Faithful Citizenship in Pa's 1st Congressional District and the Central Garden State: "Christ is with us. Jesus ascended to heaven, He is with us. Christ is alive."

Sunday, May 8, 2016

"Christ is with us. Jesus ascended to heaven, He is with us. Christ is alive."

"This is the testimony we have to take every week: 'Christ is with us. Jesus ascended to heaven, He is with us. Christ is alive.' Jesus has assured us that in this proclamation and in this testimony we will be 'clothed with power from on high,' that is with the power of the Holy Spirit. There is the secret of this mission: the real presence among us of the risen Lord, who with the gift of the Spirit continues opening our minds and our hearts, so that we proclaim His love and His mercy too, in the most hostile environments of our cities. The Holy Spirit is the true artisan of the multiform testimony that the Church and every baptized person gives to the world. Therefore we can never fail to retreat in prayer to praise God and invoke the gift of the Spirit. In this week that brings us to the feast of Pentecost, let us stay spiritually in the Upper Rome, together with the Virgin Mary, to receive the Holy Spirit" (Pope Francis, 5/8/16).

"Why are GOP leaders becoming more and more liberal — certainly on values issues and more often than not economic issues as well? Because they sense the center-left tilt of the country. The country is more and more comfortable with sexual immorality, abortion, divorce and remarriage; you name it, they're pretty much down with it....Like republican leadership, Church leadership has spent entirely too much time stoning the sheep while making nice nice with the wolves" (Michael Voris, 3/13/16).

"Especially anxious about Trump's success are conservatives who prioritize social issues and fear he would weaken the party's moral tilt. Though Trump says he is against abortion and same-sex marriage, the New Yorker rarely talks about those issues — and until only a few years ago, he held opposite positions" (The Washington Post, 5/7/16).

How Are Issues Advocated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its "partner organization, the National Committee for the Human Life Amendment" Faring Among Those Who Represent Pa in Washington, D.C.? (5/7/16)

	Support the Conscience Protection Act of 2016 (HR 4828)	Support CWPIA (Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act; HR 1299/ S667)	Support FADA (First Amendment Defense Act; HR2802/ S1598)	Oppose “confiscation of Christian lands in Cremisan Valley”	Oppose HR 4731
1. Bob Brady (D)
2. Chaka Fattah (D)
3. Mike Kelly (R)		Sponsor	Co-Sponsor
4. Scott Perry (R)			Co-Sponsor
5. Glenn Thompson (R)		Co-Sponsor	Co-Sponsor
6. Ryan Costello (R)
7. Pat Meehan (R)
8. Mike Fitzpatrick (R)		Co-Sponsor
9. Bill Shuster (R)
10. Tom Marino (R)		Co-Sponsor	Co-Sponsor
11. Lou Barletta (R)		Co-Sponsor
12. Keith Rothfus (R)	Co-Sponsor	Co-Sponsor	Co-Sponsor
13. Brendan Boyle (D)
14. Michael Doyle (D)
15. Charlie Dent (R)
16. Joseph Pitts (R)	Co-Sponsor	Co-Sponsor	Co-Sponsor
17. Matthew Cartwright (D)
18. Tim Murphy (R)		Co-Sponsor	Co-Sponsor

· Bob Casey (D)
· Pat Toomey (R)

Email Pa's Congressional Delegation.

How is the Pro Life and Pro Marriage/Family Legislation Championed by the Pa Catholic Conference Faring Among Those Who Represent Bucks County in Harrisburg? (5/7/16).

The Bucks County Delegation in Harrisburg			As per the Pa Catholic Confer ence, “Please respect the concerns of all parties involved in adoption proceedings and vote no on HB 162 in its current form.”	As per the Pa Catholic Confer ence, "Ask your legislator to include the language of House Bill 1623 in the Fiscal Code.”	As per the Pa Catholic Confer ence, “I am quite concerned that HB 1510/ SB 974 will run afoul of religious freedom and expose even more… to discrimination. Please oppose the bill in its current form.”	As per the Pa Catholic Confer ence, “Please represent me by voting yes on House Bill 1948.” (i.e., Senator Michele Brooks is expected to introduce the Senate version.)	As per the Pa Catholic Conference, HB 1947 “would retroactively nullify the statute of limitations for filing a civil lawsuit alleging childhood sexual abuse....but it would not apply to public schools or government agencies....a legislative remedy must protect all children, not simply penalize some institutions” (i.e., Vote NO on HB 1947).
R	145	Rep Craig Staats	Voted Yea	Co-sponsor		Co-sponsor	Voted Yea
D	141	Rep Tina Davis	Voted Yea		Co-sponsor		Voted Yea
R	18	Rep Gene DiGirolamo	Voted Yea				------------
R	142	Rep Frank Farry	Voted Yea				Voted Yea
D	140	Rep John Galloway	Voted Yea		Co-sponsor		Voted Yea
R	29	Rep Bernie O’Neill	Voted Yea				Voted Yea
R	178	Rep Scott Petri	------------		Co-sponsor		Voted Yea
R	143	Rep Marguerite Quinn	Voted Yea		Co-sponsor		Voted Yea
D	31	Rep Steve Santarsiero	Voted Yea		Co-sponsor		Voted Yea
R	144	Rep Kathy Watson	Voted Yea		Co-sponsor		Voted Yea
R	12	Sen Stewart Greenleaf
R	10	Sen Chuck McIlhinney			Co-sponsor
R	24	Sen Bob Mensch
R	6	Sen Robert Tomlinson

Email all of Bucks County's delegation in Harrisburg.

Particularly because there are differences in the parental notification law between NJ and Pa, the proximity of a Trenton abortuary should be of concern to pro life residents in Lower Bucks. A Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet are said each Saturday at 9:45AM, near State and Clinton.
Email pastors in Bucks with ads for an acknowledged abortifacient provider.
Concerns about "Catholic" hospitals in the Archdiocese: Email Archbishop Chaput.
Email Archbishop Kurtz (USCCB president), Archbishop Chaput and the National Catholic Bioethics Center, to ask for an end to the use of emergency (so-called) contraception in Catholic hospitals.