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Appointed twice by Pope John Paul II and again by Pope Benedict XVI to the Pontifical Academy for Life, renowned pro-life leader Judie Brown's bold new book The Broken Path reveals the political intrigue and challenges faced by and at times caused by the hierarchy of America's Catholic Church. After five years of exhaustive research, whether heaping praise or burning coals, The Broken Path makes clear not only what can be done, but what must be done to restore our nation's character, to return our society to a Culture of Life, and to reclaim both the Church and country that...

“Substance” ought to be meaty. Against the 210 pages of a report issued by American Life League (ALL)[i] documenting scores of Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) grantees that violate, in one form or another, CCHD’s own grant guidelines, CCHD issued a page-long press release[ii] and an accompanying one-page “enclosure.” [iii] The fact that this preemptive rebuttal was issued on September 28, 2011, several days before the ALL Report was released on October 3, 2011, may account for the paucity of its self-defense but, then again, it may not. As we have done with prior CCHD communications, here is a...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles and immigrant advocate groups praised Gov. Jerry Brown for signing into law the rest of the California DREAM Act, allowing undocumented students who have graduated from a California high school to apply for state financial aid to attend college at a state school. Brown signed the first half of the measure in July to make immigrant students attending California State University, California community colleges or the University of California eligible, on or after Jan. 1, 2012, to receive scholarships and loans from private funds. Brown announced Oct. 8 he had...

http://www.ydr.com/living/ci_19043202. York Daily Record reprint of an AP story.

Catholic Campaign on Human Development: The American Life League Report on links to abortion groups Part 3 in a series by investigative journalist Stephanie Block on the involvement of Catholic bishops with leftist and pro-abortion groups. In a long and lengthening list of frustrations over the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), one certainly has to be its response to criticism. For 40 years, this “charity” has – deliberately on the part of some folks – hidden its primary objectives and misrepresented its critics. Then, when public outcry has grown too strident, it has staged mock “reforms.” The most recent...

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, citing recent actions taken by the Obama administration, has announced that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is forming an Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty. “This basic right, in its many and varied applications for Christians and people of faith, is now increasingly and in unprecedented ways under assault in America,” Archbishop Dolan, the USCCB president, said in a letter to his brother bishops. “The federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued regulations that would mandate the coverage of contraception (including abortifacients) and sterilization in all private health...

After the nation’s Catholic bishops were embarrassed by the very public scandals of ACORN, they vowed to reform the CCHD’s grant-making process.  The ostensible aim was to ensure that recipients of Catholic monies did not engage in activities inimical to Catholic moral principles, or partner with other organizations that engage in such contrary practices.   We were subsequently assured afterwards that the necessary steps had been taken to preserve the integrity of our Catholic donations.  Sadly there is cause to doubt the efficacy of such reforms – if indeed it can be said that such reforms actually existed.  I’d suggest to...

OTTAWA - The Canadian Catholic bishops have issued a message on social justice to young Catholics encouraging them to commit themselves to building a “more just and joyful society.” In a message released Sept. 22, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Commission for Justice and Peace urged young Catholics to participate in furthering the “Millennium objectives for development.” “The Catholic Church shares all of humanity’s common quest for peace and happiness, and supports efforts of individuals and groups working to eradicate poverty, illness, injustice, inequality, human rights violations and environmental exploitation,” says the Message to Young Catholics on Social Justice....

The Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging Catholics to lobby on behalf of anti-poverty programs by contacting members of the congressional “super committee” charged with the task of reducing the federal deficit. “Tell the Deficit ‘Super Committee’ and your members of Congress that rising poverty at home and abroad requires them to protect programs that serve poor and vulnerable people,” the USCCB action alert states. The action alert continues: The Census Bureau recently reported that the number of people living in poverty in this country increased to over...

After more than 40 years of the (Catholic) Campaign for Human Development’s preaching about the need for systemic change, we get it. If we want a world in which the dignity of every human person is respected, from the moment of conception until natural death, the “system” under which we live has to be reordered. Pope John Paul II called this present system a “culture of death” and that’s a good name for an entire fabric of institutions and programs that take it for granted that certain humans are invisible and dispensable. The most dispensable among us are the children...

WASHINGTON (EWTN News/CNA)—Bishops and other Catholic clergy should speak about unemployment and poverty in their homilies, U.S. bishops’ conference president Archbishop Timothy Dolan said Sept. 19. “Widespread unemployment, underemployment and pervasive poverty are diminishing human lives, undermining human dignity, and hurting children and families,” Archbishop Dolan said. “I hope we can use our opportunities as pastors, teachers and leaders to focus public attention and priority on the scandal of so much poverty and so many without work in our society.” The archbishop of New York said that 46 million people, 15% of the population, now live in poverty in the...

Our family is not going to send in any more donations, or give any more money into the Sunday Parish Church collection basket, until both the USCCB and EWTN stop trying to promote 'democrat party' efforts to reward illegal behaviors and support unlawful activities, such as the so-called "dream act", or the new un-legislated amnesty for illegal aliens by this democrat president. (Instead, for now, we will give all our donations and offerings and almsgiving to specific worthy pro-life and other charitable causes, such as "Priests for Life" and "St. Vincent Depaul", and we will use social networking media...

Statement of Archbishop José H. Gomez Archbishop of Los Angeles Chairman, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration State of Alabama Immigration Law On behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops, I offer my solidarity with and support to Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi, archbishop of Mobile, AL, and Bishop Robert J. Baker, bishop of Birmingham, AL, -- in close collaboration with other religious leaders of the State -- in their efforts to turn back a State law which would threaten the ministry of the Church in Alabama to undocumented immigrants. [SNIP] As chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’...

Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the Committee on Migration of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has issued a statement supporting efforts by Alabama’s bishops to overturn a recently enacted immigration law. “The Catholic Church provides pastoral and social services to all persons, regardless of their immigration status,” Archbishop Gomez said in his statement. “Our mandate is to provide for the pastoral and social care of all of God’s children. Government should not infringe upon that duty, as America’s founding fathers made clear in the US Constitution.” “This new Alabama law makes it illegal for a...

The Catholic News Service, a division of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has published a Labor Day paean to US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, a native Californian, presenting her as a paragon of Catholics in political life – but ignoring her record of support for abortion dating back nearly 20 years. Solis served in both houses of the California legislature beginning in 1992 before being elected to Congress in 2000. During her time as a state legislator and congresswoman, Solis was an ardent supporter of abortion, winning her a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and re-election endorsements...

The Justice for Immigrants campaign of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is urging priests across the nation to “incorporate petitions, prayers and homilies” into Sunday Masses on September 25 in support of passage of the DREAM Act. The bill, first introduced in 2001, would provide a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. The Justice for Immigrants campaign has also issued an invitation to “plan a vigil or public event between Sept. 18 - Oct. 9 in support of our DREAM students and youth” and offers a “sample agenda and elements of a powerful event” to assist in...

Three months ago when Bishop Pilla's offer to resign was made public, there was much speculation that Pilla was being forced to resign and that the Pope would quickly accept his resignation. Pilla and Pope Benedict had been odds dating back to Pilla's tenure as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Moreover, Pilla was being investigated by the FBI, was being sued for perjury, had overseen the Diocese during the widespread homosexual priest abuse scandal, and had continued to allow Futurechurch to reside on diocesan property after telling the Vatican differently. Pilla was being forced out and...

Acknowledging that “the fiscal status quo is unsustainable, with mounting deficits and growing debt for our children,” the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is urging the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction not to make disproportionate cuts to domestic and international poverty-assistance programs. “A central moral measure of any budget proposal is how it affects ‘the least of these’ (Matthew 25),” wrote Bishop Stephen Blaire, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and Bishop Howard Hubbard, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, in their August 31 letter. “The needs of those...

WASHINGTON (May 27, 2011)—“Principles of Interpretation of Scripture with a Special Focus on the Figure of Moses” was the focus of the West Coast consultation between the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and three Muslim organizations from the Sunni and Shi’a traditions. The twelfth annual meeting of the dialogue took place in Orange, California on May 24-25. Bishop Carlos Sevilla of the Diocese of Yakima, Washington, and Muzammil H. Siddiqi, Ph.D., of the Islamic Society of Orange County, presided. Father José Rubio of the Diocese of San José, California, spoke on “Principles of Interpretation of Scripture” in the...

Rep. Paul Ryan, a Catholic and head of the House Budget Committee, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), have exchanged correspondence on Catholic social teaching and the federal budget. “I deeply appreciate your letter’s assurances of your continued attention to the guidance of Catholic social justice in the current delicate budget considerations in Congress,” said Archbishop Dolan in a May 18 reply to a letter from Rep. Ryan. “As is so clear from your correspondence, the light of our faith--anchored in the Bible, the tradition of the Church, and...