Write Your Congressperson to Support Pro-Life Legislation

As of this writing, three pro-life bills were active in the U.S. House of Representatives:

• HR 3, the No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Act,
• HR 358, the Protect Life Act, and
• HR 361, the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act of 2011.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops needs you, the voter, to contact your Congressperson to urge them to support Pro-Life legislation.

This will take approximate five minutes of your time at: http://www.cacatholic.org (click on “Current Alerts” at the right side).

The Church has limited influence on legislators; however, you have a tremendous influence on your representative as one of their constituents.

To read more about these three bills, go to: http://www.cacatholic.org/index.php/topics/pro-life.html

Catholic Youth Advocacy Day, Sacramento, March 22

Come to a gathering of young people of faith raising their voices in “sincere dialogue and with anxious interest seeking the common good.”

The California Catholic Conference (CCC) invites Catholic youth from all over California who are interested in exercising their “faithful citizenship” in their state’s Capitol. The CCC welcomes all who are interested in meeting with elected officials to speak on behalf of those who are poor, vulnerable or voiceless.

This one-day event will include a Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, information sessions, visits with legislators and a time to debrief with fellow students.

To register, visit: http://www.cacatholic.org, or contact Linda Wanner, 916-313-4017, lwanner@cacatholic.org

The full flyer is at: http://www.cacatholic.org/images/stories/pdfs/Youth-advocacy.pdf

If you live in a different state, check with the Catholic Conference of your own state bishops -- they should have an advocacy day at your state's capital.

"Urge Congress to Extend Jobless Benefits and Promote Long-Term Job Growth" Says Catholic Charities USA

Catholic Charities USA has just sent out an action alert for all of us voting Catholics to write to our Congresspersons now.

The Catholic Charities USA website explains the Church's position in detail, and makes it laughably easy to email your members of Congress with the click of a mouse.

Action Alert website for this topic: http://capwiz.com/catholiccharitiesusa/issues/alert/?alertid=15076796&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]

Catholic Charities USA homepage: http://capwiz.com/catholiccharitiesusa/home/

I just wrote my senators and representative. How about you? 67 million Catholics in America can be heard, if we respond to our Bishops when they call us to action.

Make a Difference in Washington, D.C., with the Click of a Mouse

Catholic Charities USA keeps a close eye on legislation passing through Congress, and regularly asks Catholic voters to write to their Congresspersons on time urgent bills.

What can you do? Sign up to receive an email alert, or twice a month visit the CCUSA website to see the latest Action Alerts.

With the click of the mouse and the entry of a few fields of data about yourself, you can send an effective email to your Congressperson. You do need to include your full name and address: your Congressperson needs to know that you are one of their constituents.

At the Catholic Charities USA website, click on “Advocacy” and then “Take Action”: www.catholiccharitiesusa.org

As of this writing, the action alert is: "Urge Congress to Extend Jobless Benefits and Promote Long-Term Job Growth"

Remember: there are tens of millions of Catholic voters in the USA. Working in concert with our Bishops, we can be heard.

Catholic Lobby Day 2010 for California: Tuesday, April 27, 9:30am - 4pm

Be a voice for the voiceless.

Exercise your citizenship as a Roman Catholic voter.

On April 27th, the Bishops of California are leading the 12th annual Catholic Lobby Day at the State Capitol.

I went last year and it was amazing!!! Thousands gathered in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. We heard speakers on each of the pieces of pending legislation. We celebrated Mass. We processed two blocks over to the State Capitol building and held a rally on the front steps. Then we had box lunches on the lawn, and then split up into groups of 30-45 to attend appointments with our own representatives. Many youth and young adults were there as well as older folks. Many diocese brought representatives of the very people affected most by the legislation. Very instructive and inspiring day!

Gather at 9:30am at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, 1017 11th St, Sacramento.

For registration and more information, click on “12th Annual Catholic Lobby Day” at the website of the California bishops: http://www.cacatholic.org/

Here are the California issues that will be raised with our representatives with a link to the Bishops' fact sheet so you can understand the issues and the Catholic Church position.

AB 1642 Food Stamps -- simplify the food stamp process by moving the frequency of reports to every six months instead of once a quarter

SB 399 Youth Sentencing -- after between 10 and 25 years of incarceration, allow for the review and resentencing of some youth who were sentenced to life without parole for crimes committed before the age of 18

SB 1460 Dream Act -- allow California high school graduates who have been accepted into a
California college —both U.S. citizens and undocumented “AB 540” students—to apply for state financial aid

State Budget -- Cuts will have to be made, but we and they must remember that those who are most vulnerable, those who are poor and in need in our communities have the greatest moral claim on our attention and resources

Be an informed, Catholic voter: take the time to understand in depth our Bishops' position -- and then decide for yourself how to contact your own representative about the issue. All of these issues are complex and go well beyond the overly simplistic "sound bites" regularly reported by the media.

“The poor you will always have with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them . . .” – Mark 14:7a

Just Wrote My Congressperson: How About You?

I just went to the California Catholic Conference website, and sent emails to my legislators on three different Bills that are pending in Congress or the State Legislature right now.

One is about unacceptable interference of the Federal government in private (i.e. Catholic) schools, one is on supporting peace in the Sudan, and one is on health care reform (protect the unborn, protect conscience rights, make health care available to as many as possible).

If you are a Californian, go to the link below and sign up for the Catholic Legislative Network -- you will get regular alerts when bills are before Congress and all Catholic voters need be heard.

http://www.cacatholic.org/index.php/take-action/join-the-catholic-legislative-network.html

If you aren't in California, I suspect the Network below may direct you correctly. When you find the right spot for your state, please comment on this post and share the info.

Catholic Relief Services: Please Write Your Congressperson!

Please write your member of Congress on a number of hot topics.

Check current action alerts at: http://tinyurl.com/crs-action-center

This request comes from Catholic Relief Services in coordination with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Many items of upcoming legislation have moral dimensions, e.g. arms control, global poverty, immigration reform.

The website of CRS is sooooo easy to use -- will only take you 5 minutes to send your own representatives an email. If you are unfamiliar with an issue, all the policy statements and summaries are right there so you can understand WHY the Bishops' have a particular position.

The Bishops always apply Catholic doctrine to current issues -- they are not partisan. Their faith is informing their politics, not the other way around!

I just sent an email to my Congressperson regarding international nuclear arms control and global poverty.

Catholic Social Teaching: Call to Family, Community, and Participation

"The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society in economics and politics, in law and policy directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Marriage and the family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable."

-- from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website:
http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialteaching/excerpt.shtml

I had a chance to put this Catholic teaching into practice by participating in California's Catholic Lobby Day this past Tuesday, April 28, 2009, in Sacramento. Catholics from across California learned about the issues, celebrated Mass (with 7 bishops!), processed to the State Capitol building, held a rally, and then broke into small groups to meet with the individual legislators (or their chiefs of staff) and explain our viewpoint as derived from Catholic morality. Learn more at the website of the California Catholic Conference (the organization of all California bishops that performs legislative advocacy): http://www.cacatholic.org/

Every state has a Catholic Conference. To find yours, go the the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website and find your diocese and bishop; the bishop's office will know: http://www.usccb.org