USCCB Bulletin Insert on Health Care

Bulletin Insert - actual document

USCCB NATIONWIDE BULLETIN INSERT

Tell Congress: Remove Abortion Funding & Mandates from Needed Health Care Reform

Congress is preparing to debate health care reform legislation on the House and Senate floors.
Genuine health care reform should protect the life and dignity of all people from the moment of
conception until natural death. The U.S. bishops’ conference has concluded that all committeeapproved
bills are seriously deficient on the issues of abortion and conscience, and do not provide
adequate access to health care for immigrants and the poor. The bills will have to change or the
bishops have pledged to oppose them.

Our nation is at a crossroads. Policies adopted in health care reform will have an impact for good or
ill for years to come. None of the bills retains longstanding current policies against abortion funding
or abortion coverage mandates, and none fully protects conscience rights in health care.

As the U.S. bishops’ letter of October 8 states:

“No one should be required to pay for or participate in abortion. It is essential that the
legislation clearly apply to this new program longstanding and widely supported federal
restrictions on abortion funding and mandates, and protections for rights of conscience.
No current bill meets this test…. If acceptable language in these areas cannot be found,
we will have to oppose the health care bill vigorously.”

For the full text of this letter and more information on proposed legislation and the bishops’ advocacy
for authentic health care reform, visit: www.usccb.org/healthcare.

Congressional leaders are attempting to put together final bills for floor consideration. Please contact
your Representative and Senators today and urge them to fix these bills with the pro-life amendments
noted below. Otherwise much needed health care reform will have to be opposed. Health care reform
should be about saving lives, not destroying them.

ACTION: Contact Members through e-mail, phone calls or FAX letters.

 To send a pre-written, instant e-mail to Congress go to www.usccb.org/action.
 Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121, or call your Members’ local offices.
 Full contact info can be found on Members’ web sites at www.house.gov & www.senate.gov.

MESSAGE to SENATE:

“During floor debate on the health care reform bill, please support an amendment to
incorporate longstanding policies against abortion funding and in favor of conscience rights.
If these serious concerns are not addressed, the final bill should be opposed.”

MESSAGE to HOUSE:

“Please support the Stupak Amendment that addresses essential pro-life concerns on abortion
funding and conscience rights in the health care reform bill. Help ensure that the Rule for the
bill allows a vote on this amendment. If these serious concerns are not addressed, the final bill
should be opposed.”

WHEN: Both House and Senate are preparing for floor votes now. Act today! Thank you!

Manual for proper celebration of the Mass officially presented to the Pope

Just found this on Catholic News Agency. I'll be waiting for the English edition.

Manual for proper celebration of the Mass officially presented to the Pope

Just a hint :)

L’Osservatore Romano also explained that the Pope’s desire is that the compendium will help both priests and laity in “believing, celebrating and increasingly living out the Eucharistic Mystery.” The Holy Father also hopes that it will stimulate “every faithful person to make of their own lives a spiritual worship,” the paper added.

Pope Benedict XVI has approved a structure for admitting large groups of Anglicans wishing to come into communion with the Catholic Church

It's going to be interesting to see where this leads. The Church could grow rather quickly.

Pope Benedict XVI has approved a structure for admitting large groups of Anglicans wishing to come into communion with the Catholic Church

Just a quick quote

The Apostolic Constitution, which Cardinal Levada said “provides a reasonable and even necessary response to a world-wide phenomenon”, will be a “single canonical model for the universal Church which is adaptable to various local situations and equitable to former Anglicans in its universal application.”

The new canonical structure will allow former Anglicans to enter into full communion with the Church while “preserving elements of distinctive Anglican spiritual patrimony,” said Cardinal Levada. He added that it will allow married former Anglican clergy to be ordained however, in common with Catholic and Orthodox Churches, married clergy will not be allowed to be ordained bishops.

*****
Update 7:27 am MDT

Additional information is available from the Vatican Information Service

Whispers in the Loggia: A-Train's Next Stop: Cheyenne

The new bishop of Wyoming. I went to the seminary with his younger brother. :) I'm glad our neighbors have their new bishop.

Whispers in the Loggia: A-Train's Next Stop: Cheyenne

Shared via AddThis

Pastoral Letter from the Bishop of Souix City

I started reading this and thought it was worth sharing.

Here is but a taste:

My brothers and sisters, let me say this clearly: The “hermeneutic of discontinuity” is a false interpretation and implementation of the Council and the Catholic Faith. It emphasizes the “engagement with the world” to the exclusion of the deposit of faith. This has wreaked havoc on the Church, systematically dismantling the Catholic Faith to please the world, watering down what is distinctively Catholic, and ironically becoming completely irrelevant and impotent for the mission of the Church in the world. The Church that seeks simply what works or is “useful” in the end becomes useless.

Our urgent need at this time is to reclaim and strengthen our understanding of the deposit of faith. We must have a distinctive identity and culture as Catholics, if we would effectively communicate the Gospel to the people of this day and Diocese. This is our mission. Notice that this mission is two-fold, like the Second Vatican Council’s purpose. It is toward ourselves within the Church (ad intra), and it is to the world (ad extra). The first is primary and necessary for the second; the second flows from the first. This is why we have not been as successful as we should be in bringing the world to Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ to the world. We cannot give what we do not have; we cannot fulfill our mission to evangelize, if we ourselves are not evangelized.9

Vocation videos from the Knights of Columbus

Here is a new video from the Knights of Columbus promoting vocations to the priesthood.

There are also videos for religious life for women and for men.

New Webpage and Blog

I've started a new web page and blog to promote the restoration efforts we have underway for the Old Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Benton. The church was built in 1907 and used for 60 years before they moved into the new, larger church. The church has been basically unused for the past 40 years. We hope to restore it to its former glory.

Preparing for Winter

I made a batch of chili today from some of my elk burger. Wonderful!!! Now if only I didn't have to travel the next couple of days, I could wrap up in a nice blanket, kick back in my recliner and do some reading.

I received a Public Information Statement via e-mail from the US weather service this afternoon.

Just a few highlights

Looking at the upcoming cold weekend from an historical perspective...cold outbreaks occur in early to mid October in north central Montana about once every 25 years or so.

Low temperatures below zero have occurred in early October in southwest Montana...as recent as 1985. During this cold air outbreak...lows dropped as low as -12 at Denton...-10 at Cascade...-8 at Wisdom...-2 at Cut Bank...-1 at Lewistown and Havre...and 6 above at Great Falls. During this period...high temperatures remained in the 20s. Usually...below zero low temperatures are not expected until late October or November.

For this upcoming weekend...several low temperature records are likely to be broken. Record low temperatures for October 10-12 are shown. Some record lows may also be set on the 13th. Additionally...cold high temperatures during this period will also likely set new records.

For Fort Benton they shared the following:

Oct 10, forecast low 10, record 9/1987
Oct 11, forecast low 9, record 14/1881
Oct 12, forecast low 17, record 2/1881

Oh, and did I say there are some football games to attend. Homecoming this weekend for Great Falls Central Catholic High School. Go Mustangs!!! (This also is good for the GCDHS Mustangs celebrating homecoming in Jordan) I'll have to make sure I have some extra warm things to wear to the GFCCHS game.

So much for the theories on global warming. We might be in for a long winter at this rate. Wrap up and stay warm

PRIESTS ARE WITNESSES OF THE POWER OF GOD

I got the following from the Vatican Information Service

PRIESTS ARE WITNESSES OF THE POWER OF GOD

VATICAN CITY, 29 SEP 2009 (VIS) - Made public today were the contents of a video Message from the Pope to participants in an international spiritual retreat for priests at the French shrine of Ars for the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney. The preacher of the retreat, which is taking place from 27 September to 3 October, is Cardinal Christoph Schonborn O.P., archbishop of Vienna, Austria, and the theme of the spiritual exercises is: "The joy of being a priest, consecrated for the salvation of the world".

"The priest", says the Holy Father in his Message, "is called to serve human beings and to give them life in God. ... He is a man of the divine Word and of all things holy and, today more than ever, he must be a man of joy and hope. To those who cannot conceive that God is pure Love, he will affirm that life is worthy to be lived and that Christ gives it its full meaning because He loves all humankind".

Benedict XVI then turns to address priests who have to serve a number of parishes and who "commit themselves unreservedly to preserving sacramental life in their various communities. The Church's recognition for you all is immense", he says. "Do not lose heart but continue to pray and to make others pray that many young people may accept the call of Christ, Who always wishes to see the number of His apostles increase".

The Holy Father also invites priests to consider "the extreme diversity of the ministries" they perform "in the service of the Church", and "the large number of Masses you celebrate or will celebrate, each time making Christ truly present at the altar. Think of the numerous absolutions you have given and will give, freeing sinners from their burdens. Thus you may perceive the infinite fruitfulness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Your hands and lips become, for a single instant, the hands and lips of God".

"This thought", the Pope added, "should bring you to ensure harmonious relations among the clergy so as to form the priestly community as St. Peter wanted, and so build the body of Christ and consolidate you in love".

"The priest is the man of the future. ... What he does in this world is part of the order of things directed towards the final Goal. Mass is the only point of union between the means and the Goal because it enables us to contemplate, under the humble appearance of the bread and the wine, the Body and Blood of Him Whom we adore in eternity".

"Nothing will ever replace the ministry of priests in the heart of the Church", the Pope concluded. "You are the living witnesses of God's power at work in the weakness of human beings, consecrated for the salvation of the world, chosen by Christ Himself to be, thanks to Him, salt of the earth and light of the world".

New Vocation Website

I'm sure some of you have heard about this already, but I thought it was worth sharing for those who have not heard about it.

VOCATION BOOM RECEIVES AN OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT AND PRAYERS!

September 22, 2009 – As the global push to increase vocations to the priesthood intensifies, Vocation Boom! on September 14 – the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross – launched its first contribution to that important effort – a new website devoted to encouraging young men to consider a priestly vocation. Visitors to www.vocationboom.com are raving about the site, while prayer support has poured in from around the world.

Founded by Jerry Usher, creator and former host of Catholic Answers Live, Vocation Boom! is a global support community for young men discerning a call to priesthood, as well as for priests, educators, and families and friends. Vocationboom.com is dedicated to fostering a positive perception of the priesthood and culture of priestly vocations. In what Pope Benedict XVI has deemed the Year for Priests, Catholics across the globe are being called to encourage vocations and to pray for the future of the priesthood.

Vocation Boom! has drawn the special interest of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in San Francisco and Sacramento, California. The sisters recognize the critical mission that Vocation Boom! has undertaken and are praying for it to successfully increase vocations to the priesthood. According to Jerry Usher, “Since God is the source of all priestly vocations, we feel it’s crucial to garner as much prayer support as possible for the Vocation Boom! initiative. And who better to pray for it than holy brides of Christ like our beautiful consecrated nuns?“

He added, “We are deeply grateful for the generous daily prayers being offered by the Missionaries of Charity. We know the Lord will hear and answer them. And, of course, we invite all men and women to join the sisters in praying for Vocation Boom! to bear abundant fruit and help to bring about an increase in vocations to the priesthood.”

It looks like the sisters’ prayers are working. The Vocation Boom! website has already attracted visitors from all corners of the United States and Canada, and from as far away as the Philippines and New Zealand. Log on to discover the newest frontier in the quest for increasing vocations to the priesthood.

Show your support by becoming a member today at www.vocationboom.com!