Bishops Urge Senate to Remove Abortion Amendment from Defense Bill

A Senate committee amendment that would authorize the performance of elective abortions at military hospitals in this country and around the world is “misguided” and should be removed from the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3454), said the Chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. In a June 29 letter, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston urged Senators to remove this amendment on the grounds that it breaks with longstanding federal and military policies on government promotion of abortion.

Cardinal DiNardo said it was disingenuous to suggest, as the amendment’s proponents have, that the amendment is “moderate” in requiring patients at military facilities to pay for their abortions. “Which is a more direct governmental involvement in abortion: That the government reimburses someone else for having done an abortion, or that the government performs the abortion itself and accepts payment for doing so?” the Cardinal wrote. He cited a 1989 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court saying that “the State need not commit any resources to facilitating abortions, even if it can turn a profit by doing so.”

Santiago, Cuba Archbishop Ibáñez To Appear Live on ‘Nuestra Fe En Vivo’

Irondale, AL (EWTN) – In a first for an American television network, Cuban Archbishop Dionisio Guillermo Garcia Ibáñez from the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba will travel to the U.S. to appear live on EWTN Español.

He will guest on at 6 p.m. ET, Mon., June 28 on EWTN Español’s flagship television program, “Nuestra Fe En Vivo”with Host Pepe Alonso. In addition, the Archbishop will record a show for “EWTN Live,” to be aired on sister station EWTN at a later date. He will use a translator for that show, which is in English.

World Cup Fever: Let the ball roll

Entre Amigos-Opinion column
By Mar Muñoz-Visoso

Leer este artículo en Español (PDF)

Eight years ago my husband complained that we needed a new television set. The old 19-inch screen I brought along a few years earlier mysteriously started to have problems just as the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup was unfolding. Drama turned into comedy when he also started wearing his reading glasses, which he very seldom uses, because he “couldn’t read” the scores.

Needless to say, a couple of days later we went to the store and came back with a silver colored 32” — still the old fat monitor since flat-screens were then out of reach for most mortals. For the following three weeks there was nothing else to be seen on TV. We’ll, he is at it again. World Cup fever is back — though this time the existing screen will have to do!

Cardinal DiNardo Voices 'Grave Concern' Over FDA Plan to Approve Abortion Drug for ‘Emergency Contraception

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities voiced “grave concern” to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its move toward approving a new drug that may induce early abortions as an “emergency contraceptive.” In a June 17 letter to Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the FDA, Cardinal DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston criticized the FDA’s move to hold an advisory committee meeting on the drug Ulipristal “without broad public input or a full record on the drug’s safety for women or their unborn children.” (Full text of the letter follows.)

The Cardinal raised concerns that Ulipristal is more similar in effect to the drug RU-486, which can cause abortions several weeks into pregnancy, than it is to other emergency contraceptives, which are believed to have no post-implantation effects.

Apostleship of the Sea Urges Catholics to Assist Those Harmed by Oil Spill

The overseer of the maritime ministry of the U.S. bishops expressed solidarity with those impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and announced the creation of a network to help with the human and environmental harm caused by the disaster.

In a video, Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah, Georgia, bishop promoter of the Apostleship of the Sea, urged Catholics to assist the work already being done by the Church to address this disaster.

Regional Bishops Issue Joint Statement on Migration

Cooperation among governments in region, economic development key factors

U.S. should afford legal protection to foreign workers

Participants at the Catholic bishops’ Regional Consultation on Migration in Washington, June 2-4 issued a joint statement calling for protection, hospitality, service and justice to immigrants throughout the hemisphere.

The bishops called attention to several issues that should be addressed on a regional level, such as the promotion of sustainable economic development in the hemisphere, violence and drug smuggling, human trafficking, protection of migrants, refugees and other vulnerable population, and special assistance to Haiti.

They also called upon the Congress of the United States and the Obama Administration to affirm the country’s tradition as a nation of immigrants and “reform U.S. immigration law to allow migrants who work hard in the U.S. economy to enjoy the benefits of legal protection.”

Action Alert: Help Families Impacted by Economic Recession!

Take Action Now!

The House and Senate are considering a bill, The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213), that would, among other things, provide initial funding for the National Housing Trust Fund, continue support for job creation through the TANF emergency fund, and extend eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits through December 31, 2010.

Click here to contact your Representative and Senators and urge them to help families still struggling from the impacts of the economic recession today.





WHY IS THIS ACTION IMPORTANT NOW?

The nation is slowly recovering from a recession that began in 2007. This has been one of the worst economic periods for American families since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The national unemployment rate continues to hover near ten percent, 15 million Americans are officially unemployed, and 44 percent (six million people) have been out of work for more than six months. This is the highest number of long-term unemployed since the United States began keeping that data in 1948.

Ten million more workers have given up looking for a job, and others are working part-time, but want full-time work. Since the recession began, the U.S. economy has lost 8.5 million jobs, which means with new entrants to the workforce, eleven million new jobs must be created to return to the pre-recession unemployment rate of five percent.

WHAT DOES THIS ISSUE HAVE TO DO WITH MY FAITH?

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development put forth the following six moral criteria for job creation and economic recovery legislation:

1) Respect for life and dignity: Do policy initiatives respect and enhance the life and dignity of all? Do programs for education and job creation recognize and affirm the diversity of gifts and talents each person has to contribute to the common good?

2) Subsidiarity and solidarity: Are policy initiatives and investments focused on local communities? Are they adaptable and flexible funding enough to respond to the needs of differing communities? Will policies lead to a shared recovery for all?

3) Respect for marriage and family life: Do federal programs provide a genuine safety net, create jobs and offer opportunities that are supportive of and strengthen quality family life? Does the policy respect and encourage family ties that are so important on matters of poverty and the economy?

4) Priority for the poor and vulnerable: Are resources and programs targeted to those most in need?

5) Recognition of cultural diversity: Do programs and initiatives recognize the particular challenges of minority communities? Do programs and initiatives reduce the systemic economic disparities experienced by minority communities?

6) Right to economic initiative and productive work: Do the policies promote just wages and benefits necessary to support both the worker and their family?


ACT NOW:

Click here to contact your Representative and Senators and urge them to help families still struggling from the impacts of the economic recession by including the following in The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213).

Feel free to write to us at info@txcatholic.org to let us know about your advocacy experience and about any responses you receive.

More Information:

For more information visit http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/

The Texas Catholic Conference tries to be judicious in issuing alerts and does so when contact from constituents will make a difference at a critical moment in a bill's movement through the legislature. You may direct questions to Maria Huemmer, public relations and outreach coordinator at maria@txcatholic.org.

You may contact the Texas Catholic Conference here. You may also email Maria Huemmer at maria@txcatholic.org to update your Texas Catholic Voice email subscription settings or unsubscribe.

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