Catholic Family Campaign

This is a great opportunity to support the Susan B Anthony List as they work hard to elect Pro-Life candidates and protect taxpayer funds from funding abortion.

Monday, January 11th

10:00 AM—Pittsburgh, PA

225 Ross St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219  15219  (Between 2nd Ave and 3rd Ave)
Sidewalk in front of Congressman Doyle’s district office.

Local Representatives who need to hear from you!

• Jason Altmire (PA-04)
• Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03)
• Mike Doyle (PA-14)
• Alan Mollohan (WV-01)
• John Murtha (PA-12)

Local Leaders joining with Marilyn Musgrave:

• Georgette Forney, co-founder of Silent No More, president of Anglicans for Life
• Amy Scheuring, Executive Director of the Women’s Choice Network

1:30 PM—Youngstown, OH

4137 Boardman Canfield Road, Canfield, OH 44406
In front of Congressman Wilson’s Office.

Local Representatives who need to hear from you!

• Tim Ryan (OH-17)
• Zack Space (OH-18)
• Charlie Wilson (OH-06)

Local Leaders joining with Marilyn Musgrave:

• Georgette Forney, co-founder of Silent No More, president of Anglicans for Life
• Sally Dubinski, Director of Pregnancy Help Center
• Judy Welsh, Director of Women United for Life-
• Melinda Knight, Director, Office Pro-Life, Marriage and Family, Diocese of Youngstown
• Natalie Wardle, Youth Minister, St. Stephen’s Church, Bordman, OH

4:00 PM—Erie, PA

208 E. Bayfront Parkway Suite 102, Erie, PA 16507
Right in front Rep. Dahlkemper’s office.
Special Directions: Head East on Bayfront Parkway, turn left (North) on Hudson St., and the Intermodal Transportation Center on your right, at the bottom of Hudson on your right.

Local Representatives who need to hear from you!

• Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03)

Local Leaders joining with Marilyn Musgrave:

• Georgette Forney, co-founder of Silent No More, president of Anglicans for Life
• Melanie Brewer, Chair, Erie County Young Republicans

Tuesday, January 12th

9:00 AM—Cleveland, OH

Willard Park, next to City Hall. 601 Lakeside East Avenue, Cleveland, OH.

Local Representatives who need to hear from you!

• John Boccieri (OH-16)
• Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
• Tim Ryan (OH-17)

Local Leaders joining with Marilyn Musgrave:

• Molly Smith, President of Cleveland Right to Life
• Diane Stover, Director, North East Ohio Value Voters

11: 45 AM – Toledo, OH
One Maritime Plaza, Toledo, Ohio 43604
Sidewalk in front of Congresswoman Kaptur’s office

Local Representatives who need to hear from you!

• Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)

Local Leaders joining with Marilyn Musgrave:

• Ann Barrick, Toledo 40 Days for Life Campaign Director
• Ana Thompson, Toledo Physician

3:30 PM—South Bend, IN
207 West Colfax Avenue, South Bend, IN 46601

In front of Congressman Donnelly’s district office.

Local Representatives who need to hear from you!

• Joe Donnelly (IN-02)

Local Leaders joining with Marilyn Musgrave:

• Mary Akre, Local 40 Days for Life coordinator
• Mia Reini, Volunteer, The Gabriel Project
• Mary Forr, Vice President of Notre Dame Right to Life
• Kathleen Donahue, Notre Dame Student

Wednesday, January 13th

9:00 AM—Cincinnati, OH
Carew Tower, 441 Vine Street, Suite 3003, Cincinnati, OH 45202 (corner of Vine and 5th)
Outside Congressman Driehaus’ office.

Local Representatives who need to hear from you!

• Steve Driehaus (OH-01)
• Baron Hill (IN-09)

Local Leaders joining with Marilyn Musgrave:

• State Senator Shannon Jones—Ohio’s 7th Senate District
• Paula Westwood, Executive Director of Cincinnati Right to Life

1:00 PM—Terre Haute, IN
901 Wabash Avenue, Terre Haute, Indiana 47807
Outside Congressman Ellsworth’s Office, Southeast Corner of 9th and Wabash Avenue.

Local Representatives who need to hear from you!

• Brad Ellsworth (IN-08)

Local Leaders joining with Marilyn Musgrave:

• Mary Ellen Van Dyke—Director of Vanderburgh County Right to Life in Evansville.
• Sharon Carey, President Wabash Valley Crisis Pregnancy Center.
• Jennifer Buell, President Wabash County Right to Life.

3:00 PM – Indianapolis, IN
200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204
Indiana Statehouse, South Atrium, 200 W Washington St., Indianapolis, In 46204

Local Representatives who need to hear from you!

• Brad Ellsworth (IN-08)

Local Leaders joining with Marilyn Musgrave:

• Sue Swayze, Indiana Family Institute.
• Sally Williams, Indiana Right to Life.

Tags: Family Values, Pro-Life
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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has been very supportive of health care reform but has expressed disappointment at the direction that the current legislation is taking.

USCCB Position on Health Care Reform includes the following:

• a truly universal health policy with respect for human life and dignity
• access for all with a special concern for the poor and inclusion of immigrants
• pursuing the common good and preserving pluralism including freedom of conscience and variety of options
• restraining costs and applying them equitably across the spectrum of payers

The USCCB has issued an updated bulletin insert and is encouraging parishioners to get involved and contact their Representatives and Senators.

As long-time advocates of health care reform, the U.S. Catholic bishops continue to make the moral case that genuine health care reform must protect the life, dignity, consciences and health of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. Health care reform should not advance a pro-abortion agenda in our country.

• On November 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed major health care reform that reaffirms the essential, longstanding and widely supported policy against using federal funds for elective abortions and includes positive measures on affordability and immigrants.

• On December 24, the U.S. Senate rejected this policy and passed health care reform that requires federal funds to help subsidize and promote health plans that cover elective abortions. All purchasers of such plans will be required to pay for other people’s abortions through a separate payment solely to pay for abortion.

• Outside the abortion context, neither bill has adequate conscience protection for health care providers, plans or employers.

• These two bills must now be combined into one bill that both the House and Senate will vote on in final form. Provisions against abortion funding and in favor of conscience protection, affordability, and immigrants’ access to health care must be part of a fair and just health care reform bill, or the final bill must be opposed.

Read the rest of the insert and ACT today!

Tags: Family Values, Pro-Life
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A coalition of pro-life advocates and religious leaders plan to gather in Houston on Jan. 18 to oppose what is expected to be the largest abortion clinic in the country.  If you are in the Houston area, make plans to join them.

Planned Parenthood is converting a former bank building into a 78,000 square foot facility.  The clinic is strategically located in a part of Houston that is surrounded by black and Hispanic neighborhoods raising the question of whether Planned Parenthood is intentionally targeting minorities.

Read more…

Tags: Family Values, Pro-Life
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As our Representatives head back to Washington and Congress goes back in session, we have an obligation to educate ourselves on the current health care debate.  This has the potential to have the most significant legislation and societal changes of our lifetime.

Implementation of any of the existing health care reform initiatives will have the effect of institutionalizing deeply held values from both the left and the right.  The premise that health care is a basic human right which everyone should have access to is a concept that liberal politicians have been advocating for decades.  The tenets of Catholic Social Justice implies that same thing and this has been strongly supported by the USCCB.

The difference of opinion among Americans, and even among Catholics comes down to the delivery of health care services and what those basic services represent.

Earlier this fall, Kansas City, Kansas Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and Kansas City – St. Joseph Bishop Robert W. Finn have released a joint pastoral statement on Principles of Catholic Social Teaching and Health Care Reform.  The statement reflects the fundamental principles of Catholic social and moral teaching that must accompany any evaluation of the varied health reform proposals.  Included in the letter was an in depth explanation of the principles of Subsidiarity and Solidarity; both of which play a significant role in defining the need for and the limitations of health care reform.

For years, the right has been successful in restricting the use of federal dollars in funding abortions.  Depending on the language that comes out of the conference committee, the signing of this legislation could ingrain the use of tax dollars for the funding of abortion in federal law or provide a permanent injunction against it.

Each of us has an obligation to educate ourselves on the legislation as it clears the committee and heads back to the House and the Senate for a final vote.   As Catholics we have an obligation to actively promote a just and moral solution to the existing health care crisis.  There is no excuse for sitting back and relying on the press or even our Priest and Bishops to let us know what is going on.  The obligation lies with each of us individually.

Tags: Family Values, Pro-Life
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In a previous article, I lamented the death of civil discourse.   You can find it on the web, on the Sunday morning talk shows, on talk radio and even here on the Examiner.

There was an article over the weekend titled “What’s your Senator’s stance on employee protections for women”  which is indicative of the overall tone of the debate sweeping this country.  In the article, the author repeated the “Republicans for Rape” label that has been directed at the 30 Republican Senators who failed to support the amendment put forth by Senator Al Franken that forbid the awarding of Federal contracts to corporations that required their employees to sign clauses requiring arbitration.  Specifically, this amendment was drafted because of allegations that an employee of defense contractor KBR was sexually assaulted by her co-workers in Iraq and then imprisoned in a shipping container after she reported the attack to the company.   The allegations were investigated by both the State Department and the Department of Justice.  Both declined to take further action.  Her lawsuit against the company is currently moving through the courts.

One thing that the article failed to mention was that this legislation was objectionable to the Department of Defense, Chambers of Commerce and both large and small businesses all across the country.  In fact the Department of Defense went so far as to issue a statement directly to the Senate expressing their concerns;

“The Department of Defense, the prime contractor, and higher tier subcontractors may not be in a position to know about such things. Enforcement would be problematic, especially in cases where privity of contract does not exist between parties within the supply chain that supports a contract,”

In short, this is bad legislation that is difficult to enforce, delays justice for victims, increases litigation costs for employers, and in many cases provides less monetary benefit to victims.

In “Wiggans for Governor of Kansas”, this same author repeated the accusation that Sen. Sam Brownback is a “Republican for Rape”, a hyper-partisan and anti-abortion zealot who is a member of “The Family” with a twisted view of Christ.

The inclusion of arbitration clauses in employment and other contracts is a real issue that deserves scrutiny.  It can reasonably be argued that the inclusion these clauses favor the employer much more than the employee who is being asked to give up rights to take grievances to court.    However, name calling and sensational accusations lead to more of the same; not solutions.

Tags: Family Values
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My colleague over at the Portland Progressive Examiner page has a good article on politics and religion.  It is too bad that he has it backwards.  The Manhattan Declaration is not an attempt to force any specific denominations beliefs on society; it is a step in the process to ensure that Christians  have a place at the table.  Christians enjoy the same rights as all Americans; the right to participate in the political process.  With that participation comes, the values and principles that we as individuals possess. Specifically, the Manhattan Declaration addresses the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty.  These are issues that have been under attack from left for the last three decades.  Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Catholic Bishops and other religious leaders are well within their rights as American citizens to advocate for their position; and failure to do so is to fail to provide the leadership and example that every organization expects of its leaders. Read more…

Tags: Family Values, Religious Freedoms
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The bishops of the United States have issued a 60-page pastoral letter on marriage that offers an overview of Catholic teaching on the sacrament while addressing the challenges posed by contraception, same-sex unions, divorce, and cohabitation.

This is objectively wrong in and of itself and is essentially opposed to God’s plan for marriage and proper human development. It makes the act of intercourse signify, or speak, something less than the unreserved self-gift intended in the marriage promises.

read more…

Tags: Family Values, Pro-Life
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As Catholics in Kansas City and across the country head to Mass this weekend, they can expect to see messages in their weekly bulletins urging them to contact Congress about the recent health reform initiatives.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has distributed the message that they cannot support the existing health care proposals unless it includes language specifically forbidding the use of taxpayer dollars funding abortions.  To date, the Democratic leadership has refused to include such language and is said to be considering rules to prevent amendments from being attached on the House floor.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D- MI) has proposed…read more at the Examiner

Tags: Family Values, Pro-Life, Religious Freedoms
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Senator John Edwards spoke often about “Two Americas” during his past Presidential campaigns.  The same could be same about Rio de Janeiro.  Two weeks ago the city was awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics.  This is quite an accomplishment as the City, and the Nation, takes center stage in the international community.  Brazil is currently the 10th largest economy and is predicted to be the fifth largest by 2016.

Beyond the flashy presentation and beautiful sandy beaches lies another side of Rio.  Rio is a city with 2 extremes.  There is the bustling, vibrate business and tourist mecca which attracts millions to the city every year for expanding commerce and pleasure.  Then there is the other side; the slums, the violence and the hopeless.  It is also a dangerous city plagued by poverty, violence, and drugs

This past weekend 14 people were killed in fighting between rival drug cartels the required the dispatching of over 2000 military police to patrol the city.  Unfortunately, this is not an isolated occurrence.  Over 2000 deaths have been attributed to the fighting over the last couple of years.

The pattern of segregating the people of Rio by financial status has existed since the early 1800s. The government has become concerned as the slums have continued to grow into the countryside.  They are completing an ambitious project to build walls (Eco-walls) around the slums in an effort to protect the environment and to keep them from growing further.  Many believe the real reason is not to protect the picture hillsides but instead to keep the slum dwellers separate and divided from the rest of the community.  It has even been compared to the Berlin wall.

Time will tell if the Brazilian government is ready to become involved and address the underlying social forces and institutional failures that created the slums in the first place or if they will continue a lack of involvement and indifference to the conditions of these citizens.  The Olympics provide an opportunity for the country to step up to the plate on basic human rights and show to the world an exciting, vibrant community where everyone can prosper or to reveal the darker side of the country that is only discussed in documentaries and investigative reports.

Tags: Economic Justice, Family Values
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from the Heritage Foundation’s Family Facts….

2. Marital Stability. Marriages in which both the husband and wife frequently attend church services are less likely to end in divorce than marriages in which neither spouse attends frequently. full details

4. Marriage among Mothers. On average, among urban mothers who gave birth out of wedlock, those who attend religious services frequently are more likely to become married within a year of their children’s births. full details

5. Attitudes toward Cohabitation and Premarital Sex. Young adults who attended religious services frequently during adolescence are more likely to disapprove of premarital sex and cohabitation than peers who had not attended services frequently. full details  

6. Marital Quality. On average, wives who attend church weekly with their husbands experience higher levels of marital happiness than peers in marriages in which neither spouse attends church weekly. full details  

7. Paternal Involvement. Fathers who attend religious services frequently are more likely to be engaged with their infant children than fathers who do not frequently attend services. full details

9. Domestic Violence. Men and women who attend church services weekly are less likely to commit an act of domestic violence than peers who seldom attend. full details 

Tags: Family Values, Marriage Resources
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The movie premiered last night and the reviews are in? Here is a good one. If you saw it,  leave a comment so we know what you think.

Tags: Family Values, Hall of Fame
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Katie Holmes has reportedly enrolled her daughter Suri in a Catholic school, despite arguments over it with Scientologist husband Tom Cruise.  Interesting…

Tags: Family Values, Religious Freedoms
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Thanks to Father Z for bringing this to my attention!

Statement of Bishop Alexander K. Sample In Response to Bishop Thomas Gumbleton’s Public Appearance in the Diocese of Marquette.

“I attempted to handle this matter in a private, respectful and fraternal manner with Bishop Gumbleton.  It is unfortunate that what should have remained a private matter between two bishops of the Catholic Church has been made available for public consumption.

I want to first of all say that my decision to ask Bishop Gumbleton not to come to Marquette had absolutely nothing to do with the group who invited him to speak, Marquette Citizens for Peace and Justice, nor with the topic of his publicized speech, since the Church is a strong advocate of peace and justice.  I am sorry for the negative impact this has had on those planning this event.

There is a common courtesy usually observed between bishops whereby when one bishop wishes to enter into another bishop’s diocese to minister or make a public speech or appearance, he informs the local bishop ahead of time and seeks his approval.  Only on October 9 did I receive any communication from Bishop Gumbleton, after this situation had already become public.

As the Bishop of the Diocese of Marquette, I am the chief shepherd and teacher of the Catholic faithful of the Upper Peninsula entrusted to my pastoral care.  As such I am charged with the grave responsibility to keep clearly before my people the teachings of the Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals.  Given Bishop Gumbleton’s very public position on certain important matters of Catholic teaching, specifically with regard to homosexuality and the ordination of women to the priesthood, it was my judgment that his presence in Marquette would not be helpful to me in fulfilling my responsibility.

I realize that these were not the topics upon which Bishop Gumbleton was planning to speak.  However, I was concerned about his well-known and public stature and position on these issues and my inability to keep these matters from coming up in discussion.  In order that no one becomes confused, everyone under my pastoral care must receive clear teaching on these important doctrines.

I offer my prayers for Bishop Gumbleton and for all those who have been negatively affected by this unfortunate situation.”

Tags: Family Values, Religious Freedoms
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“If there was a god, I’d still have both nuts.” Lance Armstrong

Something to think about next time you see you kids with the yellow wristbands…

Livestrong.com website

Tags: Family Values, Pro-Life
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Cardinal Rigali’s released a powerful statement for Respect Life Sunday.  You can read the entire article at Catholic Online. 

Respect Life Sunday, this year celebrated on October 4this a day set aside for Catholics in the United States to reflect with gratitude on God’s priceless gift of human life. It is also an occasion to examine how well we, as a nation and individually, are living up to our obligation to protect the rights of those who, due to age, dependency, poverty or other circumstances, are at risk of their very lives.

read more…

Tags: Family Values, Pro-Life
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