Free Republic

Following the "tabling” of the Pro-Life Amendment to the Health Care Reform Bill, Catholic Bishops are speaking out. The tabling ensures that if this version of the Health Care Reform Bill is signed by President Obama Federal funds will be used to kill children in the womb. It would be called “Health Care” when, at least that portion of it used for abortion, would actually be infanticide. Imagine if “Health Care” in the United States of America included payment for killing two year olds at the request of one of their parents, with tax dollars! There is no moral difference....

Catholic Bishops Vote to Reaffirm Food and Water for Coma Patients Baltimore, MD -- The nation's Catholic bishops have agreed to strengthen the requirement that Catholic hospitals give food and water to comatose or patients in a so-called "vegetative" state. The move drew praise and support from the family of Terri Schiavo, whose former husband killed in her by removing her nutrition. http://www.LifeNews.com/bio3001.html

...In the past I have grown angry with Chris Matthews, who is a practicing Catholic, because he has failed to defend the fundamental human right to life. However, in this discussion he took the position that the Stupak amendment - named after the faithful Catholic Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak who co-authored the amendment in the House - would end up causing the defeat of the legislation because there would be no compromise possible over the issue of funding abortion. Interestingly, he compared the current situation to the period just preceding the Civil War in the United States. He drew the...

[Do] Catholics or, specifically, the Catholic Conference of Bishops, endorse the Democrats’ health care bill? Hardly. And yet that’s what the Los Angeles Times claimed in a story written by reporter Kim Geiger. [snip] "The compromise won immediate support from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which urged Catholics to 'lend their full-throated support to the Democrats’ healthcare bill. 'The bishops’ stamp of approval means that this bill is unambiguously pro-life and we will vigorously oppose those who suggest otherwise,' the conference said in a statement Saturday." Well, that’s pretty unambiguous. Except it’s also completely untrue. The Conference of Catholic...

WASHINGTON -- Last night's historic health-care legislation included a major compromise: a ban on federally funded abortion under a new government-run plan. Conservative Democrats proposed the amendment, which passed, 240-194, late Friday as a way to break the impasse on the bill. Last night, 64 Democrats joined 176 Republicans in supporting the measure. "The members on this issue have to be able to vote their conscience," said Rep. Bart Stupak, who proposed the amendment, which bars any woman who receives federal subsidies to help cover insurance costs from having an abortion under the plan.

US bishops conference mounts late drive against 'unacceptable' health-care reform October 29, 2009 The US bishops' conference is mounting a late drive to secure passage of a pro-life amendment to the health-care reform bill. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is asking pastors all across the country to include an insert in their weekly bulletins, urging parishioners to call their Congressional representatives and encourage a vote for a pro-life amendment. The USCCB's pro-life office has indicated that it will press bishops to promote the dissemination of these bulletin inserts. The insert exhorts parishioners to act immediately. "Congressional votes may...

The Catholic Bishops handling Obamacare for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are not happy with the bills before the Senate, and promise to work against the bill if it is not changed. Sent by Bishop William Murphy, Cardinal Justin Rigali and Bishop John Wester, a letter was sent today outlining their concerns: “that no one should be forced to pay for or participate in abortion, that health care should be affordable and available to the poor and vulnerable, and that the needs of legal immigrants should be met.”

Recently, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development released a statement made to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate stating that “health care is not a privilege but a right and a requirement to protect the life and dignity of each person.” They couldn’t be more wrong. The Committee that composed the document obviously supports President Obama’s desire for national health care reform (with the caveat that taxpayers should not be forced to pay for abortions). National health care reform is a political issue. People of goodwill can be for it...

This coming week, Bishop Thomas Wenski of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orlando, Fla., will take the unusual step of celebrating a Mass of Reparation, to make amends for sins against God. The motivation: to provide an outlet for Catholics upset with what Wenski calls the University of Notre Dame's "clueless" decision to invite President Barack Obama to speak at its commencement and receive an honorary doctorate May 17. The nation's flagship Catholic university's honoring of a politician whose abortion rights record clashes with a fundamental church teaching has triggered a reaction among the nation's Catholic bishops that is remarkable...

I am also concerned personally for Governor Sebelius. Her appointment as Secretary for HHS places her in a position where she will have to make many decisions that will in all probability continue her personal involvement in promoting legalized abortion and her cooperation in this intrinsic evil. "I am also concerned that the appointment of Governor Sebelius places another Catholic supporting legalized abortion in a prominent national position. She joins Vice-President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and unfortunately a host of Catholic Senators and members of the House of Representatives who support legalized abortion contrary to the clear and...

Bishop Paul Loverde of the diocese of Arlington weighed in on the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) last week, saying that if he oversaw a Catholic hospital he would neither close the facility nor allow it to perform abortions if FOCA were to become law. “I would say, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to close the hospital, you’re going to arrest me, go right ahead," Bishop Loverde told a group of mostly young adults at a diocesan event, according to a CNS report.

"There are grave consequences," Paprocki said in an interview. "If Catholic hospitals were required by federal law to perform abortions, we'd have to close our hospitals." "I don't think I'm being alarmist," Paprocki told the bishops. George agreed that losing federal funds would put Catholic health care facilities, which make up a third of the nation's hospitals, out of business. Closing Catholic hospitals would put many patients seeking charitable care from those facilities at risk, he added. In crafting the statement to Obama, the bishops urged the cardinal to indicate a desire to work with the administration in areas of...

BALTIMORE - The US Conference of Catholic Bishops is permanently cutting off all funding for ACORN in the wake of an embezzlement scandal and allegations of voter registration fraud and political partisanship. The national nonprofit, with more than 1,200 local affiliates, attempts to organize low-income people to advocate for improvement in their communities. Bishop Roger P. Morin of New Orleans said yesterday that the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, an antipoverty program run by the bishops' conference, decided that it could no longer be certain of ACORN's integrity or accountability. The bishops had been giving $1.1 million a year to...

“Americans United for the Separation of Church and State” has formally requested the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the Roman Catholic Bishop of Paterson, N.J., the Most Reverend Arthur Serratelli. I believe this is their first volley in a concerted effort to silence Catholic Bishops. They want to prevent them from teaching the unchangeable Moral Truth, revealed in the Natural Law and confirmed by medical science, that the child in the first home of the whole human race is one of us and that every procured abortion constitutes an intrinsically evil act because it is the taking of innocent human...

When is the last time a bishop's statement on abortion resulted in several days of protest from pro-abortion Catholics? The joint statement issued last Friday by Bishop Kevin Vann of Fort Worth and Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas has done just that. No doubt the forceful clarity of the bishops' message elicited the outcry. The protests began on Sunday when the statement was read from the pulpit by Rev. Tony Ruiz, pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in downtown Dallas. Some two-dozen parishioners walked out and went to the local media to lodge their complaints about "political endorsements." The next...

we cannot make more clear the seriousness of the overriding issue of abortion – while not the "only issue" – it is the defining moral issue, not only today, but of the last 35 years. Since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, more than 48 million innocent lives have been lost. Each year in our nation more than one million lives are lost through legalized abortion. Countless other lives are also lost through embryonic stem cell research. In the coming months our nation will once again elect our political leaders. This electoral cycle affords us an opportunity to promote...

The USCCB Committee on Migration sent a delegation to the U.S./Mexico border region to study the plight of unaccompanied minors and human trafficking victims. The ever-growing problems with these populations are some of the gravest and many times most overlooked symptoms of the broken and out-dated immigration system currently employed by the United States. The delegation met with a broad cross-section of agencies and individuals involved with or knowledgeable of these populations to gain critical insights and to understand their needs. The delegation also met with Church officials, government officials, community-based organization, and other with important perspectives. Programs established to...

09:49 AM 9/14/2007 - First, read this press release from the USCCB web site (hat-tip to the ever-vigilant Diogenes): WASHINGTON (September 13, 2007)—Kathy Saile, a church advocate with a decade of experience in Catholic social ministry and Washington policy work, has been named Director of Domestic Policy for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). She starts her new position in October. Since August 2004, Saile has been Associate Director of Public Policy for Lutheran Services in America (USA), in Washington. Previous positions include Director of the Office of Peace and Justice, Catholic Social Service of Central and Northern...

It is almost certain that Portugal will join the list of Catholic countries that have legalized abortion. After an inexpressive referendum, the socialist government presented a projected bill that was approved by the Portuguese Parliament on March 8. Only an unlikely veto by President Cavaco Silva, regarded as a conservative, can prevent the bill from becoming law. The sad part is that the Portuguese Catholic bishops avoided throwing the full weight of their prestige onto the scale in a country with an absolute Catholic majority. During the abortion referendum, the bishops took a non-confrontational attitude. They simply recalled documents and...

WARSAW, Poland-- The bishops of Poland issued a statement against the European Parliament resolution that labels as "homophobic" countries that do not recognize same-sex unions. The nonbinding resolution, passed Jan. 18, violates the autonomy of states and puts at risk the freedom of conscience of the citizenry, say the bishops of Poland at the end of the conference's plenary assembly. The resolution, the bishops say in their statement, published Tuesday, "rightly rejects the attitudes of discrimination, ridicule and violence against persons with homosexual orientation." "Concurrently, however, through an urge directed to the governments of member states to revise their legislation...

Arizona business and political backers of a guest worker program for immigrants wishing to work in the U.S. are getting some top-level backing. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is teaming with top labor unions, other business interests and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in support of a guest worker program and legal way for undocumented workers already in the U.S. to stay in the country. Arizona Sen. John McCain and Congressmen Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe, as well as the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry, are top pushers of a controversial guest worker program. Joining the U.S. Chamber...

Missouri Roman Catholics who attend Mass Sunday can expect to hear a homily against embryonic stem cell research and a statewide petition drive aimed at allowing Missourians to vote on a constitutional amendment to protect the research. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday that the Catholic church is using the first Sunday of Advent to launch a campaign aimed at keeping Catholics from signing the petition, and to teach them the Catholic view of the issue. The Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, which includes business interests, universities and patient groups, announced the petition in October. Secretary of State Robin Carnahan...

The terrible deaths made possible by modern medical advances necessitate a change in thinking about the ethics of assisted suicide. These days, despite my conservative nature and my firm support for him on most matters, I seem to be disagreeing with President Bush on several fronts: the Terry Schiavo case, illegal immigration, the pouring of money down the drain in New Orleans, and now, assisted suicide. Over 15 years ago, as I watched my mother’s health and body deteriorate and the likelihood of a very painful death process looming, I turned to the Hemlock Society and purchased the book, “Final...

Groundbreaking Zogby Poll Demonstrates Dramatic Rise in Catholic Opposition to Use of the Death Penalty WASHINGTON (March 21, 2005)—The U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops today launched a Catholic Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, declared, “We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing. We cannot defend life by taking life.” Speaking at the National Press Club on behalf of the U.S. bishops’ conference, Cardinal McCarrick said, “The Catholic campaign will work to change the debate and decisions on the use of the death penalty: building a constituency for life,...

In 1999 the Bishops of Florida pleaded with Jeb Bush for the lifes of 2 murderers. STATEMENT ON AN OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR JEB BUSH URGING COMMUTATION OF DEATH SENTENCES FOR THOMAS H. PROVENZANO AND ALLEN LEE DAVISNow the Bishop of St. Petersburg "contrary to statements from the Vatican" have washed his hands of Terri's death claiming that "it is time to allow the Lord to call a loved one (Terri) to Himself" Statement of Bishop Robert N. LynchThe bishops of Florida have once again addressed the issue of the withdrawal of the artificial feeding tube from Terri Schiavo. As...

THE Catholic Church risked isolation last night after it emerged that senior churchmen want to bar homosexual teachers from Catholic schools. Politicians, local government and parent groups all warned against discrimination when a senior bishop insisted that the church’s new charter for schools would prevent gay teachers from securing jobs in Catholic schools or gaining promotion if already employed. Bishop Joseph Devine, president of the Catholic Education Commission, said the church’s blueprint for its schools - A Charter for Catholic Schools - made it clear that homosexuality was incompatible with Catholic education. He said in an interview: "Being homosexual would...

Abu Sayyaf bomb threat unsettles Filipino churches AFP , MANILA Sunday, Mar 20, 2005 Churches in the Philippines tightened security yesterday after a warning was received that al-Qaeda-aligned extremists were planning bomb attacks in revenge for the killing of their leaders in a prison uprising, officials said. Additional staff, including security guards, had been posted at major churches to check on suspicious people, said Monsignor Hernando Coronel, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. Coronel said churches would have only one exit and entry point so that people could be checked, in response to the warning issued by...

The owner of a popular local nightclub with a gay clientele can't have a funeral in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego because the church has deemed his business "inconsistent with Catholic moral teaching." None of the 98 Catholic churches in San Diego or Imperial counties will be allowed to provide services for Club Montage owner John McCusker as a result of the decision by San Diego Bishop Robert Brom. Advertisement McCusker, 31, died Sunday of congestive heart failure while vacationing in Mammoth, his family said. The bishop made the decision three days later after learning that McCusker's family...

The Roman Catholic bishops of the United States plan tomorrow to launch what they are calling a major campaign to end the use of the death penalty. The bishops, according to an aide, have been emboldened by two recent Supreme Court decisions limiting executions, and by polling that they say shows a dramatic increase in opposition to capital punishment among Catholic Americans. Their campaign, which is to be announced by Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick at a news conference in Washington, is to include legislative action, legal advocacy, educational work, and a new website to be named www.ccedp.org, for the Catholic...

Toronto, Feb. 24 (LifesiteNews.com/CWN) - A bill to redefine the word "spouse" in line with same-sex marriage is being pushed through the Ontario provincial legislature and is expected to receive a final vote tomorrow. The legislation also contains limited protection for religious freedom. The Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops (OCCB) shocked pro-family groups on Wednesday with a press release titled, "Ontario Catholic Bishops support protective legislation." In the release the OCCB makes clear that it continues to oppose the Ontario court decision which redefined marriage, however, it also "commends Premier Dalton McGuinty and his government for proposing this legislation." In...

What do the Catholic bishops, Dan Rather and CBS News, John Kerry and the Democratic Party have in common that brought about their similar ignominious downfalls? They just didn’t get it. They have been left behind; floundering around; trying to figure out what in the world happened and how to restore their shattered credibility. “Oh! How the mighty have fallen.” Not only fallen, but crashed and burned due to their arrogance, bias, egomania and detachment from the real world. Let’s dissect the Catholic bishops first.

HARTFORD, Conn. (CNS) -- As the date neared for Connecticut's first execution in nearly 45 years, the state's Catholic conference joined forces with the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty in a petition drive to end the death penalty. The petition was distributed to every parish in the Hartford Archdiocese, along with a letter from Archbishop Henry J. Mansell of Hartford reminding Catholics, "The Gospel mandates us to respect human life from conception to natural death." Michael Ross, 45, is scheduled to be executed Jan. 26. He was sentenced to death in 1987 for murdering four teenage girls in...

Inm 2000 alone, the Catholic bishops gave $472,000 in Campaign for human Development grants to ACORN - - the leftwing group now in the news for massive voter fraud. How much good could have been done with this money had it been doinated to right to life groups? The Campaign for Human Development needs to be scrapped.

A TASK force of Catholic bishops, headed by Wash ington, D.C.'s Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, is now engaged in the prickly examination of what to do about Sen. John F. Kerry: Should the presumed presidential nominee, who professes the Catholic faith but publicly and consistently flouts its tenets on abortion, be permitted to receive Holy Communion? -snip- In fact, it's a no-brainer: The church's Code of Canon Law 915 states explicitly that Communion must be denied those who have "obstinate persistence in manifest grave sin." Kerry and a whole herd of so-called Catholic politicians fit the bill. -snip- Since all politics...

Wishy-Washy Statements by Catholic Bishops on Abortion and Voting Leading to Scandal TORONTO, June 23, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Over the past few months at least several individual US and Canadian Catholic Bishops have given clear, strong directions on the primary importance of the life and family issues when making voting decisions. However, statements by US and Canadian Bishops Conferences have left many Catholics in the dark as to the pre-eminent importance of the direct life issues such as abortion and euthanasia. These statements have often lumped abortion and same-sex marriage in with much less absolutely immoral issues such as poverty,...

  Catholics in Political Life We speak as bishops, as teachers of the Catholic faith and of the moral law. We have the duty to teach about human life and dignity, marriage and family, war and peace, the needs of the poor and the demands of justice. Today we continue our efforts to teach on a uniquely important matter that has recently been a source of concern for Catholics and others. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church from the very beginning, founded on her understanding of her Lord’s own witness to the sacredness of human life, that...

DENVER (Reuters) - American Catholic bishops, seeking to avoid a political collision within their ranks, voted overwhelmingly on Friday to allow each diocese to decide for itself on whether to refuse communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion rights. The decision comes five months before Americans vote in national elections in November and appears to be a compromise between conservative bishops who have said they will refuse communion to politicians who support abortion rights and others who say the best way to counter abortion is through persuasion. The issue of whether Catholic candidates will support the church's position on abortion...

SPOKANE, Wash. -- If Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry were to attend Mass at a Spokane-area Catholic Church, he should be given Communion, Bishop William Skylstad said Thursday. The sacrament should not be used as a weapon, Skylstad said in a message to parishioners. Several Catholic leaders around the country have said either that they would not give Communion to Kerry, who is Catholic and supports abortion rights, or that Kerry should not attempt to take Communion. The Catholic Church is opposed to abortion. "Eucharist is God's gift to us, God's presence among us," Skylstad, vice president of the U.S....

<p>WASHINGTON -- Forty-eight Roman Catholic members of Congress have warned in a letter to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., that US bishops will revive anti-Catholic bigotry and severely harm the church if they deny Communion to politicians who support abortion rights.</p>

The Faithful and the Faithless May 6, 2004 If elected in November, John Kerry would be our third Catholic president. John Kennedy was of course the first. Who was the second? Give up? Ronald Reagan. As I understand it, he was baptized a Catholic in infancy, though he was raised as a Protestant. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, if you’re baptized in the Church you remain a Catholic all your life. That’s one of the many things even most Catholics don’t realize anymore. There’s a general impression that the Second Vatican Council suspended the old rules and left...

Lesbian and gay Catholics in the UK call for withdrawal of Catholic Bishop's Diversity and Equality Employment Guidelines The Roman Catholic Caucus Steering Group has issued the following statement: The Roman Catholic Caucus of the Lesbian & Gay Christian Movement (RCC-LGCM) notes with considerable concern recent reports of at least one job-offer withdrawal and a dismissal from post on grounds of sexual orientation, by Catholic employers. Regrettably and predictably, such action is supported by the current insidious Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, the subject of a recent Judicial Review and whose judgement is imminent. Just as we feared,...

Baghdad (AsiaNews) – Early this morning the Provisional Governing Council (PGC) ended their long meeting upon approving the draft of Iraq’s temporary constitution. The document will be signed this Wednesday on the Shiite holiday of Ashura (celebrating martyrdom ofImam Hussein, the son of Ali, and cousin, son-in-law of the great Prophet). The last days’ discussion dealt with difficult obstacles to overcome. The heart of disagreement revolved around three points: federalism, the role of Islam and the role of women in the future of Iraqi society. PGC spokesman, Intifad Kanbar, pointed out that the main points the new temporary constitution will...

<p>Eighty-one percent of sex crimes committed against children by Roman Catholic priests during the past 52 years were homosexual men preying on boys, according to a comprehensive study released yesterday on the church's sex abuse crisis.</p> <p>The John Jay study was commissioned 20 months ago by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in response to hundreds of sex-abuse accusations that were made in nearly every U.S. Catholic diocese. It covered the years from 1950 to 2002 and found 10,667 cases of abuse.</p>

<p>Early detractors of Mel Gibson's hit film, "The Passion of the Christ," are backing away from their critical remarks after the movie grossed a record-setting $26.6 million on its opening day.</p> <p>"The Passion," which opened Wednesday on 4,643 screens at 3,006 theaters, set a record for the biggest opening day for a movie released outside the summer (May-August) and winter holiday months (November-December).</p>

Unquestionably, canon 915 is the most discussed canon in the Codex Iuris Canonici, or Code of Canon Law, in recent Church history. Many in the media have reported on the January 8, 2004 canonical actions of Archbishop Raymond Burke, then bishop of the La Crosse, Wisconsin diocese. His actions have rocked the Catholic Church. Because of much misinformation, speculation and outright resentment, confusion reigns regarding the Archbishop's promulgation of his 'canonical notification' based on canon 915, the official communication of what the Church's discipline is.

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's Roman Catholic bishops have expressed outrage over the Fox administration's decision to hand out the controversial "morning-after pill" at government-run family planning clinics In a series of statements this week, the bishops said the pill is a method of abortion comparable to murder. Some said women who use the pill are effectively excommunicating themselves from the church. "Contraception and abortion are both products of an anti-life mentality, which comes from the culture of death," Bishop Rodrigo Aguilar, head of the Mexican Bishops Conference's Family Committee, said in a statement. The morning-after pill has been available in...

BOSTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- The major public policy voice of the Jewish community in greater Boston has voted overwhelmingly to back same-sex marriage. The endorsement by the Jewish Community Relations Council, an umbrella organization representing 42 Jewish groups, is part of a growing effort by liberal religious voices to counter the strong opposition to same-sex marriage voiced by the state's Catholic bishops, the Boston Globe said Friday. The bishops of the state's four Catholic dioceses planned to announce a major campaign to defeat same-sex marriage Friday. Several Jewish organizations had already endorsed same-sex marriage, including the largest Jewish denomination...

Resolution on Immigration Reform A Resolution by the NationalConference of Catholic Bishops November 16, 2000Spanish Version 1. We, the bishops of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, at our annual meeting in Washington, D.C., call upon our federal policymakers to reexamine our immigration laws and enact legislative and administrative reforms which uphold the basic dignity and human rights of immigrants and preserve the unity of the immigrant family. 2. Immigrants from lands across the globe have helped build our great nation. Newcomers have contributed to our nation by strengthening our cultural and social fabric and adding their energies and...

BISHOP BANKS NEVER ACCEPTED BLAME FOR SHIELDING ABUSERS Bishop Robert J. Banks, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 75, gave up control of the Diocese of Green Bay on Dec. 12, 2003. Although all those who rule can claim certain "accomplishments," those who are supposed to be spiritual leaders have far graver responsibilities. They must not only care for the souls of their flock, but possess a sensitive conscience, set a good example, avoid scandal and, especially, possess humility, for a humble person admits his sins and seeks the forgiveness of those he has harmed. However, Bishop Banks admits...

To: National Desk Contact: Erik Whittington of American Life League, 540-226-9004 or ewhittington@all.org WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Calling it "a historic step forward in dealing with the problem of pro-abortion Catholic political figures," American Life League president Judie Brown expressed her gratitude to Bishop Raymond Burke of La Crosse, Wis., for "using the authority of his office to deal with a grave public scandal. By issuing a formal decree barring pro-abortion Catholic politicians from receiving Holy Communion, Bishop Burke is not only enforcing Church law but is courageously stepping forward in defense of innocent human beings." Bishop Burke...