Bishops Urge Senate to Remove Abortion Amendment from Defense Bill

WASHINGTON — A Senate committee amendment that would authorize the performance of elective abortions at military hospitals in this country and around the world is “misguided” and should be removed from the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3454), said the Chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. In a June 29 letter, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston urged Senators to remove this amendment on the grounds that it breaks with longstanding federal and military policies on government promotion of abortion.
           
Cardinal DiNardo said it was disingenuous to suggest, as the amendment’s proponents have, that the amendment is “moderate” in requiring patients at military facilities to pay for their abortions. “Which is a more direct governmental involvement in abortion: That the government reimburses someone else for having done an abortion, or that the government performs the abortion itself and accepts payment for doing so?” the Cardinal wrote. He cited a 1989 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court saying that “the State need not commit any resources to facilitating abortions, even if it can turn a profit by doing so.”
           
Cardinal DiNardo also noted the longstanding nature of the current policy against providing abortions at military health facilities, which has been in place for 22 years with the exception of 1993-1995.
           
“During the brief period when these facilities were told to make abortions available, scarcely any military physician could be found in overseas facilities who was willing to perform abortions,” the Cardinal added.
           
Cardinal DiNardo also said that the current military policy is in keeping with federal policy in general, noting: “Other federal health facilities also may not be used for elective abortions, and many states have their own laws against use of public facilities for such abortions.”
           
Calling on the Senate not to approve the bill unless it maintains current law, as the bill approved by the House of Representatives already does, Cardinal DiNardo concluded that “this amendment presents Congress with the very straightforward question whether it is the task of our federal government to directly promote and facilitate elective abortions.  During the recent health care reform debate, the President and congressional leadership assured us that they agree it is not.”
           
Archbishop Broglio of the Archdiocese of Military Services had written an earlier letter to the Senate against the proposed policy change.  Cardinal DiNardo endorsed his letter as well, noting that it urges Congress “not to impose this tremendous burden on the consciences of Catholic and other health care personnel who joined our armed services to save and protect innocent life, not to destroy it.”
           
Full text of the letter can be found online at: www.usccb.org/prolife/DiNardo-Ltr-Military-Abortions-6-29-2010.pdf 

U.S. Bishops Launch New Initiative, 'Marriage: Unique for a Reason'

WASHINGTON — The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage has launched a new initiative for the protection of marriage, entitled Marriage: Unique for a Reason. The initiative is to help catechize and educate Catholics on the meaning of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
           
The launch comes with the release of the first of five videos. The first video is called Made for Each Other and includes a Viewer’s Guide and Resource Booklet. It explores sexual difference and the complementarity between man and woman as husband and wife in marriage. Later videos will treat the good of children, the good of society and what constitutes discrimination, religious liberty, and issues particular to a Latino/a audience.
           
“The Committee’s efforts are grounded in the recognition that marriage, as the union of one man and one woman, is at the heart of a flourishing society and culture,” said Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, chairman of the Committee. “The truth of marriage lies at the very core of a true concern for justice and the common good. Promoting marriage is crucial to the New Evangelization. These initial materials seek to provide a key starting point, a compass, for assisting Catholics and all people of good will in understanding why marriage is and can only be the union of one man and one woman.”
           
The DVD, guide, and booklet are intended for use by priests, deacons, catechists, teachers and other leaders. Potential uses include instruction for young adult groups, adult faith formation, and seminary and diaconate education. Materials are online at www.marriageuniqueforareason.org and are available for purchase through www.usccbpublishing.org. 

Obituary for the Rev. Mr. Ralph S. Brisson

PINCONNING - The Rev. Mr. Ralph S. Brisson, 62, a deacon of the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, died Thursday, June 24, 2010.

Born in Cambridge, Mass.,on July 28, 1947 to Raymond L. and  Lucy (Mercier) Brissonm, he married Sharman Catanzano on July 24, 1971 in Reading, Mass., she survives him.

Ralph worked for the Boys Scouts of American in Massachusetts and New Jersey. He attended Salem State University in Salem, Mass., and Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., and received his master's degree in theology. He was ordained as a permanent deacon on June 2, 1984 in the Diocese of Metuchin, N.J.

Deacon Brisson has served at Christ the King, Manville, N.J.; St .James, Omaha, Neb.; St. Patrick, Elkhorn, Neb.; and Ss. Peter & Paul,Saginaw. Since 2006, he has served as pastoral administrator at St. Michaels, Pinconning. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and parish men’s club.

He is survived by his wife, Sharman, of 38 years,their children: John-Paul Brisson and his fiancée Kayla Walterman of Nebraska, Marni and Chris Tierno of Pennsylvania, Cheri and Joe Salazar of Michigan, and Audri and Jeff Perron of Massachusetts; his grandchildren: Joey, Rosalie, Liana and another due in September; his mother, Lucy Brisson of New Hampshire; two brothers: Russell and Charlotte Brisson of Georgia and Rock and Mary Brisson of New Hampshire: two sisters: Yvonne and Michael Lucy of Massachusetts and Roslyn and Billy Popielski of Virginia; and four nieces and 9 nephews. He was preceeded in death by his father, Raymond Leo Brisson, Sr. and brother, Raymond L. Brisson Jr.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Tuesday June 29, 2010 at St. Michael Church, Pinconning. The Most Rev. Joseph R Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, will preside and the Rev. Joseph K. Miller, Rev. Richard E. Jozwiak and Rev Robert J. DeLand will concelebrate. Burial will take place at St. Michael Cemetery.

Visitation will take place from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, June 28, 2010,  at the church. A vigil liturgy will be led by members of St. Michael Parish followed by a Bible presentation by the Knights of Columbus. There will be another opportunity for visitation from 10 a.m. until time of the funeral at the church.

Those planning and expression of sympathy are asked to consider the St. Michael’s Endowment Fund. Arrangements are entrusted to Lee-Ramsay Funeral Home and condolences maybe sent to www.leeramsayrivertownfh.com.

Youth Encounter Service

SAGINAW - Teens from across the diocese on Friday put the finishing touches on the annual week-long service project and social justice program Youth Encounter Service (Y.E.S.).

Bishops Express Prayers, Solidarity for Those Harmed by Oil Spill

WASHINGTON — While meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida, for prayer and reflection, on June 18, the U.S. bishops voiced their prayers and solidarity for those affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Full text of the bishops’ statement follows:

"We, the Catholic Bishops of the United States, gathered in St. Petersburg, Florida, for several days of prayer and reflection, take this opportunity to express publicly our heartfelt prayers and pastoral solidarity with all those affected by the oil that continues to leak into the Gulf of Mexico.  We pray first and foremost for those who died in the initial explosion and for the grieving members of their families.  We express our prayerful support as well for the families and individuals whose lives and livelihoods have been so negatively impacted by the oil that daily contaminates water, beaches and God’s creation in the Gulf Coast area.  In a special way, in our difficult economic times, we are mindful of those who have lost their jobs and income."


"Finally, we offer our prayers for our government leaders and for the industry leaders and experts who are working to cap the leak and repair this damage.  May God give them wisdom and strength in this trying hour, and may He move them to seek lasting solutions benefitting the common good of our society."

Pro-life Chair Voices ‘Grave Concern’ Over FDA Plan to Approve Abortion Drug for ‘Emergency Contraception’

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities voiced “grave concern” to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its move toward approving a new drug that may induce early abortions as an “emergency contraceptive.” In a June 17 letter to Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the FDA, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston criticized the FDA’s move to hold an advisory committee meeting on the drug Ulipristal “without broad public input or a full record on the drug’s safety for women or their unborn children.”

The Cardinal raised concerns that Ulipristal is more similar in effect to the drug RU-486, which can cause abortions several weeks into pregnancy, than it is to other emergency contraceptives, which are believed to have no post-implantation effects.

“Millions of American women, even those willing to use a contraceptive to prevent fertilization in various circumstances, would personally never choose to have an abortion,” said Cardinal DiNardo. “They would be ill served by a misleading campaign to present Ulipristal simply as a ‘contraceptive.’ In fact, FDA approval for that purpose would likely make the drug available for ‘off-label’ use simply as an abortion drug – including its use by unscrupulous men with the intent of causing an early abortion without a woman's knowledge or consent. Such abuses have already occurred in the case of RU-486, despite its warning labels and limited distribution.”

Cardinal DiNardo went on to cite the support of this and previous Administrations for federal laws ensuring no one is involved in an abortion without his or her knowledge or consent, as well as the Obama Administration’s rationale for supporting broad access to contraceptives as a means of reducing abortions.
“Plans for approving a known abortion-causing drug as a ‘contraceptive’ for American women is not consistent with the stated policy of the Administration on these matters,” the Cardinal wrote.

Read the full text of the letter.

Apostleship Of The Sea Sets Up Network, Urges Catholics To Assist Those Harmed By Oil Spill

WASHINGTON — The overseer of the maritime ministry of the U.S. bishops expressed solidarity with those impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and announced the creation of a network to help with the human and environmental harm caused by the disaster.


In a video at www.youtube.com/user/usccb#p/p/96DDE9247B03585A/0/cO63wxFuVM0, Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah, Georgia, bishop promoter of the Apostleship of the Sea, urged Catholics to assist the work already being done by the Church to address this disaster. He said the Apostleship of the Sea is setting up a network of diocesan relief efforts along the Gulf Coast and cited the work of Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese and New Orleans (www.ccano.org) as one avenue for getting involved.

Bishop Boland also offered prayers for the victims of the oil rig explosion and their families and for the fishermen and others whose livelihoods are threatened by the environmental damage to the Gulf. He also urged Catholic to pray for the success of efforts to stop the spill and clean up the Gulf.

“It is God’s creation,” Bishop Boland said of the environment. “He has given it to us to take care of it. We must do all that we can, both as individuals and as a Church and as a community to restore to its proper dimensions and its proper beauty what God has given to us.”


The Apostleship of the Sea provides spiritual care to seafarers and all who rely on the sea for their livelihood. For more information on the Apostleship of the Sea and its relief efforts in the Gulf, visit:www.usccb.org/pcmrt/onmove/aos.shtml