in Pennsylvania's First Congressional District
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania's_1st_congressional_district http://archphila.org/pastplan/MAPS/Arch.pdf
and the Central Garden State

Saturday, June 18, 2016

“whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

“whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

Legislative advocacy from the USCCB and its partner agency

The USCCB's Fortnight for Freedom  starts on Tuesday, June 21, which is the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More - both of whom stood firm against King Henry VIII.  When Henry VIII ascended the throne in the 16th century, Christopher Check tells us that

"the faith was vigorous in merry old England. Whereas heresies had brought war to France and Bohemia, and clerical scandals had plagued the whole continent, Henry inherited a country with a thriving Catholicism. The English nobility supported hundreds of monasteries that looked after the corporal needs of the poor and the spiritual needs of all English souls....All this, Henry would destroy."

Though reportedly a seasoned adulterer, Henry had remained in communion with the Church.  Yet in the midst of his affair with Anne Boleyn, he decided that his marriage to Catherine (Katharine) of Aragon could not be valid.  The Vatican stood firm and did NOT grant Henry an annulment!  Not getting his own way, Hank eventually decided that he himself was the "Supreme Head" of the Church in England. 

"to get the pope's attention, Henry, with a complicit Parliament, attacked the whole English clergy.... Charged with praemunire, a kind of treason, the clergy were forced to pay Henry a sum of 100,000 pounds to purchase a pardon for the imagined offense and were forced to acknowledge Henry as the 'protector and Supreme head of the Church in England'.... [Later] came the Submission of the Clergy.... The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Warham, prepared a stirring rejection of this suppression of Church authority, but he failed to deliver it in Parliament, prompting Bishop Fisher [i.e., Saint John Fisher] to tell More [i.e., Saint Thomas More] that the 'fort had been betrayed even by those who should have defended it'... [In the end,] More than one thousand monasteries and convents were destroyed and monks and nuns turned out into the street.... Once, the poor were cared for in dignity and charity by men and women religious.... The suppression of the Church in England was the dress rehearsal for the French Revolution, the Italian Risorgimento, the Mexican Revolution, and the Spanish Civil War. Henry VIII's divorce is the reason America is a Protestant country."

Jumping "across the pond" and fast forwarding a half millenium, the civil understanding of marriage has been  dramatically changed on federal and state levels with nary a whisper from Catholics and others of good will - in fact, many Catholics have been openly complicit....

http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/promotion-and-defense-of-marriage/upload/Backgrounder-FADA.pdf

From Pennsylvania, kudos to Representatives Mike Kelly, Tom Marino, Tim Murphy, Scott Perry, Joe Pitts, Keith Rothfus, and Glenn Thompson, who are steadfastly co-sponsoring HR 2802 in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Bravo!

Neither Casey Nor Toomey are co-sponsoring S 1598 in the U.S. Senate.  In addition to failing to co-sponsor HR 2802 in the U.S. House, Representatives Ryan Costello, Charlie Dent, Mike Fitzpatrick, Patrick Meehan twice crossed party lines in May to join with Bob Brady, Brendan Boyle, Michael Doyle, and Matthew Cartwright, in voting for "Maloney Amendments," which were AGAINST religious freedom.(cf, See Final Vote Results for Roll Call 226); See Final Vote Results for Roll Call 258).

Click to Email Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, and Patrick Meehan, specifically to express dismay at these ''Maloney Amendment'' votes and to ask for Co-Sponsorship/Support of the First Amendment Defense Act.
Click to Email Pa's Congressional Delegation, asking for Co-Sponsorship/Support of legislation backed by the USCCB and/or the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment.

https://www.marriagemarch.org/

Advocacy in Harrisburg on pro life and pro marriage/family legislation


  • As per the Pa Catholic Conference, “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 Conference, "Ask your legislator to include the language of House Bill 1623 in the Fiscal Code.”
  • As per the Pa Catholic Conference,    “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 Conference, “Please represent me by voting yes on House Bill 1948.” (SB 888)
  • As per the Pa Catholic Conference, HB 1947 “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). 
  • As per Pa Pro Life Online News (6/1/16), "Representative Steven Santarsiero (D-Bucks County) is circulating a co-sponsorship memo for a bill that would repeal Act 13 of 2013....Act 13 is the common sense law that ensures that no taxpayer funding of abortion will occur in the health insurance exchange created in Pennsylvania under Obamacare."    
  • The Pa Pro Life Federation encourages us to OPPOSE HB 1336, as it would take away your right to vote for judges.

Click to Email Bucks County's representatives and senators in Harrisburg on pro life and pro marriage/family matters.

Also, in the news....

  • People of Life (USCCB, June 2016)  
  • Marriage Unique for a Reason (USCCB, June 2016)
  • Friday Fax (C-Fam, 6/9/16)
  • "criminalizing poverty and homelessness is a growing national trend.  A report from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty that surveyed 187 cities in 2014 shows that although most cities do not provide shelter for the homeless, 53 percent criminalize sitting or lying down in certain public places; 43 percent ban sleeping in a vehicle; and 9 percent even make it a crime to share food with homeless people.  Despite federal court decisions prohibiting the criminalization of such activities, these local laws are increasingly prevalent. Criminalizing poverty and homelessness doesn’t solve any underlying problem, and in fact makes the situation worse and wastes community public resources that could be used to address the underlying causes of poverty and homelessness" (Letter to the NY Times, 6/13/16).
  • "Food shortage is not something natural, it is not a given, something obvious or self-evident.... The Catholic Church, in fidelity to her mission, wishes to cooperate with every initiative that defends and protects the dignity of persons, especially of those whose rights are violated.  In implementing this urgent priority of 'zero hunger', I assure you of our complete support and encouragement for the efforts in course" (Pope Francis, 6/13/16). "The terrible massacre that has taken place in Orlando, with its dreadfully high number of innocent victims, has caused in Pope Francis, and in all of us, the deepest feelings of horror and condemnation, of pain and turmoil before this new manifestation of homicidal folly and senseless hatred. Pope Francis joins the families of the victims and all of the injured in prayer and in compassion. Sharing in their indescribable suffering he entrusts them to the Lord so they may find comfort. We all hope that ways may be found, as soon as possible, to effectively identify and contrast the causes of such terrible and absurd violence which so deeply upsets the desire for peace of the American people and of the whole of humanity" (Vatican Press Office, 6/13/16).
  • Call to Prayer (USCCB, 6/17/2016)
  • Jo Cox: looking at refugees with a mother’s heart (MercatorNet, 6/17/16) 
    • National NFP Awareness Week:  July 24 - July 30 (USCCB) 
    • Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Summit: Sept 29 - Oct 1 (National Center on Sexual Exploitation)

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