Easter Monday: not everyone is interested in a civil society.

"Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society," but not everyone is interested in a civil society.

• "This morning in Sri Lanka a coordinated series of bombings killed hundreds of worshipers in Catholic Churches and others of all faiths in nearby hotels. The Churches were St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo and Zion Church in the eastern city of Batticaloa. This great evil targeted these churches as they were packed full of worshipers who were celebrating Easter, the day in which Christians around the world celebrate the rising of the King of Peace from the dead. We offer our prayers for the victims and their families. And we join with all people of good will in condemning these acts of terrorism. This evil cannot overcome the hope found in our Savior’s Resurrection. May the God of hope who has raised His Son, fill all hearts with the desire for peace" (Cardinal DiNardo, 4/21/19) 

• "In becoming the ninth jurisdiction to legalize physician-assisted suicide, New Jersey has unleashed a Pandora’s box on its residents—and the poor, weak, and disabled will suffer the most....When a country legalizes physician-assisted suicide, it is only a matter of time before the government expands who will receive suicide assistance instead of suicide prevention" (The Daily Signal, 4/19/19).

• "The horrific fire that is engulfing the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is shocking and saddens us all, for this particular cathedral is not only a majestic Church, it is also a world treasure. Noble in architecture and art, it has long been a symbol of the transcendent human spirit as well as our longing for God. Our hearts go out to the Archbishop and the people of Paris, and we pray for all the people of France, entrusting all to the prayers and intercession of the Mother of God, especially the firefighters battling the fire. We are a people of hope and of the resurrection, and as devastating as this fire is, I know that the faith and love embodied by this magnificent Cathedral will grow stronger in the hearts of all Christians" (Cardinal DiNardo, 4/15/19).
• "a major international story — one involving at least 10 acts of vandalism at Catholic churches in France — went largely unreported (underreported, really) for weeks. The vandalism included everything from Satanic symbols scrawled on walls to shattered statues....one of the first websites to write about the incidents for American audiences was Breitbart....dated March 20 ....The Brietbart story ends with several key statistics, further proving that these cases aren’t isolated, but part of a terrifying trend:
  
  The Catholic hierarchy has kept silent about the episodes, limited themselves to highlighting that anti-Christian threat and expressing hope that politicians and police will get to the bottom of the crimes.
  Reports indicate that 80 percent of the desecration of places of worship in France concerns Christian churches and in the year 2018 this meant the profanation of an average of two Christian churches per day in France, even though these actions rarely make the headlines.
  In 2018, the Ministry of the Interior recorded 541 anti-Semitic acts, 100 anti-Muslim acts, and 1,063 anti-Christian acts" (GetReligion, 4/15/19)
While the possibility of Notre Dame's fire being anything but accidental still seems to be  getting downplayed, it seems healthy to remember that society has long seemed in denial of anti-Christianity.  

• The so-called Equality Act "does not even nod in the direction of respecting religious freedom. It explicitly blocks religious believers from invoking the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.... Some feminists in America, working to foster bipartisan resistance, have nicknamed the bill the 'Women’s Erasure Act.' It is certainly an attempt to erase the reality of biological sex, and to erase the reality of widespread and reasonable opposition to a new transgender orthodoxy" (National Review, 4/11/19)
• In the U.S. Senate, Robert Casey is a cosponsor of the so-called Equality Act (S.788). 
• "If the [so-called] Equality Act reaches a full vote in either chamber of Congress, it will mark the first time the bill — which has been introduced in various forms since 1974 — has done so. A similar bill, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, passed the Senate in 2013. Four currently serving Republican senators voted in favor of that bill: Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Patrick Toomey, R-Pa." (NBCNews, 3/11/19).  
• In the U.S. House, Brian Fitzpatrick is one of three Republican co-sponsors of the so-called Equality Act (H.R. 5).  

 

• Born-Alive Legislation Deserves a Vote in the People's House (USCCB) (HLA)
• The Discharge Petition to bring the Born Alive Survivors Protection Act to a vote in the House 
• Further Action Needed to Save Babies Born Alive! (USCCB)

• Support the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act (USCCB)
  

• Contact your senators and representative today and urge them to oppose the [so-called] Equality Act! (USCCB)

• Save the Hyde Amendment (March for Life Action)

• Life at Conception Act Petition (National Pro Life Alliance) 

• Contact your U.S. senators and representatives today and ask them to support the LIFT for Charities Act! (USCCB)

• "Senator Lindsay Graham...[has] introduced the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a nationwide ban on abortion after 20 weeks....Senator Graham has introduced this bill or one similar every year since 2013. Although it has never received the 60 votes necessary for cloture, there is some hope that if enacted, it could now be upheld in an inevitable legal challenge due to the majority conservative Supreme Court (Live Action News, 4/11/19).
• I Cherish Life: I call on Congress to ban late term abortions when babies feel pain!(Family Policy Alliance)
  

• Tell the Senate to Reject Religion Tests for Judicial Nominees (USCCB)

• Ask the Department of Homeland Security to Rescind the "Remain in Mexico" Policy and Support Asylum Seekers by Following Existing Law (USCCB)  

• Stop Taxpayer Funding of Abortion (Click for Pa Pro Life Federation petition)

• Sign the Petition to Repeal the Abortion Law (NYS Catholic Conf)

• Call your [Pa State] Senator to oppose assisted suicide (Pa Pro Life Federation, 4/2/19)

• [Pa] Lawmakers want to take away our right to vote for judges (Pa Pro Life Federation, 1/28/19 email

• NJ Governor Phil Murphy signed assisted suicide into NJ law. To express your outrage, Murphy can be reached at 609-292-6000 or https://www.state.nj.us/governor/contact."

• Ask Legislators to Increase Non Public School Funding (NJ Catholic Conference)

• Protect Viable [New Jersey] Babies in the Womb – Equal rights for children who can survive outside the womb (http://protectviablebabies.com/).

On the right side of the home page, you will find links to email Church leadership about "Catholic" health care, Bucks country representation in DC, Bucks County representation in Harrisburg, Central NJ representation in DC and Central NJ in Trenton.