Cardinal to Senate: Respect Religious Freedom of All

WASHINGTON (USCCB) — “We remain firmly committed to the defense of religious liberty for all—not just for Catholics—because our commitment is to the dignity of each and every human person,” said Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the retired archbishop of Washington, testifying on behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights hearing on “Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims."

“As a community that has been the target of religious discrimination, we understand the need today to bring attention to protecting the civil rights of our Muslim brothers and sisters,” Cardinal McCarrick said. “We see religious freedom as an essential foundation for our life together in our own nation and across the globe.”

Cardinal McCarrick spoke of current threats to religious freedom, noting, “When the very right of conscience is attacked, the ability to exercise religious beliefs is subverted. There are well known contemporary examples where the state would force religious groups and individuals to choose between following their religious beliefs and practices and following the dictates of law.”

He concluded, “As other countries wrestle with how to treat religious minorities, let them look to our nation where we work to ensure that their Muslim sisters and brothers are treated with dignity and their religious identity and beliefs are treated with respect. Let them see a people blessed with hard won religious freedom living out our commitment to the rights of all by demonstrating full respect for the identity, integrity and freedom of all religions.”

Cardinal McCarrick’s written testimony can be found online: http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/Cardinal_McCarrick_Testimony_March_29_hearing.pdf

Bishop's reflection for the 3rd week of Lent

MCC Lansing Update, March 25, 2011

MCC Urges Tax Policy Committee to Retain State EITC

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) does more to lift low-income families and their children out of poverty than any other policy, and the state has an obligation to continue to work toward decreasing the number of children living below the poverty line, MCC testified before the House Tax Policy Committee this week.

Michigan Catholic Conference has made protecting the state EITC its top legislative priority this year as legislators and the administration have sought to eliminate the credit in order to help pay down the state’s budget deficit and to provide businesses with a substantial tax cut.

The House Tax Policy Committee over the course of several weeks is conducting hearings to evaluate the state’s tax structure, of which Governor Snyder’s administration has called for a complete overhaul. In order to provide businesses with an overall $1.8 billion tax cut, the governor has proposed eliminating the state Earned Income Tax Credit, taxing private and public pension programs (which currently are not taxed), and eliminating several other tax credits, including the Homestead Tax Credit.

All told, the governor’s proposal would eliminate the state’s $1.7 billion deficit while at the same time provide an 86 percent tax cut for businesses in Michigan.

The House Tax Policy Committee will continue to take testimony on the state’s tax structure next week, and any effort to reinstate funding for the state Earned Income Tax Credit will likely take place in this committee. MCC will continue to advocate for preservation of the state EITC throughout the legislative process.

A vote on funding for EITC is expected in the coming weeks, and an action alert will be sent to members of the Catholic Legislative Advocacy Network urging support for this important policy.

Conference Supports Continued Assistance Programs in DHS Budget

Conference staff testified this week in the House Appropriations Department of Human Services Subcommittee urging members to include in the department’s annual budget a measure that would allow those with past drug convictions to receive food and other basic assistance from the state.

Testimony before the House DHS subcommittee focused on allowing those convicted of past drug-related crimes to be eligible for state assistance through the Family Independence Grant program. The dollars that help fund this state program come from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families allowance, which gives states the choice of whether or not to allow such assistance.

MCC has long advocated for restorative justice, and believes that helping pregnant women who have previously been convicted of drug-related crimes, for example, should be eligible for basic assistance. Michigan also has a nationally recognized Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative, which works to reduce recidivism by helping parolees successfully return to their communities.

Staff will continue to follow this issue as committee members work to finalize the departmental budget.

Action Alert! Support For D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program Needed

Michigan Catholic Conference, working in solidarity with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has posted on its website an action alert item regarding the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. This federally funded program allows eligible low-income families in the District of Columbia to use federal dollars to attend a private, including Catholic, school of their choice.

The Catholic Church has long taught that parents are the primary educators of their children and the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children. Catholic social teaching emphasizes that poor and vulnerable persons deserve preferential concern when programs are being developed.

Members of the Catholic Legislative Advocate Network are encouraged to contact their member of Congress and urge reauthorization of this program. Background for the action alert and additional information may be found here. Please contact your member of Congress today!

Editor’s Note: The Michigan Legislature will be on spring break the next two weeks and will return to its regular session schedule the week of April 11.

Bishops Ask Administration to Weigh Use of Force in Libya in Light of Duty to Protect Human Life and Dignity

WASHINGTON (USCCB) — As the U.S. and other nations take military action to protect the people of Libya from their own government, the U.S. bishops asked the Obama administration to stay focused on this limited goal and mission, as well as the wellbeing of the civilian population.

“Important questions include: How is the use of force protecting the civilian population of Libya? Is the force employed proportionate to the goal of protecting civilians?” wrote Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, New York, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in a March 24 letter to National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon. The bishop also urged that the use of force be continually evaluated in light of these questions: “Is it producing evils graver than the evil it hopes to address?” and “What are the implications of the use of force for the future welfare of the Libyan people and the stability of the region?”

“We know these are difficult questions to which there are few easy answers, but it is our moral responsibility as a nation to rigorously examine the use of military force in light of the need to protect human life and dignity,” said Bishop Hubbard.

Bishop Hubbard said the purpose articulated in UN Security Council Resolution 1973 to demand “a ceasefire and a complete end to violence and all attacks against, and abuses of, civilians” appears to meet the traditional criterion of “just cause,” but said the U.S. bishops joined Pope Benedict XVI in following the military action in Libya with “great apprehension.”

The letter is available online: www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/callafrica/2011-03-24BishopHubbardtoNationalSecurityAdvisor.pdf

President of USCCB Reiterates Bishops’ Resolve to Deal Firmly with Clerics Who Abuse Children

WASHINGTON (USCCB) — Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, reiterated the U.S. bishops’ resolve to deal firmly with clerics who abuse children in a March 22 statement.

He highlighted and endorsed efforts by bishops, clergy and laity to implement the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which was drafted by the bishops in 2002 to deal with the crisis of sexual abuse of minors by clerics. Archbishop Dolan said child abusers will not be tolerated in ministry.

“We remain especially firm in our commitment to remove permanently from public ministry any priest who committed such an intolerable offense,” he said.

The statement was developed during the USCCB Administrative Committee meeting in Washington. The Administrative Committee is the highest ranking body of bishops when the full body is not in session. It meets every September, March and November.

The full statement follows.

In light of the recent disclosures about the Church’s response to the sexual abuse of minors by priests, I have been asked by my brother bishops, gathered for the recent meeting of the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, to offer reassurances that this painful issue continues to receive our careful attention, that the protection of our children and young people is of highest priority, and that the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that we adopted in 2002 remains strongly in place.

Over the past nine years, we have constantly reviewed the high promises and rigorous mandates of the Charter, as we continually try to make it even more effective. Thanks to the input of our National Review Board, Catholic parents, professionals, the victim-survivor community, law enforcement officials, and our diocesan victim-assistance coordinators, we keep refining the efficiency of theCharter. We want to learn from our mistakes and we welcome constructive criticism. In fact, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has a long-planned review of the Charter scheduled for our June meeting.

The arrival of April, National Child Abuse Prevention Month, provides us the providential opportunity to unite with all Americans in a renewed resolve to halt the scourge of sexual abuse of youth in our society.

We bishops recommit ourselves to the rigorous mandates of the Charter, and renew our confidence in its effectiveness. We repeat what we have said in the Charter: “We make our own the words of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II: that the sexual abuse of young people is by every standard wrong and rightly considered a crime by society; it is also an appalling sin in the eyes of God” (Address to the Cardinals of the United States and Conference Officers, April 23, 2002). We remain especially firm in our commitment to remove permanently from public ministry any priest who committed such an intolerable offense.

The annual outside audits by forensic experts will continue, checking that we remain faithful to the processes in place to protect our young people, promote healing of victims/survivors and restore trust. We also thank our diocesan review boards, and those who lead our extensive programs of child protection and background checks for all priests, deacons, teachers, youth workers and volunteers in our expansive apostolates to young people.

In short, the progress made must continue and cannot be derailed; we want to strengthen it even more; we can never stop working at it, because each child and young person must always be safe, loved and cherished in the Church. We are encouraged in this resolve by the words of Pope Benedict XVI to the bishops of the United States during his Apostolic Visit in 2008: “It is your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every breach of trust, to foster healing, to promote reconciliation and to reach out with loving concern to those so seriously wronged. “

Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of New York
President, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
March 22, 2011

On Anniversary of Archbishop Romero’s Death, Bishops Call U.S. to Do More for Latin America

WASHINGTON (USCCB) — On the anniversary of the 1980 assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador, the chairmen of various committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reflected on the relevance of the Archbishop’s witness for today.

“This week’s visit of President Obama to Archbishop Romero’s tomb reminds us of the Archbishop’s powerful legacy. He spoke with courage to political leaders to champion justice and peace, and we must do the same today,” said Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, of Albany, chairman of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace.

“Archbishop Romero defended the rights of poor and marginalized persons of his day,” remarked Archbishop José Gomez, of Los Angeles, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration. “Today, moved by his example, we urge the President and the Congress to reach out to those at the margins of our society by adopting comprehensive immigration reform.”

“We also call on our political leaders to address the root causes of migration by working to reduce poverty, promote educational and economic opportunities, and protect human rights,” Bishop Hubbard said. “These were causes for which Archbishop Romero was martyred, and they remain our causes today.”

Catholics contribute over $7 million every year to USCCB’s Collection for the Church in Latin America. “In El Salvador alone, we have funded Church-based projects totaling over $3 million since 2000,” said Archbishop Gomez, who also chairs the USCCB’s Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America. “The Church is committed to Latin America; we ask our government to do more for the people of the region.”

Bishop's reflection for the 2nd week of Lent