ignorant and hateful comments
• Contact Bishop Tobin (through his communications director - kdavis@dioceseofprovidence.org) and thank him for standing up for Catholics, and for the truth.

Outrageous: Nun volunteers at abortion clinic - and what can be done about it

Not only has this dominican nun been volunteering at abortion clinics for "at least six years", but her religious superior is actually defending her choice even now that it is under public scrutiny!

"A Dominican nun has been seen frequenting an abortion facility in Illinois recently - but not, as one might expect, to pray for an end to abortion or to counsel women seeking abortions, but to volunteer as a clinic escort.

Local pro-life activists say that they recognized the escort at the ACU Health Center as Sr. Donna Quinn, a nun outspokenly in favor of legalized abortion, after seeing her photo in a Chicago Tribune article.

... Sr. Donna Quinn, OP, is renowned in the Chicago area as an advocate for legalized abortion and other liberal issues.

... Sr. Patricia Mulcahey, OP, Quinn's Prioress at the Sinsinawa Dominican community, said in an email response to LSN that the nun sees her volunteer activity as "accompanying women who are verbally abused by protestors. Her stance is that if the protestors were not abusive, she would not be there." (LSN)

My father, Canon Lawyer Ed Peters, lays out at least three provisions in Canon Law which could be grounds for Sr. Donna's dismissal from the religious life.

Action items:

• LifeSite news is asking for individuals to respectfully express concern to the Prioress of the Sinsinawa Dominicans - Sr. Patricia Mulcahey, OP at Spatmul@aol.com.
• I think it is also appropriate to contact the local bishop to make sure he is aware of this scandal. I believe the Sinsinawa Dominicans are in the Diocese of Madison, WI. Their communications director can be contacted at brent.king@straphael.org

Action: Oppose the Chai Feldblum nomination

Over at APP we're launching a project to stop the nomination of Chai Feldblum. I think AmP readers will have a special interest in our efforts because Belmont Abbey College is mentioned in the press release:

Today the American Principles Project and its sister organization American Principles in Action urged concerned Americans to contact their Senators over the impending confirmation of Chai Feldblum to a five year post on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). [read more.]

We have also written a "Simple Case against Chai Feldblum" laying out the case for why we oppose her nomination. 

Please join our efforts and take action in opposing her nomination here at American Principles in Action. There is also a Facebook group to help spread the word. 

If you want one example of why Chai is bad news for religious institutions (like Belmont Abbey College) in particular, take a look at this post: "Video: Chai Feldbum says Government should promote "gay sex is morally good."

I've written two posts for AmP on the situation of the EEOC persecuting Belmont Abbey College:

• Belmont Abbey College in hot water for daring not to pay for contraception 
  
• Surprise: Washington behind forcing Belmont Abbey to pay for contraception
  

Just imagine what would happen if Chai Feldblum is successfully appointed to the EEOC.

Luckily for Belmont Abbey College, they've retained the services of the Becket Fund. The Becket Fund is helping them out pro-bono, so if you want to support the Becket Fund's fine work then please click here and help support them.

I'm sure the Becket Fund wouldn't mind being put out of business (as far as defending religious institutions from government intervention), but looking at the times we live in, that's probably not going to happen any time soon.

Get involved! Support a Catholic Speaker Month

Matt Warner at Fallible Blogma has a great concept and he needs our help to execute it.

It's called "Support a Catholic Speaker Month" where Catholic Bloggers pick a Catholic speaker to profile.

I've already grabbed up Dr. Janet Smith, but there are still plenty of orphan Catholic speakers waiting for a short blog post (at least a few paragraphs) from you to "flood the web raising awareness and promoting hundreds of Catholic speakers and blogs."

I'd love to see the AmP community get involved.

Also, as I've mentioned - I'm a Catholic speaker as well. I've recently given talks in the Archdiocese of Denver on "Catholic Principles of Health Care Reform."

If you are interested in having me speak to your Catholic audience, drop me an email at "thomas at ameircanpapist dot com." Thanks!

Matt is supposed to add me to this list of Catholic speakers so if you act fast you might be able to snag me! ;)

Event: Support local pro-life in Washington DC

I've talked before about how there is something everyone can do to support pro-life activities in their local community. Sometime that "something" is as easy as having a good time.

I'll be attending this year's "23rd Annual Indian Summer Ball" (despite the chilly, fall weather) this weekend, where the proceeds go directly to supporting the wonderful and critical pro-life work done by the Northwest Center. Here is the event description:

Our annual Indian Summer Ball is one of Washington D.C.’s premier pro-life events. This black-tie affair features live music and dancing, a gourmet buffet, and a silent auction.  Over the past two decades, the Ball has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the work of The Northwest Center while providing a memorable night for all our guests. Reserve your ticket or sponsorship today!

This event will be held October 17th, 2009 at the Organization of American States near the National Mall.

Click here for more information including directions and ticket sales.

2008 Photos - 2007 Photos

There's still time for you to buy your ticket. Or, if you live outside of Washington DC, support the center directly. Washington DC is not only our nation's capital, but a sad "abortion capital" of sorts (admittedly behind New York City in total numbers of abortions per year).

Whatever government programs have promised to accomplish here, the most effective way of supporting a cultural of life directly is to provide local and immediate support for women who want to make the choice for life. I hope you'll join these fruitful local efforts.

4 things for Catholics to support before November 4th

As a Catholic active in politics, there are four races I'm following in the lead up to this November 4th.

If you have money or resources to help any of these races, they definitely deserve your attention!

• In Virginia, Catholic pro-life candidate for Governor Bob McDonnell is running against pro-choice Democrat Creigh Deeds. McDonnell is slightly ahead but needs help across the finish line. Deeds has gone after McDonnell aggressively for McDonnell's Catholic viewpoints on current issues.
• In New Jersey, Catholic pro-life candidate for Governor Chris Christie is running against pro-choice Democrat incumbent Jon Corzine. Christie is ahead but Corzine has been running a very mean, 100% negative campaign which is doing damage to Christie, including attacking his pro-life positions.
• In Maine, traditional marriage is on the ballot. StandForMarriageMaine is doing great work side-by-side with the bishop in Maine, despite advertisements from the other side which try to deceive Catholics, and the other side committing acts of vandalism.
• Finally, in New York's 23rd congressional district, Doug Hoffman is the only pro-life candidate in a race which includes a democrat and an extremely liberal, pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage republican. It's an important race for the national scene, for several reasons.

If Catholics across the country support these individuals and causes, we can have something significant to celebrate and be proud about in three short weeks! Thanks so much for spreading the word.

Video: Gay activists in Maine lie about Catholic support for homosexual marriage

CatholicVoteAction brings to our attention a duplicitous tactic being employed by homosexual activists in the lead-up to Maine's Nov. 4th marriage vote:

CatholicVoteAction.org Calls on Maine Group to Pull ‘Catholic’ Gay-Marriage Ad

Homosexual advocates have released a shameless new ad featuring a grandmother and two gay men urging Maine voters this November to approve ‘same-sex’ marriage. The grandmother in the new commercial speaks about her Catholic faith and the importance of the institution of marriage, but then urges voters to support ‘same-sex’ marriage.

Here is the video:

Look at how subtly this ad works: "I've been a Catholic all my life ... my faith means alot to me."

This ad is deceptive because it implies that this woman supports homosexual marriage because of her Catholic faith.

Of course, the universal Church only supports traditional marriage between a man and woman, as God instituted it, in harmony with natural laws which defend and promote human dignity and flourishing.

This video ad is doubly duplicitous because it ignores the clear teaching and activity of Maine's own Bishop Richard Malone, who is a staunch defender of traditional marriage and is mobilizing and urging Catholics in Maine to Vote Yes on November 4th.

I mean, who are Catholics supposed to believe - a woman who claims to be Catholic in an advertisement sponsored and run by homosexual-marriage advocates, or the local Bishop together with his priests in agreement with the constant teaching and universal witness of the Catholic Church? Really, it's not even close.

So let us come together and refute the lies being fed Catholics in Maine by those who created this advertisement. Catholics proudly support traditional marriage as God instituted it, and we won't let homosexual-marriage activists try to hide the clear teaching of the Church and their local Bishop from Catholics in Maine.

Visit www.standformarriagemaine.com where you will find ways to support their efforts to preserve traditional marriage. There's an action item for most everyone who is passionate about this issue. Even those of us who can't vote in Maine.

They also have documents and arguments showing why all citizens have an interest in supporting traditional marriage.

Video: Protecting Traditional Marriage and Preserving Childhood Innocence

Two videos this morning about two important causes....

First, the battleground to preserve traditional marriage in the United States is currently in the state of Maine. The victory won in California through the passage of Proposition 8 last November in California is threatened if the referendum for traditional marriage in Maine is defeated (30 out of 30 of the previous state referendums have all preserved traditional marriage, but this vote in the liberal state of Maine is down to the wire - and it will take place on November 4th).

Here is the latest video from Stand For Marriage Maine:



A second and related cause is the protection of Childhood Innocence in our nation's schools. Homosexual activists are attempting to teach school kids inappropriate material about the homosexual "lifestyle" starting as early as kindergarden (this really is happening already - and almost always its the parents who are the last to know) One of the leaders of this "queering" movement, Kevin Jennings, was appointed by President Obama to the Deparment of Education.

Now through the efforts of American Principles in Action, we're trying to get him expelled:



I've written extensively on Jennings here, and will write on the situation in Maine soon.

Here are five effective ways you can help:

1. Link to this post from your blog, website, facebook profile, or through sending emails
2. Watch, favorite, rate, comment on and/or embed each of these YouTube videos
3. Join the Facebook groups Expel Kevin Jennings, and Stand For Marriage Maine, and invite your friends. Re-tweet this message for Jennings and this message for traditional marriage.
4. Visit http://www.expeljennings.com/ to sign the petition requesting Jenning's removal, and visit http://standformarriagemaine.com/ to find a variety of ways you can help them save marriage in Maine
5. Pray for the protection of children, and for the preservation of traditional marriage

I know there are many causes that are worthy of our attention these days, but these are two critical issues close to my heart, where small, organized actions taken by us can have a great and beneficial effect. Together, we can win this.

Thank you, papists!

Action: What Catholics can do to help health care reform

The current status of the health care debate is complicated (I know, I follow it every day) - but what Catholics can do to make health care reform is fairly simple.

Currently all the focus is on the Senator Baucus bill currently being debated in the Senate Finance Committee. Not suprisingly, like the other Democrat health care plans, it funds abortions.

The American Principles Project blog has a simple explanation for how you can contact your Senator and request that they vote in favor of the various pro-life amendments which have been introduced to get abortion funding out of the Baucus bill. If 100 people called each of their Senators it really would make a huge impact.

For those of you who want a bit more detail, pay close attention to the langauge of the Capps Amendment. It appears to be the model Democrats favor for sneaking abortion funding into various health care proposals. National Right to Life Committee's Doug John picks the Capps amendment apart in this column.

Also, the Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics blog appears to be a good resource for health care reform and end-of-life issues, particularly yesterday's article on "Robbing Peter to pay Paul - funding the senate finance bill by cutting health care funding for older Americans."

Finally, I should mention that I'm happy to do radio or TV interviews on any of these topics. The larger the audience, the better the chance I'll be able to take time away from my other commitments. But of course anyone is welcome to drop me an email.

Update: More proof we need to de-fund the CCHD

Last week I wrote at length about why I believe it is time to de-fund the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. I recommended that Catholics not contribute to their annual second collection at Sunday Masses which is coming up near Thanksgiving.

A week and a half later, I still think this is the best prudential move, as more evidence surfaces.

A report by LifeSiteNews:

The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the U.S. bishops' domestic social justice arm, says it has taken "decisive action" on a new report that reveals they have been funding groups that support abortion, contraception, same-sex "marriage," and legalized prostitution.

The organization's funding practices have been the subject of growing scrutiny in the last several years, especially after it was revealed that CCHD had funded the scandal-plagued ACORN organization to the tune of millions of dollars.

The report about CCHD's problematic funding practices was prepared by the new Bellarmine Veritas Ministry (BVM), which has launched a national campaign aimed at addressing the problems with the organization. The group's founder, Rob Gasper, said he is "pleased" with the CCHD's response, but insisted that the organization is in need of further reform before the problems can be said to have been dealt with.

... The report lists four groups from the 2009-2010 grantee list that actively support policies or practices contrary to Church teaching. In total, these groups have been allocated $125,000 this year. The report also lists seven groups that have pushed for the current version of Obama's health care reform.

The Catholic Media Coalition (an organization I cannot personally vouch for) has a whole page on the CCHD, and wrote an open letter to the US bishops (PDF) about a year ago asking that they de-fund the CCHD. The actions they suggest the US bishops take, I find myself in agreement with:

• That the CCHD grant process be frozen and 2008 grants be suspended until a complete review and overhaul of the campaign can be conducted
• That all donations be placed in safe interest‐bearing accounts during the process
• That the grant application process be thoroughly studied and new policies developed that ensure only organizations that follow Catholic moral principles, i.e., pro-life, pro-family, pro-marriage, and pro-biblical morality be eligible for grants
• That the principle of subsidiarity be honored in the grant process
• That ACORN, the Industrial Areas Foundation and other Alinsky-style community organizations that follow immoral principles of action be permanently banned from receiving grants {this has already happened in the case of ACORN}
• That groups networking and interfacing with groups that advance pro-abortion, pro-homosexual policies be permanently banned from funding
• That whenever possible Catholic organizations be given preference over secular groups

That seems reasonable to me.

Alert: How you can help Dominican Nuns overflowing with vocations!

I've been corresponding over the past couple of days with a Dominican Sister of the Mary, Mother of the Eucharist community in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

I have had the privilege of knowing several sisters in this thriving young order during my time in Michigan, and since then as well. I will never forget the sight of their young professed sisters walking along the sidewalks of Ann Arbor in their white habits, often with a backpack full of school books for whatever class they were attending.

Now for the wake-up line: this religious community has grown by 2500% in the last 13 years.

You read that right. This explosion in vocations is unparalleled in my experience, and now I would be thrilled to see the AmP community support the necessary costs of providing for the needs of this flourishing order.

I'm going to rewrite in my own words her description of some of the upcoming events and opportunities for support she has brought to my attention:

"The 4th Annual “A Pledge of Future Glory Gala Dinner and Golf Tournament” will be held in Vienna, VA, on October 5th. These events provide assistance to help fund the growth of our community. We have grown from four Sisters in 1997 to ninety-nine as of 2 weeks ago, when our 17 newest Sisters entered (as recently covered in an article on CNA - which includes a YouTube video as well).

As you can imagine, there are significant costs associated with such growth – the main 2 costs being the building of our Motherhouse, and the education and formation of our young Sisters.

The name of our golf events comes from the title of our ongoing “A Pledge of Future Glory” mission advancement campaign, with an overall goal of raising $25 million for the burgeoning needs of our community (and the name of the campaign comes from St. Thomas Aquinas’ prayer “O Sacrum Convivium” – we are Dominicans, after all!).

Our website has a registration page for the event and also has a link to a PDF brochure. We also have online donation capabilities, for those who might not be able to attend the event, but who would like to help the cause! Every gift helps us!"

If you want to support a culture of young, orthodox vocations to women religious communities in the United States, you simply couldn't support a better group of sisters than these Dominicans.

Especially as the Vatican attempts to reform the older female religious communities in the United States through an extensive (and often resisted) visitation, now is the perfect time to support the joyfully-faithful sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, to help them remain and become an even brighter shining example of a life lived totally for Christ and his Church.

Catholic Medical Association comes out strongly against ObamaCare

While I was in Orlando I was privledged to meet several members of the Catholic Medical Association.

I am thrilled to see they have come out vocally against Obamacare because of its deep, particular flaws, and have also cautioned against any proposal which involves a government takeover of the private medical profession.

They have released a 3-page open letter to "Catholics and Catholic organizations", and - because I realize people tend to be daunted by larger documents - I'm excerpting the conclusion here:

"We must ensure that well-intentioned efforts to bring about “change” are not exploited to create a federally controlled system that promises health care for all, but creates an oppressive bureaucracy hostile to human life and to the integrity of the patient physician relationship. It would be better to forgo long-needed changes in health-care financing and delivery in the short-term if these would lead to a long-term, systemic policy regime that is inimical to respect for life, religious freedom, and the goods served by the principle of subsidiarity. Rather than accept such an outcome, we should take the time required to implement reform measures that are sound in both principled and practical terms."

The entire letter can be read here (PDF) through the CMA website. They have created a new section of their website dedicated to health care reform which I would urge you to visit.

This is a brave move by the Catholic Medical Association. Having met several of their members, I believe they are sincere Catholics who genuinely want to practice their profession according to their Catholic principles.

Important: As Acorn gets Axed, it's time to toss CCHD in the fire too

ACORN, the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now, is in the news a lot these days (and much more now that the mainstream media outside of Fox News has decided they can't ignore the story anymore).

Most recently, the Senate chose to de-fund 169 million dollars earmarked for ACORN by a vote of 83-7 (I'd like to see the seven names that still supported this corrupt organization).

ACORN has long been in the inside track of democrat community activism, and until recently was even going to play a role in the 2010 census - a process which is often used for political expediency by activist organizations like ACORN, whose employees have already been convicted multiple times for registering dead people and cartoon characters to vote in elections. Seriously.

Back in October and November (twice) of last year I did a series of posts pointing out that our own Catholic Campaign for Human Development (which operates out of the US Bishops' office) funnelled Catholic contributions to ACORN.

That's right, money given by Catholics in the pew has been going to an organization that was caught on film telling pimps in New York City how to hide money from loan sharks by burying it in the backyard before they go apply for a government mortgage for their home under an assumed name. Seriously.

From everything I've heard and read so far, CCHD is just bad news. The fact that it funded ACORN for so many years (and continues to fund highly-questionable organizations) simply proves the leadership of CCHD is completely at-odds with responsible Catholic social activity.

Mary Ann Kreitzer has an extended article on CCHD's misdeeds published at Spero News. She also writes about "thirteen news stories designed to tear back the curtain on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), or as I call it, Catholic Cash Helping Democrats."

Papists, money is tight these days. With our government (finally) de-funding the state-sponsored corruption at ACORN, we Catholics need to de-fund the Catholic-sponsored corruption at the CCHD.

What can we do?

Every year around Thanksgiving time there is a second collection taken for CCHD at Masses in the United States. Here's what I'd like to do:

1. In the next weeks I will search for the dioceses that have chosen to opt out of this second collection for CCHD (you can help me by emailing me if you know this has happened).
2. I'd will publish these dioceses here on AmP, and keep the list updated.
3. Then, I'd encourage you to (respectfully) write your bishop (if his diocese is not on the list) and ask that he also instruct his parishes to opt out of this second collection.
4. Put that extra money you would have given to CCHD in the collection basket of your own parish, where it will do some actual good.

If an organization has proven to be a bad steward, the Lord will find new stewards. We can help.

update - not to get distracted, but an AmP reader writes in:

Of the 7 senators who voted against pulling funding from ACORN:
- 1 is Baptist
- 1 is Episcopalian
- 1 is Jewish
- 4 are Roman Catholic

Wonderful.

Catholic Church steps up defense of traditional marriage in Maine

Bishop Richard Malone, head of the only diocese in Maine, has placed the resources of local Catholics behind the efforts of Stand for Marriage Maine. We should too.

Maine is yet another example of government officials or judges forcing same-sex marriage on a state. Stand for Marriage Maine is simply attempting to give the people of Maine a chance to vote on an issue that will effect them intimately.

Same-sex marriage proponents intend to use the individual example of states (like Maine) to eventually make same-sex marriage legal nationally (they make no secret about this strategy of theirs).

Well, we can prevent this happening if we appeal to the average American - who still supports traditional marriage - instead of leaving this in the activist hands of courts and government officials.

Hop on over to http://standformarriagemaine.com/ and they have ways you can support their efforts to preserve traditional marriage. There's an action item for most everyone who feels passionate about this issue.

Urgent: Support the Foundation for Sacred Arts!

My good friend Erik Bootsma, graduate of the Notre Dame School of Architecture (and the artist behind the design for American Papist Apparel), sent me this impassioned plea for financial assistance.

I know many members of this organization and would love to see AmP readers get behind their important mission and work. Please read, contribute, and spread the word:

"The Foundation for Sacred Arts is dedicated to a new renaissance in Catholic arts: Painting, Sculpture, Music, Architecture, etc.

The Foundation sponsors speakers, academic forums, arts competitions and exhibitions of contemporary artists who best exemplify artistic excellence with an emphasis on the continuity of artistic tradition. We already have a number of speakers and programs coming up next year and beyond.

The Foundation is, however, desperately in need of financial support to keep its office open and to continue its work of building a solid groundwork for new programs needed to help foster a truly Catholic and beautiful culture of art in the Church today.

Right now the Foundation is actively searching for seed money to jump-start this new programming, while also requiring financial support to maintain current operations.

Every penny is precious right now so small donations are just as welcome as large ones. We hope to eventually raise $100,000 through a combination of individual donations and larger grants."

I think the main challenge facing the Foundation at this point is that they are unknown. Living as Catholics in 21st century America, I think we are all keenly aware of the urgent need to support young Catholic artists who are inspired to create beautiful art in the Catholic tradition.

Beautiful works of art, after all, inspire us to see the beauty of God's creation and the dignity of his creation Man. Good art is fitting praise for the all-good God. And we shouldn't have to look for good Catholic art only in museums and art history books.

Erik recently wrote an excellent article for the Catholic News Agency entitled "Novelty vs. Beauty":

When I tell Catholics I meet that I’m an architect, invariably they ask me, “Why doesn’t the church I attend look like a church? Why don’t they build nice churches like the old ones we love?” Sometimes I come up with a complicated answer or theory, but most of the time I answer, “architects.”

In the United States, we have a fairly good tradition of building beautiful churches in which one can feel a true sense of reverence. One would be hard pressed to find a church built before World War II that wasn’t beautiful and beloved by its parishioners. It would be an even more difficult task to find such a church built after the World War that comes close to the beauty found in an average 1920s church and a Herculean task to find one built since the 1960s.

How is it that even within the Catholic Church, where we affirm and believe in the importance of tradition, that a deep and profound architectural heritage came to be abandoned? Again the answer is that architects, like so many other artists, have become obsessed with the idea of novelty. Most artists have been trained to believe by their mentors in 20th century art culture that only novel or “revolutionary” creations are worthy of being called art.

[Read the full article here.]

Another important factor in the sad situation that Erik describes is, well, money. Catholics must actively help good artists do their work. We've probably all complained at some point about bad Catholic art. Well, I've moved past grumbling and now I want to fix it. And the Foundation for Sacred Arts is well-equipped to do just that, with your assistance and mine.

If you cannot contribute to the Foundation directly, please help spread the word by emailing your friends, blogging about this, and telling your friends about them on Facebook and Twitter. All donations are tax-deductible, so that's an incentive, too.

If you want to contact Erik directly for interviews or publicity, you can do so at "erikbootsma [at] gmail.com."

So the next time you walk into a beautiful or ugly Catholic church, think for a moment about who was responsible for building it. Then, if you want to see more beautiful Churches, or less ugly ones, drop a few dollars in the Foundation's basket. I will.

Augustine wrote that he who sings, prays twice. Well, he who helps those who helps others pray ... well, it works out pretty good for them, too! I know I can count on you papists.

From Archbishop Dolan, 4 tips for fostering vocations

The newly-installed Archbishop of New York City, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, uses this Year for Priests to give us laity four distinct ways of promoting vocations:

The first, said Archbishop Dolan, is by emphasizing the vocation of marriage and family. Citing data from a Pew Research Center study, Archbishop Dolan stated that only about 50% of Catholic young people are approaching the sacrament of marriage.

“Taking care of the first crisis will take care of the second,” said Archbishop Dolan. “Vocations to the priesthood and religious life come from lifelong, life-giving faithful marriages.”

Secondly, Archbishop Dolan spoke of re-creating a culture of vocations.

“There were no good old days in the Church,” said Archbishop Dolan. “Every era in Church history has its horrors and difficulties.”

“We need to recapture the climate/tenor/tone/ambiance in the Church where a boy or man isn’t afraid to publicly say, ‘I want to be a priest,’ and where his family, relatives, neighbors, parish, priest, sisters, teachers and even non-Catholics are robustly supportive.”

Thirdly, Archbishop Dolan said that the laity need to not be afraid to ask their priests to help them be holy.

“For a faithful Catholic, a priest is essential for growth in holiness because he gives us the sacraments, and without the sacraments we can’t be holy,” said Archbishop Dolan. “When you ask us to help you be holy, we realize that we must be holy, and you remind us that there is something unique in the Church that only a priest can do.”

Finally, Archbishop Dolan said that priests must be reminded that they are here to help the laity get to heaven.

“A priest is an icon of the beyond, the eternal, the transcendent,” said Archbishop Dolan. “Heaven gives us hope and meaning in life.”

Archbishop Dolan's pastoral voice is featured prominently in this excellent vocations video by Grassroots Films I published on AmP yesterday.

Video : Tell Harry Reid to Vote Pro-Life

The Susan B. Anthony List has put together an excellent video:

A friend on the inside tells me they could reach their fundraising goal today to put it on the air.

Let's put them over the top (tell your friends, too)!

Must-see Video: Stop the Abortion Mandate

A heckuva good video, for a critical moral cause:



More at stoptheabortionmandate.com.

Action: You have 3 hours to be in a pro-life video!

StoptheAbortionMandatecom, a pro-life action item clearing house for folks who don't want to see abortion added to health care legislation, "is looking for people who would like to be a part of a national viral video."

It's a really cool idea and, if you start now, you totally have time to hit their 12pm EST deadline!

In the crosshairs: Let's defeat the DeLauro-Ryan scam bill!

This bill (HR #3312) needs to be defeated, and with your help, I think we can.

Pro-abortion groups are throwing all of their weight behind it, and they are trying to pick up enough "pro-life" defectors to make the case to the rest of us that it represents "common ground" legislation....

.... It isn't. It simply throws $700 million dollars to pro-abortion organizations. And they already get plenty.

"But wait!" They'll say. "This isn't funding abortions." Sure it is, it's funding abortion providers. Their argument is like saying a piece of legislation doesn't fund drinking, it funds bars. You know, because plenty of people go to bars to access the valuable nutritional content of pub food, so we're just giving money to the bars so they can put on more happy hours.

I will provide information about HR #3312 and why it is important to defeat it. If you scroll to the bottom of the post you will find action items to make sure that it is defeated. 

Please link to this post if you are convinced. Let's get a lot of people involved on this one.

===

Summary/Analysis:

HR #3312 in summary reads: "To provide for programs that reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies, reduce the need for abortion, help women bear healthy children, and support new parents." 

It is currently in committee, and is waiting to get to the floor of the House to be voted upon. Tim Ryan (D-OH) sponsored the bill, along with 12 other democrats, notably Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).

The main thrust of the bill is to increase Title X funding for Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups. It also mandates that Medicaid would universally cover both abortion and contraception. 

How much money are we talking about? As I said above, $700,000,000.00. That's right: seven hundred million dollars. If you had seven hundred million dollars dangling in front of you, and weren't scrupulous, wouldn't you think of a really clever argument to argue that you deserve it?

The bill includes enough other provisions to make the excuse that it isn't another veiled attempt to pump more money into these for-profit organizations. The bill provides heavy coverage for contraception, with the argument being that this will reduce abortions.

A country saturated in contraceptives, however, does not drive down the number of abortions. Efforts in the UK to increase contraception access have only resulted in the deepening of the abortion epidemic.

The bill's sponsor, Tim Ryan, who is Catholic, claims to be pro-life. He is not, or at least, he never votes pro-life. He recently voted to have taxpayers in DC fund abortions. As Jack Smith writes, "In the current and last sessions of Congress Tim Ryan had the exact same voting score from National Right to Life as Rosa DeLauro - 0." Jack Smith provides more background here.

Who likes this bill? Radical pro-abortion lobbies like NARAL. It's a ruthless cycle: abortion groups lobby for more money, so they can propose further legislation ... that gets them more money. Meanwhile the "powerful" pro-life movement continues to chug along on blogs, email lists, and concerned folks like you picking up the phone and sending emails to your representatives. I know, we have so much to gain, right?

Anyway, when a movement runs out of ideas and arguments, they can do two things: have a hard think about their position or attempt to co-opt/shut-up the opposition. The pro-abortion lobby has chose the second option. "Faith in public life" is a good example of marginalizing pro-lifers and claiming a consensus for their position when there is not one. Some Christian pastors have come out in support of the bill, but not one Catholic priest has voiced support for it. Because faithful Catholics understand that contraception and funding abortion providers is not going to drive down the number of abortions in this country, or promote a culture of life.

In fact, as I blogged about last week, the USCCB has taken the unusual step of specifically targeting this bill as unacceptable, calling it the "Planned Parenthood Economic Stimulus Package of 2009."

And if you want to know Pope Benedict's mind on the issue of governments promoting contraception, read what I wrote about that on July 8th. (hint: he's against it.)

If you are reading this far, you are probably interested in this sort of thing enough to be curious about the strategic opportunity here. 

In the wider picture, the DeLauro-Ryan bill is a preview of coming attractions: What DeLauro-Ryan floats as legislation, should it pass, is the type of "solution" the Obama administration will offer to the problem of abortion in White House-sponsored initiatives. 

In other words, Obama's long-awaited solution to the number of abortions is - not surprisingly - to further fill the coffers of the radical pro-abortion lobbyists and organizations which helped him and his associates win the White House and Congress. Sadly, it's still true in much of American politics that to find out what's happening, you have to follow the money. In this case it goes abortionists --> Obama --> abortionists (through Congress).

But if this bill is defeated, we may still have the chance of proposing counter-solutions acceptable to true pro-lifers, from people who sincerely want to see the number of abortions reduced by supporting women and helping them make the right choice, which is always to protect innocent life and give it the same chance we all deserve.

===

Action: 

The most effective thing you can do is call your congressional representative and tell them simply "Vote NO on the DeLauro-Ryan bill." If they want a reason: "It funds pro-abortion organizations which already receive too much federal funding." If they want an alternative bill to support on this issue, there is one (see below). The congressional switchboard is 202-224-3121 (don't hang up if it keeps ringing, it takes time for an operator to help you, but it will happen eventually). But you can also be completely done with the call in under a minute. The staffs are courteous and are there to take calls from people like you on issues like this.

You can also send a short email to your representative through this official form. Simply write the same thing and heck, give them the link to this post if they want to know why.

If you want help spread the word around the web, you can refer folks to this post, join a Facebook group I created (Stop DeLauro-Ryan) or Twitter about it (I propose the hashtag #stopryan).

As far as an alternative proposal, there is a good bill already in Congress, introduced by Lincoln Davis (D-TN) - HR #2035 which reads in summary: "To provide for programs that reduce abortions, help women bear healthy children, and support new parents." 

It is supported by Cardinal Rigali (head of USCCB pro-life) and numerous other Catholic and pro-life organizations, as Jack Smith explains. It is also bi-partisan: in the House it has 28 democrat and 12 republican co-sponsors! That's common ground, because pro-lifers can actually support it, on both sides of the aisle.

[photo credit: Third Way]

Action: Support 'Aid the Church in Need'

Sent in by AmP reader Michael:

Aid to the Church in Need is an international Catholic charity under the guidance of the Holy Father dedicated to helping suffering and persecuted faithful worldwide. As the voice of the suffering Church, we reach out to assist people in need in over 145 countries, supporting  more than 5,000 projects each year. Our donors have made a positive difference in the lives of literally millions of people worldwide, but the need is still great. Please consider making a gift to support a program, or offer general support. Another way to help is by Offering a Mass. You may also wish to view specific Projects in Need that are in urgent need of funding.

Catholic Common Ground: Reject the DeLauro-Ryan bill

Working in DC politics I get to observe a lot of situations which frustrate me, but this concerted effort to deceive pro-lifers into supporting a bill which hurts the cause of life in America gets me angry.

What especially angers me is how the Catholic pro-life movement is treated by pro-abortion supporters of this bill. Just read what "Catholics for Choice" president Jon O'Brien wrote:

"Not everybody agrees with the bill. The nation's 400 Catholic bishops have not signed on. However, we should remember that their 400 votes count for little when taken beside the nation's 67.5 million Catholics--the majority of whom will support the bill's provisions."

Excuse me? Is this sort of argument supposed to appeal to me as a faithful Catholic?

The USCCB Prolife office has taken the extraordinary (and needed) step of forcefully repudiating the claims of DeLauro-Ryan bill supporters:

Let the Taxpayers Beware!

It should be called the Planned Parenthood Economic Stimulus Package of 2009.

Instead, co-sponsors Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) have given their “new” (though largely recycled) bill the promising title “Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act.” Sponsors describe the bill as a “common ground” approach to reducing unintended pregnancies and abortions, one that should appeal to opposing sides in the abortion debate.

Sure, the bill is dressed up with some funding for after-school programs, and some (very poorly crafted) efforts to provide support for pregnant students. But make no mistake. The bill is “about access to birth control,” according to Congressman Ryan (MSNBC’s “Hardball,” May 19, 2009). In the same interview, Ryan explained: “We have to have birth control and contraception offered to these poor women who don’t have access to contraception, period, dot. There’s no other way we’re going to be able to reduce [abortions].” About what you’d expect in a bill whose co-sponsors enjoy a 100% pro-choice rating from NARAL.

... let your member of Congress know that the Ryan/DeLauro bill cannot fulfill the promises in its title. The real abortion-reduction bill in Congress now is the Pregnant Women Support Act (S.1032, H.R.2035), which needs our support.

I wrote earlier today about a chance to defund Planned Parenthood subsidies in the new Health and Human Services fund allocations. Faithful Catholics should also reject the Ryan/DeLauro bill as a deceptive ploy to give more money to big business abortion.

update: for the record, Rep. Tim Ryan deserves especial blame here, as Jack Smith points out:

Rep. Tim Ryan is not prolife. In the current and last sessions of Congress Tim Ryan had the exact same voting score from National Right to Life as Rosa DeLauro - 0. While once prolife, Ryan's record is now as extreme on abortion as Rep. DeLauro and Senator Barbara Boxer - supporting even taxpayer funding of abortion in DC.

The lie that Tim Ryan is prolife is very convenient for the true backers of the "Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act". Planned Parenthood and NARAL can say the bill represents "common ground". But claiming the bill is "common ground" and that Ryan is prolife are both lies.

Urgent: a chance to defund Planned Parenthood

update: 247-183 against the Pence Ammendment. I wonder if any congressmen who claim to be pro-life voted against the ammendment? Thank you for all your efforts. One of these times, we'll succeed.

Pro-life warrior Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) has given us a chance to have Planned Parenthood cut off from receiving federal funds through the Health and Human Services Department.

Pence has said (and written):

“The time has come to deny any and all federal funding to Planned Parenthood of America. The largest abortion provider in America should not also be the largest recipient of federal funds under Title X.”

He has offered a simple amendment which reads:

"None of the funds made available under this Act shall be available to Planned Parenthood for any purpose under Title X of the Public Health Services Act."

It's a miracle this amendment made it through the rules committee last night, making it eligible for a general floor vote today. This is a chance to defund Planned Parenthood and also a chance to see who is in their pocket.

Since this vote is happening so soon, the best thing to do is call your congressional office now and tell them "I want you to vote for the Pence Ammendment and defund Planned Parenthood!" The switchboard number is 202-224-3121 and they can direct you by state to the right office. Staffers are waiting to hear your voice. That's why they are there.

Let's defund Planned Parenthood and have something to celebrate this weekend.

update - Congressman Mike Pence makes his case on the floor:

Urgent: Abortion in Obama's Government Health Care Plan

Here is some common ground on the abortion issue I'm willing to offer: I'm not going to pay for them.

The White House continues to dodge the issue.

The US Bishops have released a statement which says:

“No health care reform plan should compel us or others to pay for the destruction of human life, whether through government funding or mandatory coverage of abortion. Any such action would be morally wrong.”

Sr. Mary Ann Walsh is also blogging away: "Making sure the legislation is abortion-neutral takes one huge obstacle out of the way [of reforming health care]."

For the record, on prudential grounds, I think the health care "reform" bills being pushed through the House and Senate ought to be completely scrapped.

But I am sure Catholics would agree with me on this: we cannot allow our government to foot the bill (with our tax dollars) when anyone in this country wants to have an abortion.

On an important related issue, Jack Smith gives us an update on the Ryan-DeLauro bill:

The Ryan-DeLauro Bill looks to be presented as the President's much vaunted "common ground" approach to reducing abortion - appealing to both pro-life and pro-choice leaders. Problem is, it is sponsored by two pro-choice legislators. By his consistent moves in the last two legislative sessions, Rep. Ryan has given up any claim to being pro-life. As we mentioned above, he is actually working against pro-life Democrats.

This Ryan-DeLauro bill is meant to derail any truly common ground approach to aid women in crisis pregnancies and their families. In its previous incarnations the bill is top heavy with hundreds of millions for Planned Parenthood and lite on actual support for women. Its unveiling this week will reveal whether it gives more to Planned Parenthood and abortion providers than before.

That is my fear and should cause concern for all who have supported common ground efforts to reduce abortion. Now more than ever, it is critical for Democrats and Republicans to show support for the Pregnant Women Support Act written by Democrats for Life and strongly supported by the USCCB.

So, to recap: no taxpayer-funded abortion in government health care bills, and no large-scale sneaking of taxpayer-money to the major abortion providers in this country.

If forcing all Americans to pay for abortions they know are morally wrong counts as "common ground" in these people's minds, then they were never actually serious about reducing abortions in the first place.

action: if you are looking to do something about all this, consider taking a few moments to sign this petition circulated by the Susan B. Anthony List: "Tell the Senate Abortion is NOT Health Care."

Government-funded abortions in my own (DC) backyard

I detail the how over at APP this morning, as well as what can be done to stop it. The bishops have also weighed-in.

Important: CT legislature attempts to oppress Catholic Church, Bp. Lori leads response

Connecticut is becoming a flash-point for government oppression of Catholic institutional autonomy. 

I reported extensively on the events which have led to this situation when they began to unfold in early March of this year.

Bishop Lori is not taking this most recent - and most serious - attack lying down:

The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., says he's a man of God, not a lobbyist. But state officials say he's both.

According to the Connecticut Office of State Ethics, the diocese acted as a lobbying organization in March when it rented buses to transport people to a rally in Hartford — the state capital — to protest a bill that would have granted more power to parishioners regarding church finances.

Officials also are investigating whether the church acted as a lobbying organization on its Web site when it urged parishioners to contact lawmakers about the bill, which eventually was withdrawn amid public outcry, and about a another bill to legalize same-sex marriage, which was signed into law in April.

Now the ethics office is "evaluating" whether the diocese failed to register as a lobbyist — an investigation that Bishop William Lori says violates the diocese's First Amendment right to free speech and assembly.

"I don't know what the motive of the Office of State Ethics was or is, but I do know that their actions stem directly from our attempts to defend ourselves in the face of two pieces of legislation that were unfriendly to the day-to-day mission of the church," Lori told FOXNews.com on Thursday.

"We were simply seeking to fulfill our mission, to continue to be ourselves."

And the diocese is fighting back, bringing a civil lawsuit against two Office of State Ethics officials — Enforcement Officer Thomas K. Jones and Executive Director Carol Carson." (FOX News)

Make no mistake, what is happening in Connecticut is also critically important for the Church throughout the United States. I'll be keeping a close eye on this situation as it develops. Keep it tuned here at AmP and also visit the Bridgeport diocese website.

If the Connecticut legislature succeeds in penalizing the Church for acting as a "lobbyist" organization there, the rights of Catholics and Catholic institutions will be endangered elsewhere. We must stop their efforts in their tracks.

Boston Archdiocese-affiliate health-care to offer abortion coverage

Sad. Embarrassing. Wrong:

Caritas Christi, the health-care system affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston, has entered into a partnership that will provide coverage for abortion, sterilization, and contraception under the terms of a state government contract. Celticare Health Plan-- a new offering, which describes itself as “a partnership between Celtic Group, a subsidiary of Centene Corporation, and Caritas Christi Health Care”-- is now offering several options for health-care coverage, with all of the available plans advertising abortion coverage. (Catholic Culture brief)

I blogged about this possibility about a couple weeks ago.

This Friday, Support the "Packed With Love" Campaign

This organization contacted me recently about spreading awareness about their new campaign:

Catholic Medical Mission Board—the leading U.S. based Catholic charitable organization focused exclusively on global healthcare—needs your support. Visit “Packed With Love” to put your name on a shipment of medical supplies that will be delivered to resource-poor countries and that can truly save lives. If you add your name, you can watch your box begin its journey and you will be updated on the impact it has on those it reaches. Please share with friends and family!

Since 1928, CMMB’s medical donation program has distributed over $1.7 billion of medicines and medical equipment to improve healthcare in developing nations the world over.

Visit http://www.packedwithlove.org/ to send love and support to those in need.

In response to a question I posed to them about CMMB's adherence to Catholic principles, I was so impressed by their response that I copied below a portion of it:

"As a Catholic organization, CMMB does not—and has not—distributed condoms or advocated their use as a means of preventing the transmission of HIV from one person to another. The education programs CMMB supports focus on individual responsibility, monogamy, abstinence, respect, religious faith, and basic healthcare. We provide to our partners complete and accurate information about condoms as part of our prevention efforts. CMMB follows national guidelines established by the ministry of health, and those of the presiding Conference of Catholic Bishops in each country where we have HIV and AIDS programs."

Now that's the type of organization I support, and would urge other papists to support as well.

Acts of mercy like this one are particularly good to perform on Fridays.

Vote for AmP in the Catholic New Media Awards

AmP has been nominated in eight (8!) categories.

Please spread the word among your friends, too.

--> VOTE HERE!

Action: Charitable Giving Trends Survey

Still working through a backlog of tips and requests, this one from AmP reader Greg:

"I am working on a project aimed at encouraging charitable giving, particularly among Catholics. We are trying to gather some not necessarily scientific information about charitable giving habits generally and now, during the recession particularly. If you would be so kind, please take a moment to follow this link and take the survey we have prepared for this purpose. Please feel free also to pass it along to others, as the more data we collect, the better."

Will the Boston Archdiocese really allow abortion referrals?

Back in March:

After more than a week of controversy, state regulators voted yesterday to accept a bid by a Massachusetts Catholic hospital chain and a secular health organization to provide health insurance to thousands of low-income residents.

The Connector Authority board, which oversees the Commonwealth Care program, voted unanimously in favor of the joint venture proposed by Centene Corp., a St. Louis-based health organization, and Caritas Christi Health Care Network.

The vote followed several closed-door sessions in which officials from Centene and Caritas, the minority partner in the joint venture, assured regulators that women will have "ready access" to family planning and reproductive services, an issue that sparked concerns from abortion foes and reproductive rights activists. (Boston Globe)

Despite attention from the American Life League and Catholic Action League, as of last week - no change:

Brian Delaney, communications director for CeltiCare, owned by Centene, confirmed that the joint venture will be operational by July 1 and that it "will meet all the state’s requirements under the Commonwealth Care program, including providing family planning services as appropriate.”

... “It is clear that the Caritas/Centene partnership is proceeding with all deliberate speed towards the July 1st start-up date of the Commonwealth Care contract," he said.

"Catholics need to keep the pressure up on the Archdiocese to cancel the contract," he added. (LifeNews)

Here is a good way to start:

ACTION: Contact Caritas Christi and urge it not to begin doing abortions or referring for them. Caritas Christi Health Care, 736 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02135, (p) 617-789-2500, CCR.Webmaster@CaritasChristi.org

Catholic institutions simply cannot be complicit with abortion.

Action: Stop abortionists from broadcasting ads into Irish homes

AmP reader Patrick:

The British government, as you may know, sees abortion as the solution to a range of social problems, including western Europe’s highest rate of teenage pregnancy. The latest manifestation of this is an attempt to change the rules to allow abortion providers advertise their ‘services’ on television and radio. We are particularly concerned because British channels are widely viewed in Ireland and, with the huge resources available to the abortion industry, they can be expected to target Irish women in particular.

The Committee of Advertising Practice (Broadcast), BCAP, is engaging in a public consultation as part of its review of the Advertising Standards Codes. In its consultation document, BCAP recommends that pro-abortion centres should be permitted to advertise on TV and Radio. We are organising a petition to persuade them not to change the rules.

Obviously, British signatures are particularly valuable, but others are useful too as the second prong of our campaign is to persuade other advertisers that having their ads run alongside ads for abortions won’t do their image any good.

New Facebook Group: I Support Mary Ann Glendon and her Noble Refusal!

The group description:

"We support Mary Ann Glendon and her Refusal of Fr. Jenkin's disingenuous offer of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal."

Join the group HERE and invite your friends!

update: this group already has 800+ members!

45,000 Signature in Support of Pope Benedict

Organized by Human Life International:

As a response to the deluge of unfair and mistaken criticism leveled upon Pope Benedict XVI for his statement about the ineffectiveness of condom promotion in stopping the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, four prominent international pro-life organizations have gathered 40,000 signatures so far in support of the Holy Father.

Kath.net (based in Austria), Human Life International (HLI, Viginia, USA), HLI Europa (Poland), and Vida Humana Internacional (VHI, Miami) have joined forces and efforts in reaching out around the world to gather support both for the courageous Pontiff, whose statement questioning the value of the promotion of condoms has been attacked by international press and politicians, even as it has been affirmed by scientists, African leaders, and activists who know the history of the AIDS epidemic.

“What the Holy Father said was absolutely true,” said Joseph Meaney, HLI’s Director of International Coordination. “It is an embarrassment to all who have so irresponsibly and often hatefully opposed him that what he said is verified by any honest examination of the evidence about what has worked historically to lower AIDS transmission rates in Africa.”

Sign it here: http://www.hli.org/papal_visit_support.html

Check.

Urgent: Information on Conscience Rights Polling

LifeNews:

A new national poll of Americans finds a strong majority want President Barack Obama to keep conscience protections in place for doctors and medical centers. The
president is considering rescinding the protections the Bush administration adopted to enforce three federal conscience laws.

The protections make it more clear and provide support for doctors or medical facilities that feel pressured to participate in abortions.

Support for this new regulation outpaced opposition by a margin of more than 2-to-1 (63% vs. 28%).

Much more information from today's Freedom 2 Care press conference (even photos).

Remember - tomorrow is the last day you can publicly state your opposition to this infringement!

Action Item: Conscience Clause Legislation

Unfortunately my current volume of extra-blogging obligations prevents me from giving as much attention to this issue as it deserves. Simply put: it's important. Please spread awareness and take action!

The USCCB is asking Catholic blogs and websites to post these Web Ads:





Catholic Senators are being unreliable when it comes to protecting consciences in the U.S.:

Senator Coburn proposed an amendment to the budget bill that would keep the conscience clause in place and give health care workers protection from having to perform professional duties that violate their religious freedom, like abortions.

Only 9 Catholic Senators Support - 16 Reject

Finally, so we understand the philosophical/political dimension of the legislation, see Rich Garnett at Public Discourse: "How the No-Establishment Rule Does (and Does Not) Protect the Freedom of Conscience".

ND students submit letter asking Fr. Jenkins to challenge Obama

Notre Dame student Patrick Brown, from the AmP comment threads:

As a current student at the Our Lady's University, I can honestly say that many of us here are genuinely conflicted about Fr. Jenkins' decision to invite President Obama to speak at commencement this year.

On the one hand, we must respect the office of President of the United States, and it is an honor for our beloved campus to host the leader of the free world.

Of course, there is a substantial population, like myself, who can not and will not tolerate the Notre Dame imprimatur being given to someone whose views on the sanctity of life are so dramatically at odds with the position of the Church and the university.

Myself and eight other students, with more co-signing literally by the hour, have submitted a letter to Fr. Jenkins, asking to make a public, vocal statement that the university strongly disapproves with the President's actions. I invite you to read it on our Web site here.

God bless all of you who still wish the best for a university that was and hopefully will still remain one of the premier Catholic institutions in America.

On Facebook, I have found three active groups reacting to the news of Obama's invitation, at 9PM EST:

• Against: Protest Obama as Notre Dame's 2009 Commencement Speaker (418 members)
• For: We Will Be Honored to Have President Obama at Notre Dame (327 members)
• Against: Tell Notre Dame to Un-Invite President Obama (190 members)

update: David Gibson makes that case that Notre Dame students follow the national voting trends:

In a mock election before last year's real election, the Democratic ticket won 52.6 percent of the vote followed by the Republican ticket of Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin, which won 41.1 percent of the vote. A total of 2,692 undergraduates and graduate students voted.

Only 7.7% of them chose abortion as their most important issue (41.5% chose the economy).

So much for a discernibly distinctive Catholic character.

My full coverage of this developing story is being compiled here.

Omnicoverage: President Obama invited to give Notre Dame Commencement

As is already well-known, Notre Dame University has announced that President Barack Obama will be its 164th commencement speaker on May 17th. He will at the same time receive an honorary degree in doctor of laws.

This news has sparked a wave of protest, starting with graduates of the institution, one of whom immediately wrote an open letter to their President Fr. John Jenkins.

The Cardinal Newman Society has also been a catalyst for protest, setting up an entire website (http://www.notredamescandal.com/) with an online petition and contact information for the university, to rescind the invitation. They also faxed a letter to local Bishop John D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend, notifying him of the scandal.

Now, for the record, I'm extremely pessimistic about Notre Dame rescinding the invitation. You simply can't deny a sitting President from speaking once you have invited him. The cat is already out of the bag.

What can and will happen, I hope, is a frank discussion in the public spotlight about a) the mission and identity of Catholic universities and b) a greater awareness of the anti-Catholic policies and legislation that Obama is currently pursuing. {update: Michael Paulson at his Boston Globe blog has picked this up.}

Simply put, Catholics and Notre Dame graduates are not going to take this one lying down: If Notre Dame does not dis-invite Obama, [ND graduate Joe] Scheidler says "the Notre Dame campus can expect a massive pro-life protest on graduation day." (source.)

This invitation comes at an ironic time for Notre Dame, as Kathleen Gilbert of LifeSiteNews notes that "The school's Center for Ethics and Culture recently established a pro-life fund in an effort to bolster Notre Dame's pro-life identity." Kathryn Jean Lopez says Notre Dame "... would rather be of this world than the one they supposedly exist to bring people toward."

I am one of the first public signers of the petition and invite you to join the list.

David Gibson at Commonweal thinks it's a "fine choice," but I strongly disagree. First of all, the comparison with Bush is a false one for many reasons, chief of which is that Bush, certainly prior to the Iraq War (when he was invited), was not repugnant to fundamental Catholic values and was not actively pursuing legislation which hurts Catholic institutions (for instance: repealing of conscience clauses, repealing the Mexico City policy, nominating Kathleen Sebellius). Granted, being President may entitle you to many things, but it does not mean that you are necessarily a model servant of the public trust, in Catholic eyes.

Second of all, if Notre Dame wanted a debate, they chose the wrong way to go about it (honoring the President and giving him a degree). If one must have a substantive debate with someone, you should have it before you roll out the red carpet for them. Notre Dame has vitiated its ability to have this debate by inviting Obama as their commencement speaker. Here I note my agreement with Ed Morrissey at Hot Air.

On a related note, lest we have a short memory of these debates, it should be remembered that in May of 2006 Boston College managed to get 100 of its faculty members to sign a protest letter - originating from its theology department - upon the occasion of Condoleezza Rice's invitation as a commencement speaker, because, the letter claimed, her activity in the Iraq War supposedly conflicted with Catholic and Jesuit principles.

I'll be very interested to see if the same phenomenon of Catholic academic protest (and wider media interest) takes place in the coming days and weeks.

But I won't be holding my breath. In the meantime, sign the petition. And say a Hail Mary to Notre Dame.

[photo #1 credit: thegabester; photo #2 credit: slherbst01]

Video: Cardinal George on Keeping Conscience Protections

From the US Bishops' Pro-Life Secretariat:

Cardinal Francis George is urging Catholics in the United States to tell the Obama Administration to retain Health and Human Services regulations governing conscience protections for health care workers.

This is vital to keep the government from "moving our country from democracy to despotism," said Cardinal George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He delivered the message via video available on the Web here (contains lots of information) and on YouTube:

update: here's an easy way to send-in your official comment.

Video: KofC & bishops at yesterday's CT Rally

Supreme Knight Anderson addresses Catholic Rally on CT 1098 (Part 1):

• Carl Anderson Part 2
• Bishop Cote of Norwich
• Bishop Lori of Bridgeport
• Archbishop Mansell of Hartford

Send Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards a message

I don't like Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards. There - I've said it.

Sure, I pray for her conversion (sincerely), but in the meantime, she's hell-bent on killing little kids. And that's not cool.

In fact, it's time she quit doing it.

LifeSiteNews has a smart way of sending her a clear message.

Background from LSN:

You probably remember during the last election when an e-mail went around asking women to donate to Planned Parenthood in the name of Sarah Palin. PP raised quite a bit of money, and Palin received a hefty stack of thank you letters. Well, now it’s your turn.

By donating to LSN today, you're hitting two birds with one stone: helping support the world’s most widely read international pro-life and pro-family news service, and sending a strong message to Planned Parenthood about the sanctity of life.

Get the message, Cecile?

And I'm serious- please say a prayer for her, too. I just did.

Early word: 5,000 turn out for Connecticut Rally

Elizabeth Ela of Headline Bistro:

As many of you know, the bishops of Connecticut's three dioceses led a rally today of over 5,000 Catholics on the steps of Hartford's state capitol. The rally was in protest of Bill 1098, legislation that threatened to strip priests and bishops of their administrative authority.

Headline Bistro has an exclusive story on the rally and the bishops' speeches, including quotes from the chairman of the finance committee at St. John's Parish in Darien, Conn. -- the flashpoint of the controversy, as it was supposedly parishioners from St. John's who pushed for this legislation in the first place. Here's the link to our coverage.

Ha! Two days ago I said:

"If you can make it to Hartford, CT at 9AM on March 11th for the public demonstration - please do. Bishop Lori is hoping for 1,500-2,000 people ... well, let's smash that and turn out 5,000 for him!"

I feel like a rainmaker .... of course, I kid - this is all your work. Bravo, papists!

First take: Photos from today's Hartford, CT Catholic Rally

From the front lines (courtesy of the Knights of Columbus):

I've uploaded a few more photos to a dedicated AmP Flickr photo set.

Elizabeth Ela of (KofC-run) Headline Bistro was twittering live updates from the rally all morning.

Early crowd estimate: 2-3 thousand!

update - more photos added to the AmP Flickr photo set.

Action Item: Resources for Catholics rallying in Hartford tomorrow

Even though the offensive anti-Catholic bill has been pulled, the planned rally is still happening.

You can find the official rally schedule of events I've uploaded here. It includes everything you could possibly need including sponsored bus schedules, text of the bill, planned rally songs, you name it.

Elizabeth Ela of (KofC-run) Headline Bistro will be twittering live updates from the rally:

http://twitter.com/Headlinebistro

Please, if you are able, attend the rally and support the free exercise of our religion! Thanks, papists.

Connecticut's Anti-Catholic Bill - Update

An update of what has happened recently:

• Knights of Columbus President Carl Anderson on Shredding the First Amendment in the Constitution State. More from the Knights at their Headline Bistro web presence.
• Archbishop Chaput weighs-in: "The legislative coercion directed against the Catholic community in one state has implications for Catholics in every other state. If bigots in one state succeed in coercive laws like SB 1098, bigots in other states will try the same." [More.] [CNA summary.] (What a Bishop!)
• Context: Catholic bishops angry over proposed law
• Here's something: "Senate Republican Caucus Unanimously Opposes SB 1098" [PDF file.]:
  "This bill is an unconstitutional assault on religious freedoms. Specifically, it represents a clear violation of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise of Religion Clause contained in the First Amendment."
• Also, I'm being told that "many in the state are calling for Lawlor and McDonald to be expelled from office due to their EXTREME bias which we have seen repeatedly."
• It's also worth noting that a non-Catholic individual emailed me about their outrage over this bill. As they put it: "if they can come after the Catholic Church and get away with it, nobody is safe." I appreciated the person's pledge of solidarity a great deal. A second individual emailed me and said that, even though they do not always agree with me, they appreciated the thought-provoking nature of my coverage of this issue. Again, this means a great deal to me. In these times such encouragement will serve us in great stead.

My complete coverage is here. Remember: for those in the area, I urge you to make a showing tomorrow at 9AM in Hartford, CT. Support your bishop, support your priests, support the Church we love!

update: LifeSiteNews coverage.

update 2: CNA: Connecticut bill on Catholic Church nearly identical to Voice of the Faithful strategy ... New Tactics: Influencing the Church through Civil Legislation

Video: Bp. Lori explains the response to Anti-Catholic CT Bill

The backstory is here.

Video of Bishop Lori answering questions, explaining the situation (and updated information) here.

If you can make it to Hartford, CT at 9AM on March 11th for the public demonstration - please do. Bishop Lori is hoping for 1,500-2,000 people ... well, let's smash that and turn out 5,000 for him!

Catholics Against Sebelius website launched

And they have a short petition for you to sign.

The background explained in this Dan Gilgoff interview.

Update: internal memo by Bishop Cote re: Anti-Catholic CT Bill

Forwarded to me by an AmP reader in response to this story I covered yesterday:

Following are excerpts from an internal communication by Bishop Michael R. Cote

This bill (#1098) is a legislative attack on the governance of the Catholic Church in Connecticut. No other religious organization in the State is mentioned in this bill. It will do irreparable harm to the Church.

Your (pastors and parishioners) assistance is urgently needed. Please help defeat this very harmful repeal of current Connecticut General Statutes.

Attend the hearing on this bill on Wednesday, March 11, 2009, at the Legislative Office Building at the State Capitol. We must show strong opposition to this attempt to interfere in the governance of the Church.

Together on this Second Sunday of Lent, we pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to rebuff attacks on the Church and its leadership so that we may continue to do the Lord’s work by which we give praise to God our Father.

Alert: New Connecticut Bill Attacks Church Independence

Update: Anti-Catholic CT pulled! Rally still a GO!

Connecticut lawmakers moved this week to directly attack the self-governing rights of the Catholic Church.

The Diocese of Bridgeport is calling on Catholics across the state to mobilize and "fight the irrational, unlawful, and bigoted Proposed Bill #1098/2009":

This past Thursday, March 5, the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut State Legislature, which is chaired by Sen. Andrew McDonald of Stamford and Rep. Michael Lawlor of East Haven, introduced a bill that directly attacks the Roman Catholic Church and our Faith.

This bill violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It forces a radical reorganization of the legal, financial, and administrative structure of our parishes. This is contrary to the Apostolic nature of the Catholic Church because it disconnects parishes from their Pastors and their Bishop. Parishes would be run by boards from which Pastors and the Bishop would be effectively excluded.

This bill, moreover, is a thinly-veiled attempt to silence the Catholic Church on the important issues of the day, such as same-sex marriage.

The State has no right to interfere in the internal affairs and structure of the Catholic Church. This bill is directed only at the Catholic Church but could someday be forced on other denominations. The State has no business controlling religion. (source: Bridgeport Diocese)

Here's what you can do:

We urge you to call and e-mail Sen. McDonald and Rep. Lawlor:

Senator Andrew McDonald:
Capitol phone: (800) 842-1420; Home phone: (203) 348-7439
E-mail: McDonald@senatedems.ct.gov

Representative Michael Lawlor:
Capitol phone: (800) 842-8267; Home phone: (203) 469-9725
E-mail: MLawlor99@juno.com

We also ask you to come to Hartford this Wednesday, March 11, to be present at the public hearing. Details on bus transportation will be available on Monday. If you would like to attend, contact your Pastor.

Even though it is named "An Act Modifying Corporate Laws Relating to Certain Religious Corporations" the bill in fact names the "Roman Catholic Church or congregations" in the state as the only party in question.

On top of it being an outrageous violation of the First Amendment it is also particularly anti-Catholic, and the politicians who have introduced and supported this bill should be strongly rebuked not just by Catholics, but by all Americans who hate religious discrimination and "hate legislation."

One particularly-offensive line in the bill (underlining mine):

"The corporation shall have a board of directors consisting of not less than seven nor more than thirteen lay members. The archbishop or bishop of the diocese or his designee shall serve as an ex-officio member of the board of directors without the right to vote."

That's right - archbishops and bishops under this bill would be stripped of their power to govern.
The General Counsel of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says "I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a bill that’s so blatantly unconstitutional. It targets the Catholic Church explicitly and exclusively, and attempts to use the civil law to alter Church governance, particularly to divest the bishop of authority." Tom Hoopes calls it the "Miter-box Bill", because bishops should just box their miters if it passes.

The blog Catechism on Call says:

Right now we don’t know who sponsored this bill. The Catholic Key Blog notes that the dissident Catholic Group “Voice of the Faithful” has often promoted the idea of “trusteeism” or lay members hiring and firing pastors. But, to be fair, we don’t have evidence they are behind this legislation.

Regardless of where this idea came from - we do know who was willing to put it into practice. One wonders if the Church could take some sort of legal action in response to this unlawful intrusion. You can keep up to date on the bill's progress here. Paul's comment on Fr. Z's blog here is very helpful if you want to get a handle on the the legal in's and out's of the situation.

I'm happy to see the Diocese of Bridgeport rallying Catholics. I have not yet seen any activity on the Connecticut Catholic Conference website or the Archdiocese of Hartford or the Diocese of Norwich. The Knights of Columbus are headquartered in New Haven and will be very active I'd wager. I'll be chasing down these threads next.

update: Here (forwarded to me) is the justification for the bill given by one of the legislators who introduced it, Mike Lawlor:

... the current state statutes governing Roman Catholic corporations ... were enacted in 1955. SB 1098 is a proposal to make changes in that law, which was suggested by parishioners who were the victims of theft of their funds in several parishes, and these parishioners feel that the state's existing Roman Catholic Corporate laws prevented them from dealing with the misuse and theft of funds.

I agree with you that the whole notion of having a statute governing the church seems like an intrusion on the separation of church and state, but the current law does that already. Perhaps we should repeal the whole thing, but if we are going to have a corporate law of this type, it probably should make sure there cannot be deception of parishioners.

The Diocese of Bridgeport's statement responds to this claim of financial improprieties:

The Pastors of our Diocese are doing an exemplary job of sound stewardship and financial accountability, in full cooperation with their parishioners.

For the State Legislature — which has not reversed a $1 billion deficit in this fiscal year — to try to manage the Catholic Church makes no sense. The Catholic Church not only lives within her means but stretches her resources to provide more social, charitable, and educational services than any other private institution in the State. This bill threatens those services at a time when the State is cutting services. The Catholic Church is needed now more than ever.

We reject this irrational, unlawful, and bigoted bill that jeopardizes the religious liberty of our Church.

Connecticut: "keep your state out of our church!"

update 2: for the newest updates on this story, click on this tag.

Fact-checking Catholics United's Sebelius claims

Catholics United, a partisan Democrat front organization, is claiming, among other things (underlining mine):

"Had Mr. Donohue been interested in presenting a full accounting of the facts, he would have mentioned Gov. Sebelius's tireless support for children's health care and education, and her efforts to provide public financing for adoption and pregnancy support centers – all components of an effective pro-life agenda that can find broad support among the American people. Had Mr. Donohue been interested in presenting a full accounting of the facts, he would have mentioned that the number of abortions in Kansas declined by 12.6% from 2001 to 2007, due in part to Gov. Sebelius's advocacy for pregnant women and struggling families.”

“Like Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann – who often seems more interested in scoring political points against Gov. Sebelius than crafting effective abortion policy within the reality of politics – Mr. Donohue is doing a disservice to those Americans who will benefit from Gov. Sebelius's leadership as Health and Human Services Secretary. We remind U.S. Catholics and other observers that the Catholic League is part of a right-wing political movement at the margins of the Catholic community, and urge them to view Mr. Donohue and his comments in this context.”

I don't have the time, but if someone else wants to examine these underlined claims - it would be useful, going in, to know what Sebelius' actual record on life issues is. In what context did she fund adoption and pregnancy support centers, and what's the context for the decrease in the number of abortions, etc? Thanks so much.

update: thank you to the readers who have left comments and emailed me. Steven Ertelt of LifeNews:

Catholics United also claims abortions have declined under Sebelius, even though they actually went up 6.5 percent in 2006 thanks in part to Sebelius failing to support any abortion limits.

According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment report, there were 11,221 abortions in Kansas in 2006, up from 10,543 abortions in 2005.

Pro-life groups say the increase has to do with a lack of enforcement of laws limiting late-term abortions and a court's decision to drop 30 misdemeanor charges against Tiller, who has been accused of doing the abortions without a legitimate medical reason.