Happy Birthday Pope Leo XIV!
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| Please pray for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as he celebrates his 71st birthday today! |
WCC Denounces Planned Parenthood Lawsuit
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| Last week, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn protections for women and their unborn children. The lawsuit asks the court to find that state laws ensuring that only physicians may provide abortions and a 24-hour waiting period are unconstitutional.
These commonsense laws provide critical protection and medical safeguards for Wisconsin’s women and their children. The suit aims to eliminate these laws not for patient safety, but for profit and expediency. No woman should be rushed into an abortion. When human life is on the line, every moment counts.
WCC Executive Director David Earleywine said, “Every human life is sacred. The Catholic Church upholds the sanctity of every human life from the moment of conception. Likewise, the Wisconsin Constitution recognizes the right to life is the first and foundational right. Without life, one cannot have freedom or liberty.”
Earleywine continued, “Planned Parenthood’s effort to manufacture a right to abortion in the Wisconsin Constitution deliberately removes medical safeguards for women. Furthermore, it completely ignores the child’s right to life and will only lead to the death of more preborn children. The task ahead of us is to ensure that every woman has the support she needs throughout pregnancy and parenthood.” |
Stopping Assisted Suicide Legalization in Wisconsin
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| Please join us on Thursday, September 17 from 7-8pm for an important webinar exploring the realities of assisted suicide and what legalization in Wisconsin could mean for vulnerable communities.
Hear from the experts as this timely conversation will examine key issues, real stories from patients, and provide an opportunity to learn more about how assisted suicide could impact patients, families, and healthcare in our state. Whether you’re a healthcare professional, advocate, caregiver, or simply interested in learning more, we hope you’ll join us for this informative discussion hosted by the Patients Rights Action Fund. |
A Letter to Wisconsin Catholics on Faithful Citizenship
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| Every two years, ahead of the elections, the bishops of Wisconsin invite Catholics throughout the state to consider what it means to be a citizen who is faithful to Christ. This year, moved by the election of the first American pope, the bishops’ letter highlights Pope Leo XIV’s Address to Members of the Diplomatic Corps, which brought to the fore global issues especially relevant to our social and political landscape in the United States. The Wisconsin bishops’ letter is excerpted in part below:
Protect human life. Pope Leo “considers it deplorable that public resources are allocated to suppress life, rather than being invested to support mothers and families. The primary objective must remain the protection of every unborn child and the effective and concrete support of every woman so that she is able to welcome life.” He adds, “we firmly reiterate that the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right. A society is healthy and truly progresses only when it safeguards the sanctity of human life and works actively to promote it.”
Protect religious freedom and human rights. Pope Leo writes that religious freedom is “the first of all human rights, because it expresses the most fundamental reality of man.” And yet in many places, “religious freedom is considered … more as a ‘privilege’ or concession than a fundamental human right.”
Promote the family. Pope Leo explains that “the institution of the family faces two crucial challenges today. On the one hand, there is a worrying tendency in the international system to neglect and underestimate its fundamental social role, leading to its progressive institutional marginalization. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the growing and painful reality of fragile, broken and suffering families…”
Uphold human dignity of all, including migrants and prisoners. Pope Leo notes that “every migrant is a person and, as such, has inalienable rights that must be respected in every situation.”
Promote political dialogue and build consensus. We must have “a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties” and not replace it with “diplomacy based on force.” This type of distortion “gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence.”
The bishops conclude: “Above all, pray, form your conscience, vote, and remain engaged in civic life. Inspired by St. Augustine and Pope Leo, may we all turn our hearts to the heavenly city, our true home, as we seek to foster true peace here on earth.”
This letter accompanies other Faithful Citizenship resources to help explore Catholic Social Teaching and apply it to our role as citizens and voters. Read the full letter and explore the Faithful Citizenship materials: |
USCCB Action Alert: Ask Congress to Support a Just Solution for TPS Holders and Dreamers
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| The USCCB is asking Catholics to contact their U.S. representative and ask them to support the American Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 1589). The bill would provide a just and long-term legal solution for Dreamers (people brought to the U.S. as children who lack legal status but know only this country as their home) and those who have been lawfully relying on temporary protected status or deferred enforced departure for several years. Under current law, there is no direct pathway to permanent legal status for these populations, including for people who have protection under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
Eligibility to apply for permanent legal status under H.R. 1589 would be subject to several limitations (such as, for Dreamers, being physically present in the United States since at least January 1, 2021), while also requiring applicants to pay fees, present certain identifying information, and submit to background checks/security vetting.
This bill has passed in the House on a bipartisan basis on multiple occasions during previous congresses and has long enjoyed support from a wide cross-section of the American public. Up to this point, it has not passed in both the House and Senate, but it continues to have bipartisan support. If you haven’t already, please click the link below to learn more and contact your U.S. representative: |
More Updates from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
For more of the USCCB’s current federal action alerts, click here. |
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