Since January there has been much attention given to the very troubling Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) coercive mandate requiring almost all private health plans to cover contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs.  For the first time in our nation’s history, the federal government will force religious institutions to facilitate drugs and procedures contrary to our moral teaching.  And it will purport to define which religious institutions are “religious enough” to merit an exemption.

The HHS mandate is a serious conflict, and it is not the only threat to our most cherished freedom. In their recent statement, Our First, Most Cherished Liberty, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) discuss current concerns and urge all Catholics to join the effort to end this unprecedented government coercion of conscience and intrusion in religious affairs.

Religious liberty is more than freedom of worship. It is not only about our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It is about whether we can make our contribution to the common good of all Americans.

As Catholics and Americans we have a solemn duty to be staunch defenders of religious liberty. Pray for our country and take a stand today by sending a message to our leaders with an urgent appeal to support this God-given right.

Click here to send a message to HHS.

Click here for a one page  Bulletin Insert in English or Bulletin Insert in Spanish.

The first, “the importunate friend,” invites us to urgent prayer: “Knock and it will be opened to you.” (cf. Luke 11:5-13)

The second, “the importunate widow,” is centered on one of the qualities of prayer: it is necessary to pray always without ceasing and with the patience of faith. (cf. Luke 18:1-8)

I looked it up. Importunate means troublesomely urgent or overly persistent.

These parables teach powerful lessons about persistence, patience and faith. Good tools for living our faith, but they are also good tools for Catholic advocacy.

Several issues in Washington, DC and Harrisburg right now are frustratingly unresolved:

HHS Contraceptive Mandate

A mandate issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would force all employers, including religious employers, to buy coverage for sterilization, contraceptives and drugs that induce abortion, even if it goes against moral teachings. Lawsuits have been filed across the country to challenge this violation of religious liberty. We must pray that religious liberty will prevail.

The regulation was published in its final form, however HHS opened another public comment period to solicit input from citizens, and Congress is considering bills that would protect religious institutions and citizens from this conscience violation. You can submit comments to HHS at www.pacatholic.org.

School Choice

Legislation including vouchers and an increase to the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) is still working its way through the legislative process. EITC already helps Catholic schools; this legislation will allow even more families the opportunity to receive a Catholic education.

Legislators need to hear that their constituents support this issue. Pennsylvania cannot afford to put this off until later. Now is the time to pass school choice!

Pro-Life Legislation

Political controversy postponed the debate over HB 1077, a bill that would give women the right to view an ultrasound of their babies before undergoing an abortion. Opponents have circulated confusing messages about what the bill entails; supporters must speak up with the facts.

An ultrasound examination is already standard practice in abortion clinics to determine gestational age or if the pregnancy is ectopic. Informing a woman that she has the right to view the ultrasound image and hear the heartbeat of her child gives her access to the same information available to her doctor. It is her right to choose for herself whether to view it or hear it; and she can make her decision to abort or not based on informed consent. 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.

Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 1977 would remove abortion funding from the state health care exchanges that will be created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The respective chambers are still negotiating how to achieve final passage.

We must urge the legislature to continue the debate on these pro-life measures.

Take Action

It is tempting to give up when the wheels of government seemingly grind to a halt. It is easy to feel defeated when your issue no longer appears on the front page of the newspaper, but visits, calls, letters and emails to legislators about these issues are very effective in prompting action from elected officials. The Pennsylvania Catholic Advocacy Network at www.pacatholic.org makes it easy to take action on all of these issues.

We must heed the Gospel and be “importunate advocates” with persistence, patience and faith. Pray always, of course, but don’t forget to email, call and visit your legislators, too!

May 2012. 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. Stay up-to-date with Catholic news and issues at www.pacatholic.org, www.facebook.com/pacatholic, and www.twitter.com/pacatholic.

This annual birthday party is a way to thank legislators for their support and to remind them of PA families who are impacted by EITC.

Representative Vanessa Brown (D-Philadelphia), a state legislator and a mother, called on the legislature to expand the EITC to the fullest amount so “public, parochial, private or cyber-charter schools are all out there on the table for us to choose for our children.”

Senator Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin) acknowledged that EITC is an important part of choice, but not the only solution.  Speaking about vouchers, he said, “To my colleagues in the General Assembly, let’s get to work!” The REACH Foundation gave Piccola its Award of Excellence. Piccola did not seek reelection.

To see photos from the rally, click here.

School choice supporters are advocating for a voucher program and an increase the long standing and successful EITC program. Send a message to your state legislators today in support of school choice!

1. First, the Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) offers short-term loans to Pennsylvanians who find themselves unable to make their monthly mortgage payments due to circumstances beyond their control.  HEMAP is unique in that it does not offer grants or “bailouts.” Rather, it provides loans to Pennsylvanians who are facing foreclosure because of, among other reasons, an unexpected medical emergency or a layoff.

Since its founding in 1983, HEMAP has helped over 46,000 families.  Over 85% of these families have been able to remain in their homes for the long term while repaying their HEMAP loans.

2. Another program up for elimination is General Assistance (GA).  The GA program supports the most vulnerable in our commonwealth – those who have no other income and who qualify in one of these categories: disabled or sick adults without children; domestic violence survivors; adults caring for someone who is sick or disabled; adults participating in drug and alcohol treatment programs; or children living with an unrelated adult. In most counties, the monthly GA benefit amounts to $205, a sum that has not been increased since 1990. Fewer than 1 in 200 Pennsylvanians receive this benefit, but for those that do, it is a lifeline.

3. Under Governor Corbett’s proposed budget, six human services line items – mental health, intellectual disabilities, behavioral health, drugs and alcohol treatment, county child welfare grants, and homeless assistance – will be cut by 20% and merged into one Human Services Development Block Grant Fund. It is unclear at this time how this block grant will be implemented and how the funds will be distributed at county levels.

Further, a 20% cut in programs that help people with mental health or intellectual disabilities will mean that thousands of Pennsylvanians will have to find these life affirming and even life sustaining services elsewhere. Where will they go?

These programs truly help the poorest of the poor, those who are in seemingly desperate situations. The PA Catholic Conference encourages you to contact your local legislators urging them to oppose any drastic cuts in human services, to restore the HEMAP program and to fund GA in the final state budget.

CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE.

On Friday, Christian Associates of Southwest PA released a statement on religious freedom and healthcare. You can read the statement here and watch the video below.

Here is an excerpt, “The ‘Preventive Services Mandate’ issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requires faith-based entities that provide health insurance to facilitate access to specific preventive services, even if they consider some of those services incompatible with the practice of their faith. Our deep concern over this mandate does not arise from the varying convictions we have on the moral content of this mandate, but from our common commitment to the right of religious freedom that all people of faith expect to enjoy in this country. The Constitution of the United States guarantees every religious institution and its affiliated bodies the inalienable right to define its own identity and ministries and to practice its own beliefs, not just its freedom of worship.”

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput at St. Patrick Cathedral, Harrisburg. Photo by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness

Archbishop Charles Chaput writes about religious freedom in his most recent column:

“On Thursday, April 12, America’s bishops issued one of their most important statements in years. Our First, Most Cherished Liberty is not just a compelling defense of religious freedom. It’s also a call to action no committed Catholic can afford to ignore.

First, a little history and some background:

In the vision of America’s Founders, God exists, and his sovereignty matters. God endows each person with freedom and rights so that we can fulfill our duties toward him and each other. Our rights come from God, not from the state. Government is justified only insofar as it secures, promotes and defends those natural rights.

As James Madison said in his 1785 “Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments”:

“[Man's duty of honoring God] is precedent both in order of time and degree of obligation to the claims of civil society. Before any man can be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the universe.”

This is why religious liberty is our most important freedom. Our first governor is God, our Creator, the Governor of the universe. We’re created for a higher purpose. We have a religious destiny. Our right to pursue this destiny precedes the state. Any attempt to suppress our right to worship, preach, teach, practice, organize and peacefully engage society because of our belief in God is an attack not only on the cornerstone of human dignity, but also on the nature of the American experiment.”

Read the entire column here.

The document can be found here.

In “Our First, Most Cherished Freedom,” the bishops decry limiting religious freedom to the sanctuary.

“Religious liberty is not only about our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It is about whether we can make our contribution to the common good of all Americans,” they said. “Can we do the good works our faith calls us to do, without having to compromise that very same faith?”

“This is not a Catholic issue. This is not a Jewish issue. This is not an Orthodox, Mormon, or Muslim issue. It is an American issue,” they said.

The document ends with a call to action, “What we ask is nothing more than that our God-given right to religious liberty be respected. We ask nothing less than that the Constitution and laws of the United States, which recognize that right, be respected.”  They specifically addressed several groups: the laity, those in public office, heads of Catholic charitable agencies, priests, experts in communication, and urged each to employ the gifts and talents of its members for religious liberty.

The  bishops called for “A Fortnight for Freedom,” the two-week period from June 21 to July 4—beginning with the feasts of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher and ending with Independence Day—to focus “all the energies the Catholic community can muster” for religious liberty.  They also asked that, later in the year, the feast of Christ the King be “a day specifically employed by bishops and priests to preach about religious liberty, both here and abroad.”

Read more here.

“Frequently Asked Questions About Political Activity Guidelines for Catholic Entities” can be found here.

Both Democrats and Republicans use the Primary Election to designate who their party delegates will support at the national conventions and who will face off in statewide contests in November. This year, voters cast ballots for President of the United States, U.S. Senator, Congressional Representatives, Pennsylvania Attorney General, Auditor General and Treasurer, one half of the Pennsylvania Senate and all of the House of Representatives.

The men and women who occupy these offices have a great deal of influence over our future; but what exactly do they do and why should Catholics care?

Let’s look a few offices:

President of the United States

Most Americans recognize the president as someone important, but we may not realize how his decisions affect our daily lives.

The president is the head of state and commander in chief, but he is also responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws passed by Congress. He appoints a cabinet to run the agencies that make this happen and has the authority to issue executive orders that clarify or further existing laws.

Executive orders and government agency regulations tell us what we have to do to comply with the laws. For example, the law says Americans must pay federal income taxes; regulations say they are due by April 15.

Pennsylvania Attorney General

The attorney general is Pennsylvania’s chief law enforcement officer responsible for prosecuting organized crime and public corruption. The AG also defends the Commonwealth in legal proceedings, should one of its statutes be challenged in court, and reviews the legality of proposed regulations of state government agencies. The attorney general is in a position to defend religious liberty and other constitutional concerns.

Pennsylvania Auditor General

The auditor general is elected to oversee how our tax dollars are spent and to ensure that government programs operate efficiently and effectively, sort of a fiscal “watchdog” for the state’s taxpayers.

Pennsylvania Treasurer

The state treasurer is the steward of Pennsylvania’s financial resources. It is his or her job to responsibly invest our tax dollars.

The issues facing Pennsylvania present serious moral, ethical and social justice questions. Each of these elected offices, in their own way, plays a role in how Pennsylvania addresses those issues.

As faithful citizens it is important to ask ourselves, how do we protect human life and dignity?  How do we fairly share our blessings and confront the challenges we face?  What kind of nation or Commonwealth do we want?  What kind of world do we want to shape? The simple answer is we must elect leaders who share these values. Catholic voters must form their conscience around these questions before casting their ballot.

NOTE: PCC will have a presidential voter guide for the General Election in November, but will not provide one for the Primary Election. The guide will look at positions of candidates on issues like abortion, conscience protection and religious liberty, the death penalty, education, access to health care, immigration, marriage, economic policy and global poverty, stem cell research, and international peace and justice. See voter guides for U.S. Senator and Pennsylvania Attorney General, Auditor General and State Treasurer.

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.

A rally held on Tuesday, April 3 at the Capitol building in Harrisburg highlighted the need for the restoration of funds to Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP). Read more about funding in the state budget for programs that help the poor

HEMAP offers short-term loans to Pennsylvanians who find themselves unable to make their mortgage payments due to circumstances beyond their control. HEMAP has provided low interest loans to over 46,000 families in PA since 1984 until it was closed on July 1, 2011 due to budget cuts. Over 85% of these families have been able to remain in their homes for the long term while repaying their HEMAP loans.

Foreclosure notices increased 35% from February 2011 to February of 2012.  Foreclosure filings increased 47% in southeastern Pennsylvania during the same period.

The PA Save Our Homes Coalition is advocating the funds be allocated at $20 million per year for three years with $2 million for housing counseling and $1 million of legal aid.  Homeowners and advocates visited the legislature during the day asking the administration and legislature to support funding for the HEMAP program, housing counseling and legal aid to assist threatened homeowners.

Francis Viglietta, Director of Social Concerns for the PA Catholic Conference, said “Over the years, HEMAP has demonstrated its value to assist families facing foreclosure.  As foreclosures continue to rise in Pennsylvania, it is more important than ever that funding for HEMAP be restored to help those in need. ”