Free Republic

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...

On ABC's This Week with George Stephonopoulous, the top US Bishop, Gregory Wilton, was totally unwilling to condemn homosexual priests. George S. gave him multiple opportunities to say what is obvious: that Church laxity as to homosexual priests and seminaries and priest-cliques of gay priests and bishops, have all conspired to result in [A] the child abuse and teenaged boy sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the past 30-35 years; and [B] the Church hierarchy's impotent response to the surfacing of this abuse--namely shuffling priests from place to place where they retain the Church's bona fides in order to pounce...

Dear Friend, I have a challenge for you -- see if you can tell me what all these quotes have in common: * "I'm spiritual. I'm religious. I'm a strong Christian and I'm a Catholic but I go to Presbyterian Church. Occasionally I go to the Catholic church too. I take communion. I haven't transferred my membership or anything. My wife and I consider ourselves -- she considers herself a Catholic." --Gen. Wesley Clark, in an interview with Beliefnet * "Under the Constitution, the public has a right to know that, in the end, the votes I cast are driven...

MADISON, WIS., December 4, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Bishop Raymond Burke of La Crosse, who was appointed the new Archbishop of St. Louis by Pope John Paul II Tuesday, has warned Catholic pro-abortion politicians that by voting against life they have put themselves outside of communion with the Church. "They can't promote any legislation, which would either continue or worsen the anti-life practices," Archbishop-elect Burke said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "If they were to continue to do that, I would simply have to ask them not to present themselves to receive the sacraments because they would not...

Why won't American Catholic bishops won't defend public figures who believe in the Catechism? CATHOLIC BISHOPS have been making noises about disciplining Catholic politicians who advocate for policies opposed to Church teaching. If you are an observant Catholic, don't get your hopes up. On the Saturday following Thanksgiving, Los Angeles Times reporters William Lobdell and Theresa Watanabe filed a story full of quotes indicating resolve. "I get tired of hearing Catholic politicians say, 'I am personally opposed to abortion,' or whatever, 'but I can't impose my moral standards on everybody else,'" Bishop Joseph Galante of Dallas is reported as saying....

What would Jesus do? Somehow public flogging, shunning and outright humiliation don't seem his style. Yet those are techniques that some U.S. Roman Catholic bishops apparently would favor employing against politicians who they feel have strayed too far from church teachings -- at least on some incendiary topics. Oddly enough, long-standing exasperation among some bishops and conservative Catholic groups started escalating this year even before the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that banning same-sex marriage violates equal rights protections. In January, Pope John Paul II issued guidelines telling Catholic politicians that they have a duty to promote laws that "defend the...

<p>As the 2004 election season heats up, certain candidates might be looking over their shoulders at an unlikely special-interest group: the U.S. Catholic bishops.</p> <p>America's 275 active bishops are gearing up a new task force that could bring Catholic politicians in line in a way not seen before in American politics.</p>

MADISON, Wis. - As the nation's Catholic bishops seek ways to convince Catholic lawmakers to adopt church views on issues like abortion, a Wisconsin prelate on the rise has warned two state legislators and a congressman that they risk their spiritual well-being if they do not. La Crosse Bishop Raymond Burke sent letters to the lawmakers as the first step in efforts to get them to change their pattern of voting, which he said is contrary to church teachings on abortion and other issues related to human life. Tuesday, he was appointed by Pope John Paul II to serve as...

In a strongly worded letter to be read at Mass this weekend, the bishops also said the Supreme Judicial Court's mid-May deadline for the Legislature to rewrite marriage laws to provide benefits for gay couples is too rushed. The bishops, among the leading opponents of the ruling, urged parishioners "to contact the governor and their state legislators to urge them to find a way to give our citizens more time to deal with this issue." Boston Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley and Bishops Thomas Dupre, Daniel P. Reilly and George Coleman also complained that the state high court ruling promotes "divisions...

<p>December 1, 2003 -- BOSTON - Massachusetts' Roman Catholic bishops are telling parishioners that a state court decision supporting gay marriage is a "national tragedy" that could "erode even further the institution of marriage." In a strongly worded letter that was read at Mass, the bishops also said the Supreme Judicial Court's mid-May deadline for the Legislature to rewrite marriage laws to provide benefits for gay couples is too rushed.</p>

Catholic bishops may punish those who vote contrarily "Weaseling out" is what one Catholic bishop calls it, referring to the way some politicians will try to have it both ways on abortion — personally taking a stand against it but voting for abortion rights anyway. Earlier this month, at their national conference in Washington, D.C., the nation's bishops agreed to ask a task force to study whether the church should punish those Catholic politicians who vote contrary to church teachings on such issues as abortion, same-sex marriage and the death penalty. The proposal raises questions about the relationship between religious...

<p>The nation's Catholic bishops overwhelmingly voted yesterday to endorse a proposed booklet outlining why same-sex unions should not be given the legal equivalent of marriage.</p> <p>The vote, which was 234 yes, three no and three abstaining, was one of the last votes at the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.</p>

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops, acknowledging that American Catholics pay little heed to their teaching on contraception, launched an effort today to reinforce the ban on birth control and linked it to the anti-abortion campaign. Holding their regular meeting in Washington, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops tackled another sexuality issue today. They approved the text of a brochure that lays out the church's condemnation of same-sex unions. The contraception question was introduced by the Committee for Pro-Life Activities, the bishops' anti-abortion committee, which proposed the writing of an easily understandable booklet. The booklet would address questions about the...

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, responding to calls that they discipline pro-abortion Catholic politicians, has established a commission to consider whether the public figures can be excommunicated, according to individuals monitoring this week's autumn convention of the bishops in Washington, D.C. The politicians in question include Democratic presidential candidates John Kerry and Dennis Kucinich. "This was not something that was on the agenda, but was brought up and...the first steps are being taken to seat this committee," said Joe Giganti, spokesman for the American Life League's Crusade for the Defense of Our Catholic Church, which Monday...

Subject: End of Day -- 7/1/03 To: undisclosed-recipients:; To: Friends and Supporters of the Campaign for Working Families From: Gary L. Bauer, Chairman Date: Tuesday, July 1, 2003 More Voices Deplore Supreme Court Decision The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement strongly critical of last week's sodomy ruling. The statement says in part: "The Catholic Church teaches, in agreement with other faith traditions and with what were once the norms generally accepted by society, that sexual activity belongs to the marital relationship between one man and one woman in fidelity to each other. This relationship is...

The 'fire' of crisis can purify, Vatican ambassador tells embattled U.S. bishops By Joe Feuerherd ST. LOUIS, Mo. The U.S. hierarchy should not "sit idle or … retreat to a place of isolation" as they address the sexual abuse crisis that has been used to discredit the church, Pope John Paul II's representative told the U.S. bishops June 19. "We all know that we are going through difficult times and that some real problems within the church have been magnified to discredit the moral authority of the church," Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo said in an address that kicked-off the...

North Dakota Bishops Oppose Bill that Outlaws Abortion On the EWNT website, "Adam T." asked: Dear Ms. Brown, In my state (North Dakota), the House of Representitives recently introduced a bill that would make abortion a "class AA felony," therefore making abortion illegal. What joy for me! My prayers were answered after so many years of cruel murder. The bill also stated that those who have an abortion would be prosecuted (which makes sense, since abortion would be a crime). I do agree with this, but also think the man who was with the woman should also be prosecuted, as...