Cardinal Anthony Bevilaqua testifying in support of a death penalty moratorium in 2000.

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference (PCC) bids farewell today to former Archbishop of Philadelphia, Cardinal Anthony Bevilaqua, who died last week at the age of 88. The Solemn Funeral Mass for Cardinal Bevilacqua is scheduled to take place at 2:00 p.m. today, Tuesday, February 7, at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

As Chairman of the PCC Board of Governors, Cardinal Bevilaqua presided over a number of important legislative victories for the Catholic Conference. The Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act passed in 1997, defining what constitutes a charitable purpose in recognition of tax-exempt status. Also in 1997, the legislature passed the Crimes Against the Unborn Child Act, imposing criminal charges for two victims if the unborn child of a pregnant woman is harmed in the commission of a crime against his or her mother, an important pro-life victory. The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program became law in 2001, giving scholarships to tens of thousands of students and affording them the opportunity to attend a Catholic school or another non-public school of their choice; and the Religious Freedom Protection Act passed in 2002. The RFPA law applies the “compelling state interest” standard to actions by the Pennsylvania government that place a burden on religious liberty.

In 2000, Cardinal Bevilaqua took a bold stand against capital punishment by testifying himself in support of bill that would have declared a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) will air taped coverage statewide of the Funeral Mass for Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua on Wednesday, February 8 beginning at 8:30 p.m.

PCN is a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization created and supported by cable television companies. PCN receives no state or federal funding. Network programming is distributed on more than 150 cable systems in Pennsylvania serving more than 10 million Pennsylvanians in 3.3 million homes. A complete listing of PCN affiliates and network channel designations is available by visiting PCN’s website at www.pcntv.com.

HEMAP was closed as of July 1, 2011 after over 27 years of providing loans to Pennsylvania homeowners facing foreclosure due to circumstances beyond their control.  Over 46,000 families have been assisted since the programs origination during the severe recession of 1983.

Fran Viglietta, Director of the Social Concerns Department of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference said, “The Catholic Conference sincerely hopes that the Governor will restore funding for this valuable program.  It has a track record of helping thousands of families save their homes.  Its important to remember that this is a loan program not a grant program and it has been highly successful since its inception.”

Read the entire letter here.

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, who also serves as Chairman of the PCC, wrote about the action necessary to pass school choice in his weekly column,

“In the coming week I’ll be writing every state senator and representative in the territory of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to press them to support school vouchers. And I’ll continue doing it until vouchers pass. I hope my brother bishops and pastors across the state will do the same. More importantly: Our Catholic people need to do the same. Elected officials do listen, and they act when the noise gets loud enough. If nothing else, the crisis of Philadelphia’s Catholic schools is an unpleasant but finally very healthy wake up call. The bill for our failure to pass school choice over the past decade has come due. Now we’re paying for it.

When vouchers stalled, yet again, in the Pennsylvania house last fall, a frustrated Catholic school teacher friend of mine said “Catholics are suckers.” I don’t believe that. But then, I’m new in town. If we Philadelphia Catholics love our Catholic schools, and we obviously do, then the time to get active and focused is now. We need to begin pressing our state lawmakers to pass the school choice legislation — including vouchers and expanded EITC credits — that’s currently pending in Harrisburg. And we need to do it this week, today, right now. I plan to do that. I hope you’ll join me.”

Read Archbishop Chaput’s entire column here.

For more information on school choice, and to contact your legislator, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/PASchoolChoice

The appointment was publicized in Washington, January 19, by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

William Skurla was born June 1, 1956, in Duluth, Minnesota, where he attended Catholic and public elementary schools. He attended Columbia University in New York, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1981. He later attended Mary Immaculate Seminary, Northampton, Pennsylvania, where he earned a master of divinity degree in 1986, and a master of theology degree in 1987.

He was professed as a member of the Franciscans in Sybertsville, Pennsylvania, in 1985, and ordained a priest in 1987. In 1996, he was incardinated into the Eparchy of Van Nuys, California, and named bishop of Van Nuys in 2002. In 2007, he was named bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic, New Jersey.

The Archeparchy of Pittsburgh includes 58,492 persons, and embraces all Byzantine Ruthenian Rite Catholics in Western Pennsylvania, several counties in Ohio, and the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

The Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is one of the two Byzantine Catholic and eight Roman Catholic Dioceses that comprise the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference. Archbishop-elect Skurla will sit on the PCC Board of Governors.

Welcome and Congratulations from the PCC to Archbishop-elect Skurla!

The PCC supports the following legislation:

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

Senate Bill 1/ House Bill 1678/ House Bill 1708/ Others – School Choice

Senate Bill 1 or what could be another legislative vehicle is a top priority for the PCC. The proposal will increase the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program and create Opportunity Scholarships, or vouchers, for the poorest students in the worst performing schools. PCC has been waging a full scale grassroots advocacy campaign to generate support for school choice.

School choice advocates were disappointed that a reform package that includes school vouchers and an increase to the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) scholarship program was not passed before the legislature adjourned for the Christmas break. It is not too late to send a message to your state legislators urging them to pass school choice in 2012. Use the Catholic Advocacy Network to send one today.

House Bill 1378/ Senate Bill 1154 – Special Education Services

These bills would enhance the level of support to special education students in nonpublic schools.

Senate Bill 1134 – Regulation of Religious Child Care Programs

This bill would place the regulation of religious child care and early childhood development facilities in the Department of Education rather than the Department of Public Welfare. It would also remove the asserted authority of the state to demand that religious teaching ministries obtain a state license before they are allowed to exist, while still maintaining all mandates relating to health and safety.

SOCIAL CONCERNS DEPARTMENT

House Bill 1254 – Prohibited use of Public Assistance Funds

This bill would ban the use of an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card to purchase tobacco products, firearms or ammunition, and bans the use of EBT cards at casinos.

Senate Bill 732 – Abortion Clinic Regulations Bill SIGNED INTO LAW

The new law addresses concerns that stemmed from the tragic deaths of one woman and seven infants that occurred in the Philadelphia abortion clinic of Dr. Kermit Gosnell where a woman died and seven newborn babies were killed by infanticide. Conditions in the clinic were so filthy and unsafe that investigators called it a “house of horrors.” The measure holds abortion facilities to the same fire and safety standards, personnel and equipment requirements, and quality assurance procedures as other freestanding ambulatory surgical facilities.

PENNSYLVANIA CATHOLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION

House Bill 1583 – Protective equipment for motorcycle riders

This legislation would repeal the “no helmet” law that was passed in 2006. It would require drivers and passengers of motorcycles to wear protective headgear.

Senate Bill 1099 – Minimum Wage Law

This bill concerns overtime compensation for employees in health care facilities like hospitals and long-term care facilities. If an employee works more than eight hours in any one workday and in excess of 80 hours in 14 days, the employee would be compensated at no less that 1 1/2 times the regular rate.

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference advocates many different issues – Catholic education, religious liberty, life & dignity of the human person, marriage & family, social justice, health care, and faith & politics. To receive action alerts on active issues, join the Pennsylvania Catholic Advocacy Network at www.pacatholic.org/advocacy

Today in Pennsylvania there are 1,200 parishes serving more than 3.3 million Catholics. Pennsylvania Catholics make up 26% of the state’s population. The Church in Pennsylvania provides 52,000 jobs.

But the real legacy of the Church is in how Catholics live out the Gospel in their own communities.

Charitable Outreach

In 1797, the first formal Catholic charitable institution in Pennsylvania was an orphanage and trade school in Philadelphia. More than 200 years later, the Catholic Church continues to minister to people in need.

Catholic Charities agencies are still serving children, although today foster care and adoption services are the norm. Catholic Charities also helps families and individuals with behavioral health, family counseling, and addiction programs. The agencies help refugees and immigrants settle here in the United States.

Catholic Charities agencies provide direct aid to the poor with food pantries and soup kitchens, housing and utilities assistance, and help with clothing and other basic needs.

In 2010, more than 360,000 individuals received services from a Catholic Charities agency in Pennsylvania, and many of them benefit from more than one service.

Education

Catholic schools are another rich part of Pennsylvania’s history. The first parochial school in the United States, St. Mary’s, opened in Philadelphia in 1782. The school is still helping students reach their potential.

Today, Pennsylvania’s approximately 540 Catholic schools are teaching more than 150,000 students. Catholic schools provide jobs for over 10,000 teachers and other professional staff. Most Catholic high schools rightly boast graduation rates at or near 100% for non-transferring students, as well as SAT scores above the state and national averages. Of those graduates, over 90% go on to attend either a two- or four-year institute of higher learning.

Catholic parochial and diocesan schools educate students by establishing high goals and standards as well as strong motivation and effective discipline, all within a nurturing atmosphere. Catholic schools aim to develop each student as a “whole person” – academically, of course, but also spiritually, physically and emotionally.

In two centuries, Pennsylvania’s Catholic schools have educated countless leaders, entrepreneurs, inventors, and even a saint or two.

Both Catholic and non-Catholic students attend parochial and diocesan schools, but the thousands of Catholic students who attend Pennsylvania public schools are also well-formed in our rich faith. They learn and grow in their Catholic identity through parish ministries. In all, approximately 440,000 students receive Catholic instruction every year.

Health Care

Catholic hospitals are another fixture on the Pennsylvania landscape. Generations of Catholics, often women and men in religious orders, came to the Pennsylvania with a mission to care for the sick, the aged and the dying.

In 2010, Catholic health care served more than 3.3 million people in Pennsylvania.

There are Catholic hospitals, long-term care facilities, multi-facility health systems, special providers or other related entities in every community. The Catholic health care system provides healing and comfort through many programs and facilities, ranging from large, state-of-the-art hospitals and emergency rooms to small neighborhood personal-care homes and mobile clinics.

Catholic providers are an integral part of our health care system. They operate with a fundamental commitment to the sanctity and dignity of human life and demonstrate a special concern for the poor and most vulnerable members of society. Often Catholic facilities are the provider of last resort for those who are very poor and very sick.

Forward in Faith

As we consider this strong and vibrant Catholic presence in Pennsylvania, it is easy to feel proud, but we should not feel content. As those of you familiar with the work of the PCC know, threats to religious liberty, the dignity of the human person and other issues of importance to Catholics have become frequent. We also have opportunities to make advancements that would benefit Catholic health care and education, would strengthen our service to the poor and would better enable us to live out our Gospel values. Complacency would not have been tolerated by those who laid this solid foundation over the past 200-plus years, and it should not be tolerated today. And so, as we look to the public policy issues that will face us in 2012, let us be inspired by knowing that our family of faith extends across our entire state and reaches our brothers and sisters in every walk of life.

This article appeared in the Fall 2011 issue of the Viewpoint

Read the full text of the letter here.

For parents, providing an education for their children is a moral obligation. When we look across the education landscape in Pennsylvania, however, we see that some parents, especially low-income families, have no choice but to send their children to a school that is not helping them reach their potential. This is why the bishops of Pennsylvania see school choice as a defining social justice issue for our time.

In a statement issued several weeks ago, my brother bishops and I explained our position on school choice with these words: “Legislation currently being considered in Harrisburg could herald a new, more just era for education in Pennsylvania — an era in which we focus on the ideal educational environment for each student, not on a mandatory system in which students are assigned to a school based solely on geographic location. The current treatment of these children, particularly children from low-income families, is unjust and inequitable. Families are often prevented from accessing the educational options that would be best for them because of economic or social barriers. School choice legislation that includes vouchers and an increase to EITC reinforces that parents — not the state — are the primary educators of their children.”

Read the entire article here.

Send a message to your legislator in support of school choice by clicking here.

School Choice is the Right Choice for Pennsylvania’s Families
Pennsylvania’s Catholic Bishops Support a Voucher Program and an Increase to Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Scholarships

The Catholic Bishops of Pennsylvania see school choice as a defining social justice issue of our society. Legislation currently being considered in Harrisburg could herald a new, more just era for education in Pennsylvania – an era in which we focus on the ideal educational environment for each student, not on a mandatory system in which students are assigned to a school based solely on geographic location. The current treatment of these children, particularly children from low-income families, is unjust and inequitable. Families are often prevented from accessing the educational options that would be best for them because of economic or social barriers. School choice legislation that includes vouchers and an increase to EITC reinforces that parents – not the state – are the primary educators of their children.

Parents and educators know that each pupil has a different style of learning and each family has its own educational values. School choice will allow families to pick the school that is best for their children and will allow a wider group of people to access non-public schools. Further, school choice will increase the amount that public schools can spend per pupil, will free up funds to expand the reach of EITC to more middle class families, and will return unused money to the state coffers.  These are just a few of many benefits, but it is clear that school choice will improve the education of countless Pennsylvanians, whether a family chooses public or private school. Is that not a common goal upon which we can all agree?

Catholic schools play a vital role in the Commonwealth: our over 500 schools have educated millions of intelligent, active and community-minded Pennsylvanians.  These schools educate both Catholics and non-Catholics in an academically excellent and nurturing environment. This essential service not only helps to create new generations of productive and engaged citizens, but also saves over $4 billion tax dollars annually.

Catholic and private schools already participate in the marketplace of education.  We must meet the high expectations of parents, for they have the freedom to withdraw their students and choose a different school if they feel it will better meet their needs. Current school choice legislation places all educational institutions into this marketplace and recognizes the moral obligation of educating each and every child to their potential. The public schools of the state of Pennsylvania and the fine teachers and administrators who labor there are our collaborators in fulfilling this obligation, not our adversaries.  School choice is not a public versus non-public school issue; it is a family and child issue.  Each family should have a full range of educational options within its grasp; this is a civil right for every parent.

The Catholic bishops of Pennsylvania support school choice legislation that includes a voucher program and an increase in the successful EITC program. We have reached a critical moment in the debate over school choice. Now is the time for the Pennsylvania legislature to ensure that ideal educational opportunities are accessible and available to all. There are few priorities more important than educating for the future.

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Take action today by clicking here.

CLICK HERE TO CONTACT HHS AND CONGRESS

In implementing the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the new health care reform law), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued a rule requiring almost all private health plans to cover contraception and sterilization as “preventive services” for women. The mandate even forces individuals and groups with religious or moral objections to purchase and provide such coverage if they are to receive or provide health coverage at all. This poses an unprecedented threat to individual and institutional religious freedom.

The rule includes a religious exemption so extremely narrow that it protects almost no one. It covers only a “religious employer” that has the “inculcation of religious values” as its purpose, primarily employs and serves persons who share its religious tenets, and is a church organization under two narrow provisions of the tax code. A great many religious organizations — including Catholic colleges and universiti

es, as well as hospitals and charitable institutions that serve the public – will be ineligible. Individuals and religiously affiliated health insurers will not qualify for the exemption.

The new rule would force insurance plans to cover “all Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity.” Never before has the federal government required private health plans to include such coverage. The FDA-approved “emergency contraception” (EC) drugs that are covered by this mandate can work by interfering with implantation of a newly conceived human being. Also, the drug the FDA most recently approved for EC, “Ella,” a close analogue to

the abortion drug RU-486, has been shown in animal tests to cause abortion. Thus, the mandate includes drugs that may cause an abortion both before and after implantation.

ACTION: Please send an e-mail message to HHS by clicking here. With just a few clicks of the mouse, you can send a message to HHS asking them to respect religious liberty and to your elected representatives in Congress, urging them to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179/S. 1467) to ensure that such federal mandates do not violate Americans’ moral and religious convictions.

PCC UPDATE: Click here to read the comments that the PCC and PCHA submitted to HHS. Don’t forget to send your own message to HHS and Congress by September 30.