• An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow
  • An Image Slideshow

Join the Pope on Facebook, iPhone & YouTube

digital-vatican

Revised Catechist Guidelines Now Available

Click here for the Guidelines

Featured Video

sb-faith-leaders
The Diocese of San Bernardino convened leaders from the Protestant, Jewish and Muslim faiths in the Inland Empire to film a video message addressing the struggles caused by the economic recession and encouraging all people to turn to their place of worship for help and hope.

View video

This Week in...

insights-logo-002-1
June 19, 2009, Vol. 2, No. 26

  • Joint Budget Committee Completes Work
  • State Funds for Abortions May Also Be Subject to Cuts
  • New Lethal Injection Protocols Subject of Hearing
  • When Action Is Needed

Read this week's issue...

News & Analysis

Examine the issues being debated in Sacramento and Washington - and how Catholic social teaching applies in the public square.

Catholic
Social Teaching

woman-baby2

The Church's social teaching is a treasury of wisdom, experience and knowledge about building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society.

Lobby Day Photos

lobby-day-14
"Being a Catholic is not just a matter of belonging to some kind of association or congregation of people who believe in Jesus... Religious conviction of a faith is a 24 hour, seven day a week reality... Being a disciple of Christ is not isolated nor compartmentalized from our other vocations in life. If you are a store clerk, if you are a doctor, if you are a student, if you are a stay-at-home mom, if you are an auto mechanic, if you are an administrative assistant... You are conformed to Christ in whatever you do."
Most Reverend Stephen Blaire
Bishop of Stockton and President,
California Catholic Conference
In a Homily May 7, 2006

Affliliate Sites

Embracing Our Dying
End-of-Life Issues

Restore Justice
Healing & Criminal Justice

marriage-logo
take-action-b

 

USCCB Issues Action Alert on Health Care Reform PDF Print E-mail
Health Care
Thursday, 02 July 2009 19:55

er-hospital-signThe United States Congress has begun considering health care reform legislation.  The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee is writing a bill now.  The Tri-Committee (made up of the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerces and Labor Committees) is expected to begin a similar process soon.  And the Senate Finance Committee is expected to introduce a bill any day now.

Learn more about the debate from this USCCB fact sheet and action alert.

 
Chaplains Proposed Role in Lethal Injections Called into Doubt PDF Print E-mail
Death Penalty
Tuesday, 30 June 2009 23:02
san-quentinAt a hearing on the revised lethal injection protocols, speakers from around the state largely denounced the new execution procedures and voiced opposition to the death penalty in general. Only a handful of speakers spoke in support.

Fr. George Horan, co-director of the Office of Restorative Justice for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and a chaplain at LA County's Men's Central Jail, questioned the requirement that a chaplain report the details of conversations with the condemned.

"Chaplains are there to be a loving and compassionate presence for those in prison," explained Fr. Horan. "They are not trained physiologists or part of the prison staff able to evaluate how something revealed in a conversation might be pertinent to the execution."

Read more...
 
What Happened to Women and Children First? PDF Print E-mail
California Politics

ca-budgetCommentary by Steve Pehanich, Director of Advocacy and Education

California’s seemingly never-ending budget crisis has finally come to pulling the rug out from under women, children, the blind and the aged.

It’s because instead of coming together to deal with a financial crisis created by a history of smoke-and-mirrors budgeting and the worst recession since the Depression, the two parties are stuck in their same old, tired ways.

This inability of the parties to deal with each other through hard but honest negotiations is not new.  It led to the passage of Proposition 13, which dealt with an out-of-control situation that the legislature failed to address. 

Read more...
 
Catholics and National Health Care Reform PDF Print E-mail
Health Care
heathl-insurance2An exploration of the issues by William J. Cox, president and CEO of the Alliance of Catholic Health Care.

Our Catholic faith tells us that every human being is made in the image of God.  Consequently, every human being possesses an inherent dignity that must be revered; and every human being has the right and responsibility to realize the fullness of that dignity.  This includes access to necessary health care.

But millions of Americans – more than 47 million – lack access to adequate health care, and the number of uninsured and underinsured increases each day.  The American system of health care, as it currently functions, does not meet the needs of all residents of our nation.

Read more...
 
State Funds for Abortions May Also Be Subject to Cuts PDF Print E-mail
Pro-Life
Monday, 22 June 2009 16:49
icon_reverenceThe State of California reimburses Medi-Cal providers for abortions for women (or girls) who cannot afford to pay. In 2004, for instance, Medi-Cal paid for 39 percent of all abortions in California. Planned Parenthood is the single largest abortion provider in the state.

California Planned Parenthood offices are all affiliates of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA)-a nonprofit corporation. According to PPFA's 2007-2008 national Summary of Financial Activities, they received $349.6 million in the form of government grants and contracts, had total revenues of $1 billion, and provided 305,310 abortions. PPFA also reports a bottom line of $1.014 billion in net assets.
Read more...
 
Catholic Health Association Outlines Need for Health Care Reform PDF Print E-mail
health-careThe Catholic Health Association (CHA) has debuted a video to promote the urgent need for health care reform. The video, entitled "I Can't Wait," features a diverse group of caregivers, men and women religious, families, children and others expressing their hopes for a health care system that serves everyone.

With the momentum building in Washington for health reform legislation in the coming months, CHA hopes to use the video as part of a campaign to encourage grassroots support for action on Capitol Hill and in the White House. You can help out by watching the video and sending the link around to your friends, family members, colleagues and community leaders to keep the momentum going and collectively raise our voices for health reform.

Read more...
 
Statement of the Bishops on the California Budget Crisis PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 11 June 2009 20:29

soto-blaire-weigandBishops Call for
Protection of the Poor,
Real Reform

The president of the California Catholic Conference, Bishop Stephen Blaire, Diocese of Stockton, called on lawmakers to give top priority during budget deliberations to those who cannot help themselves.  The statement of the California Bishops was introduced at a press conference on Thursday at the Sacramento Food Bank, in the heart of one of the Capitol’s most impoverished neighborhoods.

Join the Bishops in support for the poor and advocating for real reform, by emailing your elected representatives.  Click here to Take Action.

Read more...
 
Immigration Reform Statement by Cardinal Roger Mahony PDF Print E-mail
Immigration

jfi-logoI am heartened that shortly President Barack Obama will be meeting with Congressional leaders to map out a strategy for advancing comprehensive immigration reform legislation in Congress.  Repair of our flawed immigration system is long overdue.   I urge President Obama and leaders in Congress to show leadership on this vital national issue.

It is my hope that the meeting at the White House will lead to a process for drafting immigration reform legislation and to its consideration by Congress by the end of this year.   Immigration reform must be enacted sooner rather than later.   Human beings attempting to work and support their families continue to be subject to exploitation by smugglers and unscrupulous employers,  and people continue to tragically perish in the desert.  This suffering must come to an end.

I commend President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for their efforts to focus attention on this issue and to move it forward in the legislative process.  I commit myself and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to assist their efforts where possible and to stand with them throughout the difficult process of enacting just and humane immigration reform legislation.  (June 4, 2009)

 
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 Next > End >>

Page 1 of 4
1119 K Street 2nd Floor   Sacramento, CA 95814      |       916 313-4000  Fax 916 313-4066      | General Email: leginfo@cacatholic.org