Fight FOCA postcard campaign ready - ask your pastor!

I only have a minute but I must tell you all about this. The Bishops unanimously approved a massive co-ordinated postcard campaign to have parishioners sign postcards asking Congress to oppose FOCA and other anti-life measures. It is similar to the campaign to ban partial-birth abortion back in ?96.

All the info is available online here.

Please contact your pastor to find out when your parish will be running the campaign: the USCCB recommends the weekends of the 24-25th Jan, and the two following. Offer to help if possible. People will be needed to do simple things like collecting the signed cards, addressing them, stamping and mailing.

If your pastor has not yet made plans for the campaign, this information will help you work with him to set it up.

If for some reason your parish is not planning to be involved, contact your diocesan Respect Life office -- find that info here.

It is also possible to order the postcards yourself or download the PDF and print a set (or several).

More info on FOCA, including downloadable bulletin inserts / ads can be found on the main USCCB FOCA page.

Bishops Annouce Campaign to Fight FOCA

Tom Grenchik, Exec. Director

People of Life

• Following the unanimous vote of the full body of bishops to mobilize the resources of the Conference, dioceses, and the entire Catholic community to prevent either the passage of FOCA (the Freedom of Choice Act) or the elimination of current pro-life laws and policies, we are about to undertake our most aggressive communications campaign ever.
• In the next few weeks, we will be designing a campaign in which millions of Americans can contact their own Senators and Representative with a united message that unrestricted abortion is not only tragically immoral and unacceptable but also out of touch with most American's views.
• And we intend to have this campaign - with millions of participants - ready within weeks of the Presidential inaugeration on January 20th.
• We will also initiate an education program on exactly how FOCA, and similar efforts, are such enormous threats to millions of unborn babies.

To make sure that this campaign is a success, I ask you today to make a special contribution of $25 or $35 to People of Life. This is one of the most important and time-sensitive issues we've ever had to confront.

Your help is needed. If you wish to mail them a donation for this critical issue, send your check to:

PEOPLE OF LIFE

THE PRO-LIFE ACTION CAMPAIGN OF THE USCCB

PO Box 97205

WASHINGTON, DC 20077-7963

H/t: Fidelity and Action e-letter

Going the Distance for Life!

Share this with your friends and family to make them aware of the basics of FOCA and what we need to do to rebuild a Culture of Life. The time to act is now!

Finn: Mingling "Woe to You" with "Be Not Afraid"

Excerpts from Bishop Finn's homily on the eve of the election:

Our Lord instructs us in the Gospel we have heard, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna." The enormity of this election is founded, in part, on the radical determination of some who would lead our country deeper than ever before into the darkness of the culture of death. This is a path that would certainly mean the death of countless more innocent lives. As shepherd of this Diocese I am also deeply saddened by the prospect of the cost in people's souls, the souls of those who would place a candidate's promise of economic prosperity above the life of the most innocent of our brothers and sisters.

Most perilous is the fate of those Catholics who, with hardened hearts, decide to create for themselves, and preach to others, a false gospel that the "right" to an abortion must not be challenged, or that the humanity of the child need not be protected.

Most fraudulent are those Catholic leaders, or alliances of Catholics, that insist that the radically evil injustice of abortion need not be directly opposed, but rather, that somehow solving the dilemma of the poor in a sweeping act of charity will cause the foundation of this monstrous crime to crumble.

Why is this so terribly amiss? Because the foundation and cause of abortion is not poverty but a blind disregard for personal responsibility, a heinous denial and disrespect for human life, and an idolatrous worship of personal convenience. This is why even in the wealthy countries of Scandinavia the highest rates of abortions are followed by rampant euthanasia.

Friends, the poor do not hate their children any more or less than the rich. The poison of which abortion is the most dreadful manifestation is the sinful suffocation of selfishness, and it can and does affect all strata of society. Woe to those, particularly Catholics, who dare to try to convince us that their "choice" of a radically pro-abortion leader is within the parameters of conscience. God have mercy on those who exude freely this salve for their partisan cooperators. I fear that they will bear a greater responsibility than most. Against them will come not only the cry of millions of human lives savagely destroyed, but the souls of those they have sucked down with themselves. This is the very definition of scandal, and the reason that so many have spoken out with such urgency to announce the authentic teaching of the Church.

Part of the damage we have been promised is encapsulated in the Freedom of Choice Act, which has been held at bay the last eight years. When all the reasonable limits on abortion, gained in the last 35 years have been summarily swept away: parental notification, waiting periods, counseling and informed consent, the number of those killed will grow by more than 100,000 a year.

The Freedom of Choice Act will mark the beginning of a great persecution against religious liberty, because it will require tax payer money to be used for abortions. You and I will be faced with this legal trial: whether we should pay our taxes making us participants in the slaughter of Innocents or be liable for jail and fines.

And what of our Catholic hospitals? If we are forced to provide such destructive services under the Freedom of Choice Act, we will have to refuse. Catholic health care workers, and other men and women of good conscience, will risk losing their jobs when their conscience exception is lost and they are pressured to participate. I read a letter recently in our daily paper: The man said, "If you don't want an abortion. Don't have one." Under a regime of such change, you and I will not have such an easy choice. By paying, it will become "our abortion." Lord, have mercy on us, and on our country.

In the light of these clear and present dangers, I chose tonight's Gospel, in part, because four times it tells us, "Don't be afraid!" Let us not be afraid, dear flock. You are worth so much to God; more than sparrows, more than an election, more than any man can measure. Our first goal is this: we must get through tomorrow with our eternal souls intact. We know that God will take care of the rest.

Although written before the election, the message is just as important now in its aftermath. Lest you think the good bishop is being too harsh, I offer one more small quote:

Let us not be too hard on those who, for fear or even disagreement, have shrunk back even from the call to pray! It takes time for us to learn to carry our burdens, our obedience, our responsibility. I want you all to pray that – at the hour of greatest need – none will step back from the sacrifice that makes us most like Jesus Christ.

Bishops v. Obama

Our bishops speak out on the newly-elected government. Read it all here.

Bishop Robert Conlon of Steubenville, Ohio agreed. "Some people may think it's time for a truce, but we're dealing with a moral absolute. There's nothing here that allows for common ground. We're talking about a human being whose life cannot be compromised."

Auxiliary Bishop Robert Hermann observed that the bishops should not be afraid of mere criticism for defending Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life, when any of them would be willing to give up their life to end abortion. "Any bishop here would be willing, would consider it a privilege, to die tomorrow if it meant ending abortion,” he said. “We should dedicate the rest of our lives to taking any kind of criticism, whatever it is, to stop this horrible genocide."

Thank you, Lord!! (tears in my eyes) We need to support these good shepherds with our daily prayers and pray also for the weaker among them that the Lord would give them the fortitude, zeal, faithfulness, and wisdom that they need.

And from FRC (related to Focus on the Family), more info on this:

Marching As to War

Facing the most pro-abortion administration in U.S. history, the Catholic Church is mobilizing to respond. In a meeting yesterday, 220 Catholic bishops drafted an official statement, warning Capitol Hill and President-elect Obama that passing the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) would be viewed as a direct attack on religion. Back in July of 2007, Barack Obama announced at a Planned Parenthood banquet that signing FOCA was his first priority: "Well, the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. ...On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield." With almost full control of Congress, Obama will be expected to live up to his promise as payback for the abortion community's support. If successful, the newly expanded majority would abolish over 300 pro-life laws and restrictions -- even reinstating partial-birth abortion.

Although the Catholic bishops have offered to work with the administration on a number of issues, the defense of life is non-negotiable. "This is not a matter of political compromise," said Bishop Daniel Conlon of Steubenville, Ohio. "It's a matter of absolutes." For some leaders, the church's forceful opposition to FOCA could be the excuse Catholic Democrats need to vote the legislation down.

If not for their conscience, members should be wary of the Bishops' warning for the mere fact that Catholics are a powerful player in the U.S. health care system. As Ed Morrissey points out, Catholics run more than 550 hospitals and 415 clinics in America, spending billions out of pocket to help the disadvantaged get the care they need. Under FOCA, religious providers would have two options: either comply with the abortion mandate or end their services completely. Is Congress so intent on appeasing Planned Parenthood that it would jeopardize the health care of 90 million Americans? We'll see.

Bishops Warn Obama on Abortion

The Catholic League reports:

November 12, 2008

BISHOPS WARN OBAMA ON ABORTION; CATHOLIC LEFT REBUKED
In a statement released today, Francis Cardinal George, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, made it clear that the bishops will fight any expansion of abortion rights that may occur under the next administration. Specifically, the bishops are objecting to the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), a bill so sweeping and draconian that it would not only repeal every single state restriction on abortion, it would seriously jeopardize the right of Catholic hospitals and doctors to opt out of performing abortions.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue released the following remarks:

"Cardinal George is right to label FOCA 'an evil law that would further divide the country.' At stake are two issues: a) the rights of the unborn and, b) religious liberty.

"First, those who admit that abortion should be rare unwittingly acknowledge that there is a reason to limit its frequency: as Cardinal George said, 'abortion kills.' By contrast, no one maintains that root canals should be rare, and that is because this medical procedure-unlike abortion-does not result in the total denial of someone else's rights.

"Second, religious liberty is enshrined in the First Amendment and cannot be trespassed upon lightly, and certainly not by abortion zealots. Those who support FOCA must realize that if Catholic hospitals are ever required to perform abortions, the bishops will close every one of them; no one would be hurt more than the poor.

"Cardinal George explicitly rejected the 'common good' mantra of the Catholic Left that justifies legal abortion while pursuing ameliorative social policies that may reduce abortions. At stake, he said, is the 'legal protection of the unborn,' something which is rejected by Catholics United, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholic Democrats. We hope they amend their ways and fall in line with Catholic thought on this grave matter. If they do not, they will become indistinguishable from Catholics for Choice, a fully discredited organization."

Info from the USCCB on Catholic involvement in healthcare.

• There are 615 Catholic hospitals, which account for 12.5% of community hospitals in the United States, and over 15.5% of all U.S. hospital admissions.
• In addition to hospitals, the Catholic health care network also includes 404 health care centers and 1,509 specialized homes.
• In 20 states, Catholic health care facilities account for more than 20% of admissions.
• Catholic hospitals employ over 598,934 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs).
• In 2005, there were more than 15.4 million emergency room visits and more than 86 million outpatient visits in Catholic hospitals.
• In 2005, the number of Catholic residential homes for children, or orphanages, totaled 235, serving a total of 50,264 young people.

h/t: M.L.

"We cannot allow this to happen" - Cardinal Rigali

As part of the USCCB's 2008-09 Respect Life Program, Cardinal Rigali has written a superb statement for Respect Life Sunday. I encourage you to read it all, but here is a portion of it that I found especially powerful:

Today, however, we face the threat of a federal bill that, if enacted, would obliterate virtually all the gains of the past 35 years and cause the abortion rate to skyrocket. The "Freedom of Choice Act" ("FOCA") has many Congressional sponsors, some of whom have pledged to act swiftly to help enact this proposed legislation when Congress reconvenes in January.

FOCA establishes abortion as a "fundamental right" throughout nine months of pregnancy, and forbids any law or policy that could "interfere" with that right or "discriminate" against it in public funding and programs. If FOCA became law, hundreds of reasonable, widely supported, and constitutionally sound abortion regulations now in place would be invalidated. Gone would be laws providing for informed consent, and parental consent or notification in the case of minors. Laws protecting women from unsafe abortion clinics and from abortion practitioners who are not physicians would be overridden. Restrictions on partial-birth and other late-term abortions would be eliminated. FOCA would knock down laws protecting the conscience rights of nurses, doctors, and hospitals with moral objections to abortion, and force taxpayers to fund abortions throughout the United States.

We cannot allow this to happen. We cannot tolerate an even greater loss of innocent human lives. We cannot subject more women and men to the post-abortive grief and suffering that our counselors and priests encounter daily in Project Rachel programs across America.

[my emphasis]

WOW. God bless Cardinal Rigali and our other faithful and zealous bishops. (Of course you know that Obama has pledged to sign FOCA "first thing". So connect the dots.)