On November 3, 2020, general elections will take place with various local, state, and federal offices on the ballot. Certainly, there is an increased focus on faithful citizenship given that this year features a presidential election.

In order to assist Catholics as they prepare to vote with formed consciences, the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have produced documents and online resources intended to educate the faithful about the candidates and their positions on issues of importance to Catholic voters.

Click here to access the voter resources.

Check out this week’s message from Monsignor McCormac

Join Bishop Olmsted for Mass on Saturday, October 3, at 11:30 AM Eastern time,  followed by a blockbuster program featuring, among others, renowned law professor Helen Alvaré and religious freedom expert Alan Sears. For a video with more information about Catholics in the Public Square, please click here. On October 3rd, at 11:30 AM, view this event live on the Diocese of Phoenix YouTube and Facebook pages.

A rising threat to the lives of unborn babies is the chemical abortion pill. The number of chemical abortions in the US has gone up dramatically, while the overall number of abortions has decreased. COVID -19 is expected to only make the problem worse, with more women (and teen girls) seeking chemical abortions at home – even illegally, by mail and without a doctor’s prescription. This is especially scary because chemical abortion can be more painful, traumatic, and risky for women than surgical abortion. But there is hope: a new bill has been introduced that could help protect mothers and babies from chemical abortion. READ MORE HERE.

TAKE ACTION NOW to help protect moms and babies from chemical abortion.

Dear Friends,

Greetings my sisters and brothers of the Jewish faith tradition as you celebrate the solemn observance of Rosh Hashanah!

I join my voice with those of the clergy and faithful of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to wish all of you a fruitful year filled with good health and peace. May these high holy days be a time of blessing for each of you.

As Pope Francis once said, “In His eternal mercy, may He grant hope and serenity in our times and strengthen the cordial bonds of friendship between us.”

“Shanah Tovah,” a good year to all!

Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez

Archbishop of Philadelphia

Check out this week’s message from Monsignor McCormac

Please contact your state Senator to ask them to sign on as a cosponsor to Sen. Andy Dinnaman’s proposed bill that calls for a nurse to be put in every non-public school this year. Such a move would have no fiscal impact on districts, because the bill calls for CARES Act funding to pay for the nursing services.

Here’s some of Sen. Dinnaman’s sponsorship memo…

“The pandemic and the question of providing safe and healthy school environments for those in school is dependent on the presence of a Certified School Nurse (CSN).  Pennsylvania law provides the services of a school nurse in public, religious and private schools.  However, the current ratio of 1 nurse:1500 students simply does not provide the level of nursing services needed during the current COVID crisis. Many public and non-public school buildings are without nursing services in the building on a daily basis.  
 
The Pennsylvania Department of Health, in its August 15th  COVID “School Health Resources for School Nurses” makes clear the importance of the school nurse in the reopening of schools on an in-person or hybrid basis.   In order to allow our schools to open and preserve the health of students, teachers and staff,  this bill calls for $38 million in COVID funds to be used to pay for nurses in every building with over 100 students, public or non-public, through the 2020-2021 school year.” 

Please help us get the necessary care for our students. Thank you!

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Sanofi Pasteur’s request to switch from using an aborted fetal cell line (MRC-5) to using an ethical animal cell line to produce its polio combination vaccines Pentacel and Quadracel. The drug company has also chosen to discontinue production of its stand-alone polio vaccine, Poliovax, which also used MRC-5 for its production, and to retain another stand-alone polio vaccine, IPOL, that is ethically produced. Furthermore, Sanofi Pasteur’s ongoing effort to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 also does not rely on cell lines linked to elective abortion.

As you may already know, the only vaccines readily available in the United States for some contagious diseases (e.g., rubella, chickenpox, and Hepatitis A) have been manufactured using fetal tissue from induced abortions. This creates a problem of conscience for some parents.

As recommended by the Pontifical Academy for Life in 2005 and reiterated in its 2017 Note on Italian Vaccine Issue, a long-term solution lies in working to ensure that future vaccines and other medicines are not based on cooperation with practices that demean human life. The 2005 statement noted that physicians and parents “have a duty to take recourse to alternative vaccines (if they exist), putting pressure on the political authorities and health systems so that other vaccines without moral problems become available.” This applies to products with a connection to abortion, such as vaccines, as well as to projected therapies from destruction of human embryos for their stem cells.

This move from Sanofi Pasteur is an encouraging indicator that for-profit companies creating vaccines are beginning to recognize there is no need to use cell lines derived from aborted children.

One important step we can take to ensure the production of ethical vaccines is to recognize and thank drug companies, like Sanofi Pasteur, when they move away from unethical vaccine production. We can hope that, with some encouragement, other vaccine manufacturers may consider creating other morally acceptable vaccines.

Any motivation to create additional, morally acceptable products will certainly be strengthened if we can show a market demand for ethical sources.

Please TAKE ACTION NOW to thank Sanofi Pasteur and to encourage others to do so as well.

Thank you in advance for spreading this good news and for sharing your own gratitude with the manufacturer. We welcome these opportunities where we can illustrate the Church’s eager embrace of scientific advancement when it upholds the dignity of the human person and the precious gift of human life.

We are asking you to help us support HB 1827, a bill that we feel is becoming increasingly important in helping to save lives. You will be asking your state senator to support voting the bill out of the PA Senate Judiciary Committee and out of the Chamber during this session.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Dawn Keefer and is in response to something that actually occurred in her district. A young lady took her own life after receiving encouragement to do so on social media.

HB 1827 increases penalties for individuals who encourage or aide minors–or people with intellectual disabilities–to commit suicide. The importance of this measure has increased in recent months. Reports of suicidal threats and self-harm tendencies among Pennsylvania school children shot up after schools were closed in March, new data from the state Attorney General shows. Our Catholic Charities have also witnessed a spike in the need for mental health counseling.

Please help us support the passage of HB 1827 into law to send a clear message that encouraging troubled minors and the intellectually disabled to commit suicide will not be tolerated in our Commonwealth.

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/TsOBsz0dEJandT4xZN30mA