Office of Evangelization & Catechesis

SIX THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE HHS MANDATE

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offers the following clarifications regarding the Health and Human Services regulations on mandatory coverage of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs.

1.  The mandate does not exempt Catholic charities, schools, universities, or hospitals.  These institutions are vital to the mission of the     Church, but HHS does not deem them "religious employers" worthy of conscience protection, because they do not "serve primarily persons who share the[ir] religious tenets."  HHS denies these organizations religious freedom precisely because their purpose is to serve the common good of society—a purpose that government should encourage, not punish. 

2.  The mandate forces these institutions and others, against their conscience, to pay for things they consider immoral.  Under the mandate, the government forces religious insurers to write policies that violate their beliefs; forces religious employers and schools to sponsor and subsidize coverage that violates their beliefs; and forces religious employees and students to purchase coverage that violates their beliefs. 

3.  The mandate forces coverage of sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and devices as well as contraception.  Though commonly called the "contraceptive mandate," HHS's mandate also forces employers to sponsor and subsidize coverage of sterilization.  And by including all drugs approved by the FDA for use as contraceptives, the HHS mandate includes drugs that can induce abortion, such as "Ella," a close cousin of the abortion pill RU-486.

4.  Catholics of all political persuasions are unified in their opposition to the mandate.  Catholics who have long supported this Administration and its healthcare policies have publicly criticized HHS's decision, including columnists E.J. Dionne, Mark Shields, and Michael Sean Winters; college presidents Father John Jenkins and Arturo Chavez; and Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan, president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

5.  Many other religious and secular people and groups have spoken out strongly against the mandate.  Many recognize this as an assault on the broader principle of religious liberty, even if they disagree with the Church on the underlying moral question.  For example, Protestant Christian, Orthodox Christian, and Orthodox Jewish groups--none of which oppose contraception--have issued statements against the HHS's decision.  The Washington Post, USA Today, N.Y. Daily News, Detroit News, and other secular outlets, columnists, and bloggers have editorialized against it.

6.  The federal mandate is much stricter than existing state mandates.  HHS chose the narrowest state-level religious exemption as the model for its own.  That exemption was drafted by the ACLU and exists in only 3 states (New York, California, Oregon).  Even without a religious exemption, religious employers can already avoid the contraceptive mandates in 28 states by self-insuring their prescription drug coverage, dropping that coverage altogether, or opting for regulation under a federal law (ERISA) that pre-empts state law.  The HHS mandate closes off all these avenues of relief.

Additional information on the U.S. Catholic bishops’ stance on religious liberty, conscience protection and the HHS ruling regarding mandatory coverage of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs is available at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/index.cfm.

For the Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (February 19, 2012)

"Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Have you ever listened to someone share about an encounter they had with a spiritual person who healed them of their psychological troubles and you found yourself skeptical of the process or the person?  Have you ever listened to someone share their story of conversion after participating in a retreat, visiting a shrine, or attending a healing service and you found yourself questioning the authenticity of the retreat leader or the spiritual sight or the actual healer? What arouses these suspicions? Why is it we find it hard to believe in these miracles or transformations or even  a change of heart?

Mobilizing Volunteers for Your Ministry 

Parish leaders rely on the rich resource of volunteers to accomplish their ministry, yet recruiting and sustaining volunteers is often a difficult part of parish ministry.  This workshop will provide many ideas to help you discover the treasure of volunteers with your parish.  The workshop will help you:

The cost of the workshop is $54, which includes lunch and a handout packet rich in practical ideas &resources.

March 22, 2012 - Baton Rouge

(See website for locations and dates for all workshops).
For more information about the content of the event, go to www.cmdnet.org, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . If you have questions regarding the on-line registration process, contact Dee at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Click link below to view the Mobilizing Volunteers Workshop Brochure! 
http://cmdnet.org/files/Volunteer%20Workshop%20Series/Youth%20Retreats%20Workshop%20Series-Spring%202012%20(rev%2012-11).pdfes


This workshop is designed for all those whose ministries whose ministries
rely on volunteers. Parish leaders will be invited to come together as a parish team to envision new ways of relating to all parishioners while growing each individual ministry. All diocesan offices that work with parish ministers may wish to offer this workshop to their constituents.

 Here are excerpts from the December 16^th issue of Religion Dispatches. It was written by Elizabeth Drescher, a religion writer and scholar of Christian spiritualities who teaches at Santa Clara University. She is the author of Tweet If You ♥ Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation.

 

Dr. Drescher take a look at some trends in social media that are reshaping religion and spirituality. If you wish to read the entire article you can go to http://www.religiondispatches.org/contributors/elizabethdrescher/

 

1. Social Prayer

Throughout 2011, the “Jesus Daily” Facebook page has outranked soccer superpowers and celebrity superstars like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber as the “most engaging” locale on Facebook. In all, more than half of the top twenty most engaging pages—pages that move beyond mere broadcast messaging to share content that inspires participants to interact with one another—are religious.

 

2. Ministers-On-The-Go

The location based service (LBS) Foursquare reached a milestone over the summer, topping 10 million users—a 10,000 percent increase over its member base in 2009. As the reality of part-time, bi-vocational, and otherwise extra-congregational lay and ordained ministry continues to grow, believers and seekers shaped by digital culture increasingly expect mobile accessibility to everything.

3. O Holy App

With more than half a million apps now available for the iPhone or iPad, and maybe 232 for the Android, it’s clear that the number of religiously-themed apps is growing. Prayer book apps, those for on-the-go spiritual practices, and other tools that integrate spirituality into everyday life have been most popular.

 

4. Curate as Curator

As social networking sites grow as prime destinations for day-to-day distraction, engaging content will have increasing significance. It’s important to remember that “engaging” doesn’t mean ‘shiny’ or ‘loud.’ Rather, it means content that appeals to or productively challenges the interests of those in one’s networks, invites conversation, and encourages sharing across networks. If it inspires and enriches face-to-face connection, all the better.   

  

 5. A Few New Commandments

In 2009, the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut was among the first to offer social media guidelines. Like the few that were beginning to become available at the time, they blend what amount to public relations rules (e.g., when and how to use church logos) with guidance on appropriate ministry behavior with minors.

More recently, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop published social media guidelines. The USCCB guidelines have a similar tone to those from the Diocese of Connecticut. A Google search for “social media guidelines for churches” yields more than 27 million results.
  
Source: CL Weekly December 19, 2011: Volume V, Number 51

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Website highlights many activities we should be aware of in our daily journey as Catholic Christians.

Visit this website often for up to date information on the life of our Church.

Click here to access website