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.

To honor the occasion, both chambers of the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed resolutions designating January 29 through February 5, 2012, as “Catholic Schools Week” in Pennsylvania. Representative William Adolph (R-Delaware) was the prime sponsor of HR 541 in the House of Representatives and Senator Jane Orie (R-Allegheny, Butler) was prime sponsor of SR 239 in the state Senate. Both resolutions passed unanimously.

The theme of 2012 Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Academics. Service.” The theme focuses on three priorities that Catholic schools establish that make them stand out from other educational institutions: Children are taught faith— not just the basics of Christianity, but how to have a relationship with God; academics, which in Catholic schools are held to very high standards and help each child reach his or her potential; service, the giving of one’s time and effort to help others, is taught both as an expression of faith and good citizenship.

Providing a quality education for our children is the most critical investment we can make for our future. Parents have the duty and responsibility to provide the best education possible for their children. They have a right to determine which school will best meet the needs of their children.

The parents of more than 150,000 students are currently making the choice to provide their children with a Catholic education at one of Pennsylvania’s over 500 Catholic schools; but, families are often prevented from accessing the educational options that would be best for them because of economic or social barriers.

The Catholic school community supports school choice legislation that includes vouchers and an increase to the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program because reinforces that parents – not the state – are the primary educators of their children.

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program has given school choice to thousands of students; vouchers for students who need help the most will grant that opportunity to thousands more.

The Catholic Schools Week resolutions passed unanimously in the Pennsylvania House and Senate; urge your elected officials to vote the same support for Catholic schools by passing a school choice bill with an increase to EITC and vouchers so more qualified families can access a number of educational options, giving them the opportunity to choose a school that they determine is best for their child.

Send a message in support of school choice to your state legislators TODAY!

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

Bishop David Zubik of the Diocese of Pittsburgh wrote, “It is really hard to believe that it happened. It comes like a slap in the face. The Obama administration has just told the Catholics of the United States, “To Hell with you!” There is no other way to put it.” Read the rest here.

Send a message to congress and President Obama asking them to respect religious liberty by clicking here.

Bishop Joseph McFadden of the Diocese of Harrisburg said, “Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience. This shouldn’t happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the Bill of Rights.” Read the entire statement here.

Bishop Joseph Bambera of the Diocese of Scranton wrote, “Simply put, as Catholics, we cannot comply with this unjust law. People of faith cannot be made second class citizens. We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom. Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America’s cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God given rights. In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. I hope and trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.” Read the entire letter here.

Sister Mary Ann Walsh of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) asks about a Catholic bias, “The government allows other religions to live out their beliefs. The Amish and Christian Scientists have a conscientious objection to health insurance, and so the law exempts them from buying it. The government acknowledges the right of these religious groups to live out their religious convictions in U.S. society. Why are beliefs of Catholics and others dismissed?” Read the rest here.

Here is a video message from New York’s Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the president of the USCCB:

CLICK HERE TO SEND YOUR OWN MESSAGE IN SUPPORT OF A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO KNOW.

Dozens of lawmakers took the stage at a multimedia event to explain The Women’s Right to Know Act (HB 1077). House Bill 1077 would require abortion clinics to perform an ultrasound at least 24 hours before an abortion and inform pregnant women of their right to view the ultrasound.

Via Skype, an online videoconferencing site, Representative Kathy Rapp (R-Warren, Forest, McKean) discussed ultrasound technology with Dr. Joseph Castelli, an ob/gyn with Women’s Healthcare Specialists in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. “As a doctor, you want patients to be as informed as possible to make the best decision (about their medical care),” said Dr. Castelli. “If this medical procedure is used, the woman’s decision may be not to terminate the pregnancy, but it will be her good decision.”

Representative Rapp and Representative Deberah Kula (D-Fayette, Westmoreland) are prime sponsors of HB 1077, along with 111 other bi-partisan co-sponsors.

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference (PCC) supports the Women’s Right to Know Act. In 2012, ultrasounds are a common sense and even expected part of many medical evaluations and procedures. Without this bill, a double standard will remain whereby women in their time of need are not given complete information. Women should have the right to view their full medical records, and the technology exists and is already present in abortion clinics. The Women’s Right to Know Act addresses this disparity.

Past abortion laws probably would have included ultrasound access, but the technology didn’t exist as it does today – The Women’s Right to Know Act updates the law to reflect technological advances.

Helen Cindrich of the People Concerned for the Unborn Child organization in Pittsburgh expressed her support for the Women’s Right to Know Act over the telephone while marching on the Mall in Washington, DC. “The reason we’re here is to protect women and children,” said Cindrich during the press conference. She supports the proposal that would help women “at the brink of a very serious decision that could affect them the rest of their lives.”

Francis Viglietta, director of PCC’s Social Concerns Department, notes that “the need to pass legislation giving a pregnant woman the option to view her ultrasound and to see or hear the heartbeat of her unborn child is long overdue in Pennsylvania. It is an idea whose time has come and the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference calls upon the state legislature to pass HB 1077 quickly and send it to the governor for his approval.

“Ultimately, no matter one’s position on abortion, we can all agree that it is a serious issue that a woman cannot take back or undo. We have an obligation to give these women, in their moment of need, all of the information necessary to make the right decision so that she does not look back and say, ‘If I had only known…’”

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference urges quick passage of this pro-life bill. Pro-life supporters are encouraged to visit www.pacatholic.org to send a message in support of The Women’s Right to Know Act.

A. B. Hill is Communications Director of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference – the public affairs arm of Pennsylvania’s Catholic bishops and the Catholic dioceses of Pennsylvania.

Voice your disappointment with the HHS ruling and ask your legislators to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (HR1179/S 1467).

Many of you sent emails last fall asking the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to respect conscience rights and religious liberty. Unfortunately, Friday’s ruling means that this mandate and the very narrow exemption will not change at all; instead there will only be a delay in enforcement against some employers.

This ruling will force Catholics to decide between violating their consciences and providing the basic right of health care.  At issue is the constitutionally protected freedom that ensures respect for the conscience of Catholics and all other Americans. In this ruling, you and I were told that we can call ourselves Catholic, we just can’t act like we are.

So what is next? If the Administration will not rescind this violation of the First Amendment, Congress must do so.  Voice your disappointment with the HHS ruling and ask your legislators to support the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (HR1179/S 1467).

PS- Another pro-life bill, The Women’s Right to Know Act, is in front of the Pennsylvania House. Please send a message in support of that pro-life legislation as well!

SEND A MESSAGE TO CONGRESS IN SUPPORT OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY HERE.

The Catholic bishops of the United States called “literally unconscionable” a decision by the Obama Administration to continue to demand that sterilization, abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans. Today’s announcement means that this mandate and its very narrow exemption will not change at all; instead there will only be a delay in enforcement against some employers.

“In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences,” said Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan, archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The cardinal-designate continued, “It is as much an attack on access to health care as on religious freedom. Historically this represents a challenge and a compromise of our religious liberty.”

The HHS rule requires that sterilization and contraception – including controversial abortifacients – be included among “preventive services” coverage in almost every healthcare plan available to Americans. “The government should not force Americans to act as if pregnancy is a disease to be prevented at all costs,” added Cardinal-designate Dolan.

Read this and other reactions to the HHS ruling here.

SEND A MESSAGE TO CONGRESS IN SUPPORT OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY HERE.

If you’d like to send a letter, you can use this sample letter to Congress regarding the HHS ruling.

Click here to sign the petition on whitehouse.gov.

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!

How will you spend your bus ride? Here are three ideas:

1.Call your state reps in support of the Women’s Right to Know Act, which would give women the right to view an ultrasound of their babies. The Women’s Right to Know Act (House Bill 1077) would require abortion clinics to perform an ultrasound at least 24 hours before an abortion or provide a list of other ultrasound providers). Not sure who your state rep is? Use our simple look-up tool to find out.

2. Call your state senator, since the bill will eventually be before him/her for a vote. While the bill starts in the House of Representatives, the legislation will next be sent to the Senate for a vote. In 2012, ultrasounds are a common sense and even expected part of many medical evaluations and procedures.  Without this bill, a double standard will remain whereby women in this time of need are not given complete information.  Women should have the right to view their full medical records, and the technology exists and is already present in abortion clinics. The Women’s Right to Know Act addresses this disparity. If you don’t know who your Senator is, use our simple look-up tool to find out.

3. Pray! Pray for the millions of unborn children who are aborted each year, but also pray for the mothers and fathers who face this difficult situation and believe that abortion is the only way out.  Pray for legislators who have the ability to create a Culture of Life, a society wherein we respect the dignity of even the smallest people. Looking for a patron? St. Thomas More, the patron of politicians and judges, pray for us!

If you can complete these three actions, you will do much to advance the cause of life. And, don’t worry, there is still plenty of time to watch a movie or take a nap on your way home!

Click here to get a printable flyer to take on the bus with you and share! Or, if you’ve got a smartphone, just click on this link to send an email message to your legislator.

The Women’s Right to Know Act (HB 1077), introduced in the Pennsylvania House, would give women the right to view an ultrasound of their babies. Women in Pennsylvania are not currently given this right, even though abortion clinics do perform ultrasounds to determine the age of the child.

CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE IN SUPPORT OF A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO KNOW.

In 2012, ultrasounds are a common sense and even expected part of many medical evaluations and procedures.  Without this bill, a double standard will remain whereby women in this time of need are not given complete information.  Women should have the right to view their full medical records, and the technology exists and is already present in abortion clinics. The Women’s Right to Know Act addresses this disparity.

Past abortion laws probably would have included ultrasound access, but the technology didn’t exist as it does today – The Women’s Right to Know Act updates the law to reflect technology advances.

Ultimately, no matter one’s position on abortion, we can all agree that it is a serious issue that a woman cannot take back or undo.  We have an obligation to give these women, in their moment of need, all of the information necessary to make the right decision so that she does not look back and say, “If I had only known…”

CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE IN SUPPORT OF A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO KNOW.