HARTFORD
- Catholic Concerns Day, scheduled for Wednesday, April
20, the annual pilgrimage to Hartford of the faithful from
all parts of the state, including Fairfield County, could not
come at a more important time, says Bishop William E. Lori.
"Seemingly
every day we read in the newspapers or hear on television about
some new piece of proposed legislation which threatens everything
we as Catholics hold most sacred," Bishop Lori says. "From the
destruction of human embryos to the establishment of civil
unions (see below), the
very fabric of our society and the sanctity of human life are
imperiled. We all must make a strong show of solidarity, and make
our voices heard. I urge Catholics will join me in Hartford on
April 20."
CAPTION:
Last year's Catholic Concerns Day drew a cast of thousands to
Hartford. Following a prayer service at Saint Joseph Cathedral,
participants marched to the State Capitol to meet with legislators
and make their voices heard. (Photo by Pat Hennessy)
Bishop
Lori will join his fellow Catholic bishops, priests, deacons,
Religious Sisters, and faithful of all ages at Catholic Concerns
Day, which is organized by the Connecticut Catholic Conference.
The
day begins with a 9:30 a.m. prayer service at the Cathedral
of Saint Joseph. Following the service, expert speakers will bring
participants up-to-date on issues before the current session of
the legislature.
Following
a procession to the State Capitol, participants will have the
opportunity to hear from and question legislators in the Legislative
Office Building.
Several
items before the General Assembly are of immediate interest to
Catholics and others concerned with whole life issues, and the
timetable to avert the passage of several of these bills, including
civil unions and embryonic stem-cell research, may
be tight. A list of specific concerns to Catholics is published
below.
Bus
transportation is being organized around the state, including
several points in Fairfield County. Details can be found in
parish bulletins; by contacting Linda in the Diocesan Family
Life/Respect Life Office: 372-4301, ext. 341; or via e-mail.
To learn
more about the issues of concern to Catholics, visit the website
of the Connecticut Catholic Conference: www.ctcatholic.org.
Diocese
responds to Civil Union Legislation
Click
here for Bishop Lori's Statement, April 14.
Click here to
see if your Senator and Representative voted for or against
"Civil Union" Legislation.
Click here for
a review of Same-Sex Marriage, aka "Civil Union"
Legislation.
CATHOLIC
CONCERNS DAY
April 20, 2005
Issues
of Concern to Catholics
The
following list of issues was prepared by the Connecticut Catholic
Conference in anticipation of Catholic Concerns Day in Hartford
on April 20. Whether or not Catholics are able to attend the day,
they are urged to contact their State Representatives and Senators
and express their concerns about the following issues. In many
cases, the specific bill number (SB or HB) is listed; this should
be cited in all correspondence.
For
contact information on a member of the Connecticut State House
of Representatives, click
here
For
contact information on a member of the Connecticut State Senate,
click
here.
To
contact Governor M. Jodi Rell, click
here.
Life
and Dignity of Human Person
Our
belief in the sanctity of human life is foundational to the principles
of Catholic social teaching. Our commitment to the dignity of
the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society.
The measure of any society is whether it threatens or enhances
the life and dignity of the human person. Increasingly, our society
responds to social problems through violence: abortion as the
solution to an unwanted pregnancy, assisted suicide as the solution
to pain and suffering, and capital punishment as the solution
to violent crime. Children can be referred for an abortion and
contraception without parental notification or consent. This not
only destroys the life of the unborn, but diminishes the human
dignity of the teenage mother, and violates the rights of parents.
Parents also must have the right to exercise their obligations
as the first educators of their children.
As human life
becomes expendable, the natural consequences emerge: school violence
is rampant, and reproductive technology treats human life as a
commodity that can be bought and sold. Embryonic stem cell research
and cloning involve the creation, research upon, and destruction
of human life. This is the ultimate commercialization of human
life. Society condones the killing of young human life (embryos),
because of unsubstantiated claims of potential cures for those
fortunate enough to be allowed to be born. Legislative proposals
for advancing and publicly funding embryonic stem cell research
include the creation of human life by cloning for its destruction.
We have separated the most sacred act of co-creation from its
purposes, to create between a man and a woman a loving family.
Family must be supported, not undermined by proposals that equate
this most sacred institution to same-sex unions and domestic partnerships.
- We
support adult stem cell research (including umbilical cord
blood and placental tissue).
- We
support parental notification for medical procedures for
minors.
- We
support family life curriculum in public schools which fosters
abstinence, not the misnomer of "safe-sex."
- We
support abolition of the death penalty: HB-6012: An
Act Concerning Murder with Special Circumstances.
- We
support a referendum allowing the people to decide if marriage
should be redefined for all of society through equating
same-sex civil unions to marriage.
- We
oppose SB-963: An Act Concerning Civil Unions. We
oppose HB-6698: An Act Concerning the Deprivation
of Rights on Account of Sexual Orientation [creating sexual
orientation as a class similar to gender, race, etc.].
- We
oppose SB-1147: An Act Concerning Health Care Coverage;
HB-6353: An Act Concerning Health Care Benefits for
Domestic Partners of State Employees; and HB-6930: An
Act Providing Health Insurance for the Same-Sex Domestic
Partners of Retired Members of the Connecticut Teacher's
Retirement System [domestic partners].
- We
oppose embryonic stem cell research and all cloning: SB-934:
An Act Permitting Stem Cell Research and Banning the
Cloning of Human Beings [please note it does not ban all
cloning].
- We
oppose laws that would decrease penalties for assisted suicide:
SB-1122: An Act Concerning the Eligibility for Accelerated
Rehabilitation of a Person Charged with a Violation of Section
53A-56(A)(2).
Rights
and Responsibilities
The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Labor
Every
person has a right fundamental right to life and a right to those
things required for human dignity. We each have corresponding
responsibilities to one another, to our families, to the poor
and the vulnerable, especially the elderly and the young, and
to the larger society. The right to health care and those things
that maintain health must be protected. There is a critical need
to provide for basic human needs, including health care to immigrants
through Medicaid, who would be otherwise eligible if they were
citizens. We oppose cuts to behavioral health and addiction services,
Medicaid co-pays monthly premiums for Husky B, and registration
fees, co-pays and excessive deductibles for prescriptions for
the impoverished elderly.
Providing
adequate funding for our mission driven health care institutions,
which serve the most vulnerable, is a responsibility of society.
Anticipated cuts will strain the resources of our hospitals, nursing
homes, and health care systems. We support a Provider Tax that
assures adequate redistribution to equitably support our nursing
homes, and other services for the vulnerable.
In
providing these vital services, our ministries and our employees
must be free of coercions that violate confidentiality or conscience.
Work is a form of continuing participation in God's creation,
not a form of participation in the destruction of life. Employers
should not be prevented from engaging employees in the faith-based
missions of their agencies. Furthermore, coercive investigative
subpoenas that violate confidentiality and civil rights should
be opposed.
- We
support a Nursing Facility User Fee that provides adequate
funding for nursing homes, with consideration of the needs
of other health and human services ministries.
- We
oppose delays in acute care hospitals' biennium rate increases.
- We
oppose SB-277: An Act Concerning Employer Communications
about Politics, Religion or Labor Organizing Activities.
- We
oppose HB-5795: An Act Requiring Information and
Counseling about Treatment Options for Life Threatening
Diseases [which would include abortion].
- We
oppose HB-6887: An Act Concerning Investigative Subpoenas.
Option
for the Poor and Vulnerable
Solidarity
A society
will be judged by how its most vulnerable members are faring.
We can never abandon them. As a people of God, when we turn our
backs on the most vulnerable, we turn our backs on ourselves.
Vulnerable poor urban children are forced to live in unsafe housing,
subject to urban blight. Shelters turn away homeless families.
Those in need of mental health services are left to find shelter
in the streets. We are our brothers' and sisters' keepers. The
integrated supportive services needed to permanently move people
out of chronic homelessness must be provided. These obligations
are not defined by national origins of persons. Immigrants, whether
legal or undocumented, have the fundamental right to those things
necessary to meet their basic needs. Catholic Charities and Catholic
health care are the safety nets. Government must partner with
the Church to meet the needs of those who have no other access
to services vital to their well being.
- We
support SB-897: An Act Implementing the Recommendations
of the Child Poverty Council.
- We
support HB-6540: An Act Authorizing Bonds of the
State for the Institute of the Hispanic Family in Hartford.
- We
support SB-1056: An Act Providing Additional Units
for the Supportive Housing Initiative and for Financing
of the Initiative by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.
- We
oppose HB-6688: An Act Implementing the Governor's
Budget Recommendations with Respect to Social Services Programs.
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