"I will be standing on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(10/20/19)
(signed homily)

• "St. John Henry Newman’s insights into the function and meaning of conscience 'could not be more timely' given widespread moral confusion in the Western world....Archbishop Fisher said Cardinal Newman’s theology of conscience offered an antidote to the moral relativism that was convulsing many societies. The power of Cardinal Newman’s teachings, he said, could be seen in the witness of the White Rose, an anti-Nazi movement in wartime Germany, which found the courage to defy Adolf Hitler partly after studying the new saint’s writings on conscience. Sophie Scholl, the most famous member of the White Rose [link added], was just 21 years old when she was beheaded in Stadelheim Prison, Munich, in February 1943 after she and her brother, Hans, flooded the famous Lichthof (atrium) of Munich University with leaflets inciting students to oppose Nazism. He cited scholarly research to emphasize how Cardinal Newman’s works influenced Sophie Scholl in particular....George Weigel of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., told how the nonviolence and Christian resistance of the movement 'was formed in part by a serious spiritual and intellectual encounter' with Newman" (CatholicPhilly.com, 10/14/19) 
• Moral Conscience (Catechism of the Catholic Church) 
• Is it Ethical to Give Emergency Contraception in Catholic Hospitals? (Chris Kahlenborn, MD, 4/8/19) 
• Will our Catholic hospitals love people enough to practice in a manner truly in accord with God's truth about marriage/family/sexuality - proclaiming that truth and steering people away health care providers who do not understand that truth?
• Will our Catholic hospitals cease all provision of so-called "emergency contraception"?
• Will our Catholic hospitals discontinue all association with those providing smorgasboards of prohibited services in their outside practices?
• For example, Holy Redeemer lists Stephen G. Somkuti, Larry I. Barmat, and Jennifer Nichols as specialists in "reproductive endocrinology." Those are the first three physicians listed at Abington Reproductive Medicine, which openly advertises its involvement with prohibited services, including IVF, egg donation, and surrogacy.
  
"Art. 11. – The diocesan Bishop is obliged, if necessary, to make known to the faithful the fact that the activity of a particular charitable agency is no longer being carried out in conformity with the Church’s teaching, and then to prohibit that agency from using the name 'Catholic' and to take the necessary measures should personal responsibilities emerge"  (Apostolic Letter Issued 'Motu Proprio' of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI on the Service of Charity, 11/11/2012).

• "a major authoritative report by the US National Council on Disabilities, a federal agency, on disability and assisted suicide has been overlooked by the media. Assisted Suicide Laws and Their Danger to People with Disabilities is a scathing analysis of arguments in favour of assisted suicide....The report finds that safeguards are ineffective and that there is little oversight of abuses and mistakes. Why wasn’t this on the front page of the New York Times? Or even on Page 13?.... In eight American states and the District of Columbia it is legal for doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to patients diagnosed with terminal illness and with a prognosis of six months or less to live, if certain procedural steps are followed" (Mercator.net, 10/14/19) 

• "It's also concerning that not that many of our Church leaders seem to be bothered by these numbers. I actually expected the Pew poll news to set off some alarm bells, but it appears I was mistaken. Instead, stories on the Amazon Synod and the Germany Synod quickly re-grabbed the headlines. The '69 percent of Catholics who don't believe in the Real Presence' story became old news" (Catholic Stand, 10/13/19) 

• Archbishop of Aleppo condemns Turkish military offensive in northeast Syria (Vatican News, 10/11/19) 

• USCIRF Launches the Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List (USCIRF, 10/8/19)

(Click map of 12/7/19 procession in Trenton to enlarge.)

National Concerns

• Submit Your Official Comment to Say: Pro-Life Health Workers Must Not Be Forced to Assist With Abortions (Susan B Anthony List)

• Oppose the Misleadingly Named Do No Harm Act (cf, American Life League)

• Oppose the Misnamed Equality Act (Human Life Action)

• Support the Heartbeat Bill, HR 3985 (cf, LifeSite)

• Support the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act (cf, USCCB)

• Born-Alive Legislation Deserves a Vote in the People's House (USCCB) 

• Support the Equal Campus Access Act, HR3243/S1168 (USCCB)

• Please urge the President, your Senator and Congressman to Maintain the Refugee Resettlement Program (Pa Catholic Conference)

• "Make the Family Great Again" petition

Commonwealth of Pa

(Pa Catholic Conference Legislative Review and Voter Voice)

• Please Urge Your Senator and Representative to Co-Sponsor the "Heartbeat" Anti-Abortion Bill (Pa Catholic Conference) 

• Please contact your Rep, Senator, and the Governor to ask for a religious exemption for Catholic adoptions (Pa Catholic Conference) (See also the Pa Family Council link.)

• Call for Funding Increase for Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) (Pa Catholic Conference) 

• Ask Your Representative to Co-Sponsor Speaker Turzai's Bill to Help Harrisburg Public School Students (Pa Catholic Conference)

• "the U.S. Department of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as a form of modern-day slavery that involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. It is estimated to be a $100-billion global industry that can be found everywhere, including Pennsylvania....the vast majority of people involved in prostitution are the victims of human trafficking....Pennsylvania needs harsher punishments to discourage human traffickers and their customers. That’s why the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference supports SB 60 and HB 12" (Daily Item, 9/24/19)

The Garden State

• Support the NJ Born Alive Survivors Protection Act A5287/S3905 (NJRTL)

• Vote No on S4103/ A5802 (NJRTL)

• Oppose NJ S3804/A5508 and S3813/A5510 (NJ Catholic Conference)

• Support the NJ Pain Capable Unborn child Protection Act, A 1686/S537 (http://protectviablebabies.com/take-action/)

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.