Contact Senators Pileggi & McIlhinney, TODAY!

As Archbishop Chaput reminded us this past week,

• "The Church in southeastern Pennsylvania has deep roots and an extraordinary legacy of saints, service and public witness....But all of these good facts depend on our willingness to sustain them by our actions in the present. Advent is a season of self-examination in the light of God’s word; a season of conversion and looking forward in hope to the birth of a Savior at Christmas. There is no better time to speak frankly about the conditions we now face as a community of believers. Complacency is the enemy of faith."
  

PENNSYLVANIA SB 3 / HB 1977

In Pennsylvania's Senate, Bob Mensch & Tommy Tomlinson were among those who introduced SB 3. In Pennsylvania's House of Representatives, Marguerite Quinn was among those who introduced the house version, HB 1977.

• The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") requires states "to operate and maintain 'health insurance exchanges' to provide a menu of low cost, government subsidized insurance plans to help otherwise uninsured people get access to necessary health care....To assure that elective abortion is not included in the Pennsylvania exchange, the Commonwealth must affirmatively opt out by passing a state law....This legislation is critical if the Commonwealth is to prevent public dollars from being spent on a program which includes elective abortion coverage" (Pennsylvania Catholic Conference).

In the vote which took place on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Representatives Paul Clymer (145th), Gene DiGirolamo (18th), Frank Farry (142nd), John Galloway (140th), Brian O'Neill (29th), Scott Petri (178th), Marguerite Quinn (143rd), & Kathy Watson (144th) were among the 146 "YEAS." Thank you! Representatives Tina Davis (141st) - who has a bachelor's from LaSalle - and Steve Santarsiero (31st) - who has a master's from Holy Family - were among the 46 who shamefully voted "NAY."

We need to continue to resist the complacency of which Archbishop Chaput speaks and advocate to see SB 3 / HB 1977 signed into law!

PENNSYLVANIA SB 732

• This "would hold freestanding abortion clinics to the same fire and safety standards, personnel and equipment requirements and quality assurance procedures as other freestanding ambulatory surgical facilities. Currently, the state’s abortion industry is exempt from commonsense safety standards that apply to other surgery centers" (Pennsylvania Catholic Conference).

In the vote which took place last evening, Representatives Paul Clymer (145th), Gene DiGirolamo (18th), Frank Farry (142nd), John Galloway (140th), Brian O'Neill (29th), Scott Petri (178th), Marguerite Quinn (143rd), & Kathy Watson (144th) were among the 149 "YEAS." Thank you! LaSalle graudate Tina Davis (141st) and Holy Family graduate Steve Santarsiero (31st) were among the 46 who shamefully vote "NAY."

The Senate Rules Committee could be considering SB 732, as early as TODAY....

PLEASE, PLEASE contact the Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Sen. Dominic Pileggi (350 Main Capitol, Harrisburg 17120; 717-787-4712; dpileggi@pasen.gov) with the following message:

• "Please run S.B. 732 in the Senate Rules Committee as soon as possible."

Please contact your senators - particularly those on the rules committee, such as Bucks County's Chuck McIlhinney (a professed Catholic)....

• PLEASE urge Senator McIlhinney (cmcilhinney@pasen.gov) & others to support S.B. 732 and to oppose all weakening amendments.
  
  

ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT ON CATHOLICS IN PUBLIC OFFICE

• "I think that people who make decisions contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in public ways, in matters of faith and morals, should decide for themselves not to receive communion. They've broken their communion with the church, and to receive communion means you're in communion with the church. If you're not, it's hypocritical to receive communion.
  
  "I think the best way to handle this is the way the bishops of the United States have agreed together to handle it, which is first of all to talk personally with those individuals who make decisions contrary to the teaching of the church. If they fully understand the teaching of the church and continue to act contrary to it, we should ask them not to receive communion.
  
  "If they persistently decide to do so in a way that causes scandal, which means leading other people into the same kind of sin, then I think it's necessary for the bishop to publicly say something" (Archbishop Chaput, 7/19/11).