Marriage and Family
Respect Life Program Packet for 2009-10 Now Available
08/13/2009 09:37 AM
WASHINGTON—The
2009-10 Respect Life Program is now available in
preparation for Respect Life Sunday, October 4.
This year’s theme—“Every
Child Brings Us God’s Smile”—comes
from a homily of Pope Benedict XVI (January 7, 2007,
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord).
The Respect Life flyer explores this theme and
provides a fascinating timeline of fetal development
along with photos showing the humanity of unborn
children.
Topics addressed in this year’s Respect Life
Program reflect the diversity of pro-life concerns:
NOTE: The Respect Life packets may be ordered from the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities by calling toll-free (866) 582-0943, or by faxing orders to (301) 779-8596. Downloadable copies of Respect Life materials from 1996 onward are posted in English and Spanish on the Secretariat’s Website at www.usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp.
- the way ahead in building a culture of life (by Cardinal Justin Rigali)
- the essence of human dignity
- assisted suicide
- facts about contraception
- infertility
- same-sex marriage
NOTE: The Respect Life packets may be ordered from the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities by calling toll-free (866) 582-0943, or by faxing orders to (301) 779-8596. Downloadable copies of Respect Life materials from 1996 onward are posted in English and Spanish on the Secretariat’s Website at www.usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp.
Help for Immigrants -Yes Same-Sex Agenda - No
06/02/2009 02:28 PM
BISHOPS SUPPORT FAMILY REUNIFICATION SENATE BILL, NOT
ABLE TO SUPPORT SIMILAR HOUSE
LEGISLATION
WASHINGTON—Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration, expressed the Committee’s support for the Reuniting American Families Act (S. 1085) introduced May 20. He did so in a June 2 letter to Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).
The Act proposes reforms to the family-based immigration system that would allow immigrant families to more quickly reunite in the United States.
“Family reunification has represented the cornerstone of the U.S. immigration system, and should remain its central tenet in the future,” Bishop Wester said. He stressed that the United States “should resist proposals which would erode the family-based immigration system.”
Bishop Wester emphasized the importance of ensuring that the nuclear family stays together. “It is extremely important that barriers that keep the nuclear family—husband, wife and child—divided are removed as soon as possible,” he said, adding that S. 1085 “achieves this goal.”
Bishop Wester also issued a second letter indicating that the bishops’ Committee on Migration is not supporting similar legislation in the House. In a June 2 letter to Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), Bishop Wester wrote: “As you know, the USCCB supported H.R. 6638, similar legislation that you introduced during the 110th Congress. Unfortunately, however, while the bishops support many of the provisions in the Reuniting Families Act, your decision to include in the bill the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which would provide marriage-like immigration benefits to same sex relationships, makes it impossible for the bishops to support this year’s version of your bill.”
Bishop Wester noted that UAFA “would erode the institution of marriage and family” and called it “a position that is contrary to the very nature of marriage which pre-dates the Church and the state.” Consequently, he indicated that the Committee is instead offering its strong endorsement to the Senate version.
Among other provisions, S. 1085 would enable the immediate relatives (husbands, wives, and children) of legal permanent residents to legally enter the country more quickly; recapture family visas from prior years that were lost to bureaucratic delay; reduce family-visa backlogs from sending countries; and ensure that the widows and orphans of legal permanent residents are able to remain in the United States.
Bishop Wester also said that “Positive changes in the family-based immigration categories, such as those included in S. 1085, should be a central feature of any comprehensive immigration reform effort.”
WASHINGTON—Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration, expressed the Committee’s support for the Reuniting American Families Act (S. 1085) introduced May 20. He did so in a June 2 letter to Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).
The Act proposes reforms to the family-based immigration system that would allow immigrant families to more quickly reunite in the United States.
“Family reunification has represented the cornerstone of the U.S. immigration system, and should remain its central tenet in the future,” Bishop Wester said. He stressed that the United States “should resist proposals which would erode the family-based immigration system.”
Bishop Wester emphasized the importance of ensuring that the nuclear family stays together. “It is extremely important that barriers that keep the nuclear family—husband, wife and child—divided are removed as soon as possible,” he said, adding that S. 1085 “achieves this goal.”
Bishop Wester also issued a second letter indicating that the bishops’ Committee on Migration is not supporting similar legislation in the House. In a June 2 letter to Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), Bishop Wester wrote: “As you know, the USCCB supported H.R. 6638, similar legislation that you introduced during the 110th Congress. Unfortunately, however, while the bishops support many of the provisions in the Reuniting Families Act, your decision to include in the bill the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which would provide marriage-like immigration benefits to same sex relationships, makes it impossible for the bishops to support this year’s version of your bill.”
Bishop Wester noted that UAFA “would erode the institution of marriage and family” and called it “a position that is contrary to the very nature of marriage which pre-dates the Church and the state.” Consequently, he indicated that the Committee is instead offering its strong endorsement to the Senate version.
Among other provisions, S. 1085 would enable the immediate relatives (husbands, wives, and children) of legal permanent residents to legally enter the country more quickly; recapture family visas from prior years that were lost to bureaucratic delay; reduce family-visa backlogs from sending countries; and ensure that the widows and orphans of legal permanent residents are able to remain in the United States.
Bishop Wester also said that “Positive changes in the family-based immigration categories, such as those included in S. 1085, should be a central feature of any comprehensive immigration reform effort.”
