The rectory will be closed for Memorial Day Weekend from Saturday, May 27 through Monday, May 29, and will re-open on Tuesday, May 30 at 9:00 AM.  Enjoy the holiday weekend and travel safely!

Quo Vadis

Quo Vadis is a yearly retreat for high school men.  All men graduating 8^th – 12^th grade are eligible to attend.  The retreat is held at Black Rock Retreat Center in Quarryvillle, PA.  Quo Vadis means “Where are you going? “  so this retreat is an opportunity for young men to be exposed to God’s will for their life and how they can build up the church no matter what their vocation is.   This year  Quo Vadis  will be having a game of Bubble Ball between some of our priests/school ministers/youth ministers and the Seminarians.  You can access the Promo Video here:https://youtu.be/0ETKnQcZq4U

Quo Vadis registrations are only open for a couple more weeks so if you know a young man who is interested please let me know and pass on the information to them asap!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

BBVC

BBVC – is a reboot of a one-day retreat we used to do for middle school men at the Seminary – Brothers of Borromeo Vocations Camp.  It is a day of prayer, games, Mass and an opportunity for these young men to visit St. Charles and meet our Seminarians. Click here for the registration form.  All men graduating 6^th – 8^th grade are eligible to attend.

URGENT – Tell PHRC: Reject Changes That Threaten My Freedom

Proposed Change Would Undermine Personal Privacy and Religious Liberty

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) is proposing a dangerous end-run around the legislature that seriously threatens your personal privacy and religious liberty. We need you to take action today to protect your freedom!

Here are the details in a nutshell:  For nearly 50 years, the PA Human Relations Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of “sex.” Throughout all those decades, sex has always been defined in law and practice to mean “male” and “female.”  

Now, the PA Human Relations Commission, which consists of nine unelected officials appointed by the governor, is looking to effectively redefine “sex”  (the word as it appears in the law) to mean “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” (phrases that are not in the law).  These are broad-ranging phrases with imprecise definitions that will spur expensive lawsuits and undermine our freedom.

This proposed action is a blatant attempt to take power and authority from the people and our elected representatives, and it puts our freedom and personal privacy in danger.

·        This action would enable the PHRC to force open locker rooms & dressing rooms, showers and restrooms in schools, stores, movie theaters, churches and businesses to those of the opposite sex that identify otherwise. To put it more simply, it would allow males into women’s showers and restrooms, and women into men’s rooms.

·        This action would empower the PHRC to prevent religious schools, ministries and other faith-oriented organizations from hiring only those that abide by the standards established by that faith.  For example, Christian schools would no longer be able to solely hire teachers and staff members that adhere to and live by Christian teachings on human sexuality.

·        This action could empower the PHRC to eventually force homeless shelters, camp cabins and school and college dorms to open up to those of the opposite sex that identify otherwise.  Imagine forcing a shelter for abused women to admit a person – male in every way, except how he identifies – in amongst the other residents. 

LGBT advocates have sought to make this change through the legislature for more than a decade without success – thanks to an outpouring of citizens who understand how this will undermine privacy and religious freedom.  Now, unelected government officials are seeking to push this harmful policy upon all Pennsylvanians. Your voice is needed to stop this unlawful action.

Here are three things we need you to do:

1) Tell the PA Human Relations Commission to reject this guidance. The commission is taking public feedback on this proposed guidance change now through Friday, May 26. Click here to send an email voicing your disapproval of this guidance.

2) Use Twitter to send @PA_HumRelComm your message. We encourage you to send a direct message to them and to also sign up for our Thunderclap twitter campaign, which will automatically send a one-time message on Thursday, May 25th at 12 noon. Here are a few sample messages you can use:

.@PA_HumRelComm No guidance that creates new definition of sex, harms my privacy rights & religious freedom. #PHRC pafamily.org/urgent

.@PA_HumRelComm No change needed – proposed guidance will only hurt my privacy rights & religious freedom. #PHRC pafamily.org/urgent

.@PA_HumRelComm Where is the evidence for the need of your proposed guidance change? Don’t create problems. #PHRC pafamily.org/urgent

3) Encourage your friends and family to take action as well. You may forward this email, direct attention to pafamily.org/urgent, and/or share on social media: 

It is only because of the action you have taken along with thousands of others across Pennsylvania that we’ve been able to fight back against this agenda that attacks our core freedoms. I trust I can now count on your continued action today.

Thank you,

Michael Geer, President

Pennsylvania Family Institute 

In his most recent column Archbishop Chaput writes, “Exactly 100 years ago this Saturday, May 13, three young children in Fatima, Portugal, had the first of six apparitions of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Church is very wary of claimed apparitions for good reason. Many turn out to be natural phenomena, or innocent imaginings, or even outright frauds. The Church thus investigates and reflects carefully on claimed apparitions for years before acknowledging the authenticity of events like Lourdes or Fatima…

But there’s no doubt today that Mary’s presence at Fatima, and her predictions about the crises and sufferings of the 20th century, were real…

What links Lourdes and Fatima is this: In both places, Mary appeared not to Church leaders, or intellectuals, or celebrities, or the wealthy, or the socially connected, or the politically skilled, but to the lowly; children who were poor and humble. Their simplicity made them sane enough to see and believe the miracle before them and hear the messages that Mary brought – messages ultimately about our need for conversion and trust in God, even in the face of crushing trials.”

You can read the complete column and the Archbishop’s reflections on these two anniversaries by opening the attached document or visiting www.CatholicPhilly.com.  Thank you.

Dear Friend,

By now you may have heard the news that a Presidential Executive Order on Religious Liberty is widely anticipated to be released tomorrow on the National Day of Prayer.

I have just come from a meeting on Capitol Hill where we learned that the final language is still being worked out and that it could be helpful to hear from defenders of religious liberty like you right now.

Please take a moment to let the Administration know what we expect. A quick click does the trick.

Thanks for raising your voice. Together we will be heard!

Amy McInerny
Executive Director

Registration for Camp Cabrini 2017 is now OPEN!

Click HERE to register your family, or print out this form and return it to the Rectory.

Mother’s Day is coming up on May 14th, if you need ideas, be sure to shop at www.smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate to Saint Frances Cabrini Catholic Church. Amazon has a large variety of gifts that are perfect for Mother’s Day including electronics, jewelry, clothing, and more.