Archives for February 2017

A Hula Dancer will be there to teach everyone how to HULA!

The joint statement below was issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) this afternoon on behalf of several of its committee chairmen, including Archbishop Chaput. The full text is provided for you here.

USCCB Chairmen Ask President Trump To Fulfill His Promise To Protect Religious Liberty

February 16, 2017

WASHINGTON—In early February, several media outlets reported that President Donald J. Trump is considering issuing an executive order establishing a government-wide initiative to respect religious freedom. A copy of a draft executive order was published by multiple news outlets. The President has not yet signed the executive order on religious freedom.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap., of Philadelphia, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, and Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, jointly issued the following statement urging support for the draft executive order:

The right of all human beings to religious freedom, based on the inherent dignity of every person, has long been supported by the Catholic Bishops of the United States. Over the last several years, to our great dismay, the federal government has eroded this fundamental right, our first and most cherished freedom. The HHS mandate, for example, poses an incredibly heavy burden for the Little Sisters of the Poor and others due to conscientious objections to facilitating coverage of sterilization and contraception, including drugs and devices that may cause abortions. The Little Sisters—and so many others—still do not have adequate relief and still face possible fines in the tens of millions of dollars if they do not comply with the HHS mandate.

President Trump has pledged that his “administration will do everything in its power to defend and protect religious liberty in our land.” We urge the fulfillment of this promise, including an end to regulations and other mandates by the federal government that force people of faith to make impossible choices. We express our fervent hope that with new leadership in the Executive Branch, basic protections for religious practice may be restored and even strengthened.

As President Trump himself has affirmed, religious freedom is under severe threat, including in our own country, even though it is the first of our Constitutional freedoms. An immediate remedy to these threats is needed, for without it, our freedom to serve—as exemplified by the Little Sisters and others who serve the poor—will remain in jeopardy, and needless conflict between the faith community and the federal government will continue.

It is indeed encouraging to hear that the President may be considering an Executive Order to implement strong protections for religious freedom across the federal government, in many of the areas where it has been eroded by the preceding Administration, such as health coverage, adoption, accreditation, tax exemption, and government grants and contracts. We ourselves, as well as those we shepherd and serve, would be most grateful if the President would take this positive step toward allowing all Americans to be able to practice their faith without severe penalties from the federal government.

As Christians, our goal is to live and serve others as the Gospel asks. President Trump can ensure that we are not forced from the public square. Restoring the federal government’s proper relationship with the First Amendment and other laws protecting conscience and religious freedom will enable us to continue our service to the most vulnerable of Americans.

The 24th annual day of prayer, education and fellowship will be held on Saturday, March 11th from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Father Mark Mary, MFVA, host of EWTN’s ‘Life on the Rock’ television show will host morning and afternoon presentations.

Registration is requested before March 1st by contacting advancement@scs.edu or 610.785.6270. Registrants are asked to provide the names of those attending. A boxed lunch will be provided free of charge to clergy and religious. Lay attendees are asked to consider a donation of $10, payable on the day of the program, to cover the cost of their lunch.

Last month brought a new session of Congress, a new Administration and a new opportunity for us to advocate for conscience protection for those who provide health care and health care coverage.

The Conscience Protection Act of 2017 was recently introduced in both the House and the Senate. This legislation is identical to the bill of the same name passed in the House last July. However, last year’s bill was never enacted into law. Therefore, with a new Congress in session, we are beginning anew to advocate for conscience protection for those who choose not to participate in abortion.  We are hopeful that with a change in the White House our efforts will meet with success this year.  Please take a moment to contact Congress now!
Cardinal Dolan and Archbishop Lori have written to the members of Congress to urge them to enact this much-needed, common-sense, legislation which will address the deficiencies that block the effective enforcement of federal laws designed to protect the conscience rights of those who provide health care and health care coverage. Most doctors and nurses are unwilling to participate in abortions and should not be driven from the healing professions.  It is wrong for government to force Americans to violate their deeply held convictions about respect for human life.

We are providing you suggested messages which reflect whether your members have already cosponsored the Conscience Protection Act or not.  So, the pre-set message will either thank your members for cosponsoring and urge them to keep moving this forward, or urge them to cosponsor and enact. The correct message will automatically be selected for you once you have input your address. After that, a quick click of your mouse will send your message to Capitol Hill. It’s that easy!

Please help us spread this call to action by sharing it with your networks and through your social media outlets. We invite you to connect with us on Facebook at Human Life Action and share our posts. Please also follow us on Twitter and Instagram @HumanLifeAction. If you would like to receive alerts directly to your phone in the future, please text “life” to 474747.

Thank you for standing with us. Together we will be heard!

Amy McInerny
Executive Director

Our next meeting is,  this Sunday, February 19th, from 6:00 until 8:00 PM in the Youth Group Room in the Father Laut Building.  We plan to work on crafts for the homebound parishioners.  Afterwards we’ll have refreshments and games. 

Any parishioner in the 4th through 8th grades who is interested in coming to any SFC Youth Group event is welcome! There is no registration or sign up. Just show up! Look for updates in the Parish Bulletin, or on the Youth Ministry link on our parish website, www.saintfrancescabrini.net.   If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Alixandra Holden at 215-946-1115.

Tell Your State Senator you are unhappy with their NO VOTE on SB3

Your State Senator was one to vote NO on SB3, legislation that would save lives in Pennsylvania and bring our laws up-to-date with modern medical advancements.

Please call Senator your state senator and express you unhappy with their opposition to SB3.

I know you must think it unfathomable that anyone would oppose an effort to stop abortions when the baby can survive on its own. And how can we continue as a just society if we deem it ok to let an unborn baby literally bleed to death through a dismemberment abortion.

That’s what SB3 would correct here in Pennsylvania. But that’s exactly what Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups are trying to stop; encouraging calls to State Senators to express their “outrage” for supporting this pro-life bill. This is all the more reason why we encourage you to talk with your State Senator about their opposition to SB3.

Here is the full roll call for SB3:

• YEA: Alloway, Argall, Aument, Bartolotta, Brewster, Brooks, Browne, Corman, DiSanto, Eichelberer, Folmer, Gordner, Greenleaf, Hutchinson, Killion, Langerholc, Martin, McGarrigle, Mensch, Rafferty, Regan, Reschenthaler, Scarnati, Scavello, Stefano, Tomlinson, Vogel, Vulakovich, Wagner, Ward, White, Yaw.

• NAY: Baker, Blake, Boscola, Costa, Dinniman, Farnese, Fontana, Haywood, Hughes, Laughlin, Leach, McIlhinney, Sabatina, Schwank, Street, Tartaglione, Williams, Yudichak.

Reasons to Support SB3

During the debate on the Senate Floor over SB3, one Senator shared a personal story that makes such a compelling case for why this legislation is necessary. Click here to watch his brief testimony.

If you would like to learn more about SB3 or would appreciate having something you can share with family and friends to help inform them about the legislation, we have some resources available now on our website: pafamily.org/2017/02/sb3

PA Family Council Urges President Trump to Protect Religious Liberty

Pennsylvania Family Council has joined allied organizations and hundreds of thousands of American families across the nation to urge President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to fulfill their campaign promise to uphold and protect religious liberty in our nation.

Click here to read the letter.

If you would like to join us in this effort to encourage President Trump to sign an Executive Order protecting religious liberty, you can do so by:

• Emailing President Trump via the White House Contact Page
• Calling the White House at: 202-456-6213

For more: pafamily.org/2017/02/protectourliberty

More Pro-Life News

• #ProtestPP Rallies this Saturday: On February 11th, people across the country will take to the streets to demand our government stops funding Planned Parenthood – the nation’s largest abortion business that received nearly half-a-billion dollars in taxpayer funding. There are over a dozen PA protests scheduled at Planned Parenthood facilities – get all the details at protestpp.com.
• Planned Parenthood Scrubs “Prenatal Care” From Website After Caught Denying It to Women (LifeNews.com) – As part of Live Action‘s investigation nationwide and our own investigation here in Pennsylvania, Planned Parenthood was caught advertising “prenatal services” when in fact most facilities nationwide and all Planned Parenthood clinics in PA offer no such care.
• Get your free copy of Extreme: Planned Parenthood in Pennsylvania. For more, visit pafamily.org/extreme

Pennsylvania Family Council

23 N Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101

717-545-0600 | pafamily.org

I just got back to my office from the Capitol, where I personally thanked Sen. Michele Brooks for leading today’s successful floor fight on pro-life SB3, which passed just a short time ago by a 32-18 margin!

And right now, I’m offering my thanks to you as well. Without the support and involvement of folks like you, I and the other members of our policy team wouldn’t be here to research and advocate for strong pro-family and pro-life policies like SB 3. Your support also helps us motivate and engage the grassroots.  Thank you!

But…our work is not yet done.

First, click here for the roll call on SB3. If your State Senator voted yes, please contact them to say thank you for their support.

We have a few resources up on our website offering analysis of SB3 and the vote today (once the roll call is available we will have that on our website as well):

• PFI Praises SB3 Passage (Press Release) – pafamily.org/2017/02/sb3passes

• What is SB3? pafamily.org/2017/02/sb3

SB3 now heads to the PA House of Representatives, where last year similar legislation passed overwhelmingly with a two-thirds majority vote.

We encourage you – especially if you have not already – to contact your State Representative and to use our Citizen Action Center to send your support of SB3: tinyurl.com/YESonSB3.

Thank you so much for your prayers, your action on this legislation and your support of our organization. We could not make an impact for PA families without your generous partnership and active engagement. Let’s keep it up!

For life,

Tom Shaheen, Vice President for Policy

Pennsylvania Family Institute

www.pafamily.org

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Did you catch what Gov. Tom Wolf said about Senate Bill 3?

After a 10-5 vote out of committee yesterday, SB3, a much-needed improvement to our nearly 30-year-old abortion law, is now before the full State Senate for a vote that may come as early as tomorrow, Wednesday, February 8th.

Simply put, SB3 would stop dismemberment abortions, a procedure where the unborn child is torn into pieces in the womb and bleeds to death. SB3 would also end abortions after 20 weeks, a time when that child can feel and react to pain. (Read more from our Citizen Action Center).

Yet after SB3 was successfully voted out of committee, Governor Wolf was quick to make this statement:

“[SB3] flies in the face of everything I stand for.”

Really Governor Wolf? There’s not a thing within you that would rally to the aid of a helpless, innocent human baby in the womb targeted for demise by dismemberment? SB3 would only impact a small percentage of all abortions, and would bring us closer to the vast majority of nations that prohibit these later-term abortions. Talk about being out of step.

In fact, the US is one of only seven nations, including China and North Korea, that permit elective abortions after 20 weeks. And within the US, there are now 20 states that limit abortion to the first 20 weeks.

Governor Wolf is proving he’s just as extreme as Planned Parenthood. Making this extreme statement against a committee vote and on the eve of his budget address may be bewildering, but when one sees how Planned Parenthood spent hundreds of thousands to push his election, sadly, it’s unsurprising.

Three Things I’m Asking You Do To:

Pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood are pushing hard to prevent SB3 which is why your voice is needed right now. Here’s are three steps you can take – the first being the most critical:

Step 1. Contact your State Senator: “Yes on SB3.” With a vote by the full State Senate on SB3 to come as early as this Wednesday, a phone call would be very helpful: according to our records your State Senator is your state senator. Also, an email to reinforce your support of SB3 is important too – to save you time, use our Citizen Action Center to send: tinyurl.com/YESonSB3

Step 2. Attend a #ProtestPP Rally this Saturday. Take advantage of this opportunity to share facts about Planned Parenthood, like using our reportExtreme: Planned Parenthood in Pennsylvania, and highlighting the need to take action on SB3 with attendees. For more about the #ProtestPP rally, visitprotestpp.com.

Step 3. Help us reach more people about the need to support SB3. We know Planned Parenthood and others are lobbying hard and spending money right now to try to stop SB3 from a Senate vote. If you’re able, a financial contribution to PA Family Council will help us reach more PA families to get involved in this effort.

And please be sure to share the need with your friends and family –tinyurl.com/YESonSB3.

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It is times like these when I am so glad to have your partnership. Thank you for your support and for your timely response to SB3.

For life,

Michael Geer, President

Pennsylvania Family Council