"The more the world of our day is sunk down in immorality, the more there is need for the Church to be a light to the world for all to see."

"The more the world of our day is sunk down in immorality, the more there is need for the Church to be a light to the world for all to see. The model of Christian marriage is the Holy Family of Nazareth: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We place all our efforts under its patronage"

"In conclusion, we should not forget the aim of the ongoing synod on marriage and the family. The synod has not been called to decide whether or not divorced and remarried couples can continue to receive Holy Communion. This is certainly not the purpose of the synod. Nor has the synod been called to discuss the issue of homosexuality and whether or not two Catholic men or two Catholic women can present themselves at the altar for marriage. That is not the purpose of the synod, nor indeed is it an issue in the Catholic Church. These are issues that are already clear in our doctrines. Synods are not called to change the doctrines or teachings of the Church. Rather, our synod has been called to confirm our faith, to study the pastoral challenges that face us, and to allow bishops to compare notes with each other so as to know how best to deal with these pastoral challenges. In this way, our people can be helped to live their Christian lives in marriage before God and as a witness before the entire community to the love, mercy, and fidelity of God himself to us. We hope that through the synod experience, the Catholic Church, through her pastors, with and under the successor of Peter, will emerge ever more powerful, vibrant, and vocal in proclaiming the truth of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The more the world of our day is sunk down in immorality, the more there is need for the Church to be a light to the world for all to see. The model of Christian marriage is the Holy Family of Nazareth: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We place all our efforts under its patronage" (John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, Marriage in Our Contemporary World: Pastoral Observations from an African Perspective).

What would Cardinal Onaiyekan think about hospitals in our archdiocese?

1. Among OBGYNs with privileges, there is a paucity of NFP-only physicians!
2. There are privileges for IVF specialists!
3. There are privileges for associates of a practice involved with so-called fetal reduction!
4. Holy Redeemer's Making Your Own Health Care Decisions (http://www.holyredeemer.com/Main/AdvanceDirective.aspx) fails to specify Catholic teaching with regard to nutrition and hydration, and that health care services cannot honor advance directives (e.g., non-specific directives to forego nutrition and hydration) opposed to Catholic teaching.

What would Cardinal Onaiyekan think about local parish bulletins.  Keep in mind that all but a handful of pharmacies - across the country - sell abortifacients and contraceptives. Locally,  

• St. John the Evangelist and St. Martin of Tours should not be advertising ShopRite, especially as it even  sells the Plan B abortifacient!  
• Our Lady of Angels (Trenton) should not be advertising Vizzoni's or Episcopo's. 
• Our Lady of Sorrows/St.Anthony (Trenton) should not be advertising Episcopo's. 
• St. Ann (Lawrenceville) should not be advertising McGrath's or Penlar.  
• St. Ephrem and St. Charles Borromeo should not be advertising Riccio's.  
• St. Thomas Aquinas should not be advertising Mat's.

 

Defund Planned Parenthood - NOT One Dime

Passing pro life bills is absolutely a vital witness.  Yet with an avowedly pro-abortion governor and an avowedly pro-abortion president, pro life bills will more than likely be vetoed.  Hence, the real key to stopping Planned Parenthood seems to be in the budgeting process. 

•  As per the Pennsylvania Family Institute, "the Administration, following what can only be described as a cursory review of Planned Parenthood abortion sites in Pennsylvania, stated that the organization’s hands are clean in the burgeoning nationwide scandal involving the gruesome procurement and trafficking in the remains of unborn children aborted in Planned Parenthood clinics....the taxpayers of Pennsylvania can have no confidence that Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration can or did conduct a fair and thorough probe, given his close ties with Planned Parenthood before, during and after his campaign for Pennsylvania Governor." Email all of Bucks County's representatives and senators in Harrisburg, to urge a state moratorium on monies for Planned Parenthood.

• Thirty-one members of the U.S. House pledged ''that we cannot and will not support any funding resolution — an appropriations bill, an omnibus package, a continuing resolution, or otherwise — that contains any funding for Planned Parenthood, including mandatory funding streams.''  Some "pro life" representatives and senators have been fearful of being blamed for a government "shutdown."   Email Representative Fitzpatrick, Senator Casey, and Senator Toomey, to urge them to get on board with a moratorium.  Please also ask pro life Representatives Joe Pitts ((202) 225-2411), Pat Meehan ((202) 225-2011), and Ryan Costello ((202) 225-4315
) to back a moratorium.

 

HB 1510/SB 974, the so-called "Fairness Act"

• The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference warns that Pennsylvania HB 1510/SB 974, the so-called "Fairness Act" would "jeopardize many churches and their charitable outreach if they continue to adhere to their religious beliefs.  In other states, this law has closed Catholic adoption agencies and violated religious liberty. These bills could mean that Catholic agencies would no longer be able to make our contributions to the common good of Pennsylvania without violating our religious beliefs....Simply put, this legislation is intolerant and prejudiced against people of faith."
• HB 1510/SB 974 is receiving a surprising amount of support among state legislators who identify as Catholic or who have received Catholic schooling. From Bucks County, Representatives Steve Santarsiero (D), Tina Davis (D) John Galloway (D), Scott Petri (R) Marguerite Quinn (R), and Kathy Watson (R) are among the 84 co-sponsors of HB 1510.  While Galloway identifies as Catholic, the others have studied at Catholic schools (i.e., Santarsiero, MEd, Holy Family; Davis, Bachelors, LaSalle; Petri, JD, Villanova; Quinn, BA, St Joseph's, and Watson (studied at Villanova).).  Senator Chuck McIlhinney (R), who identifies as Catholic, is among the 26 co-sponsors of SB 974.
• "Stand for true tolerance: oppose Senate Bill 974 and House Bill 1510" (Pa Family Council).

 

Religious Liberty

• As per the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "The First Amendment Defense Act (H.R. 2802, S. 1598) would bar the federal government from discriminating against individuals and organizations based upon their religious beliefs or moral convictions that marriage is the union of one man and one woman or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage. The Act provides broad protections against adverse federal actions directed toward individuals and organizations that act on such beliefs."  Representative Fitzpatrick is NOT among the 148 co-sponsors of HR2802; NEITHER Senator Casey NOR Senator Toomey are among the 37 co-sponsors of S1598.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has an alert for contacts to Fitzpatrick, Casey, and Toomey, re: the First Amendment Defense Act (HR2802 / S1598): http://cqrcengage.com/catholicbishops/app/make-a-call?0&engagementId=113753

• As per the USCCB, "Urge Congress to Reauthorize the US Commission for International Religious Freedom."

Alerts, Alerts Central, NCHLA, and Justice for Immigrants

• To aid us in applying the commandments to our modern world, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference offers "alerts" and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) offers "Alerts Central."  The USCCB notes that "Action alerts for pro-life issues can also be found through our partner organization, the "National Committee for the Human Life Amendment" (NCHLA), and that "Action alerts for issues related to immigration reform can be found through the USCCB-led Catholic coalition, "Justice for Immigrants." 

(re: "Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus, on the reform of canonical procedure for the annulment of marriage in the Code of Canon Law (15 August 2015)")