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Catholic CAUCUS (vanity). FOCA Postcard Campaign: is your parish involved and what's the response?
Myself (vanity) | Jan. 25, 2009 | Joan (baa39)

Posted on 01/26/2009 12:33:19 AM PST by baa39

Dear fellow Catholics, by now you probably know that the USCCB spent a good deal of planning and money to organize a "postcard campaign" to Congress opposing FOCA (the ultra-radical pro-abortion 'Freedom of Choice Act' Obama wants to pass).

Every bishop agreed to direct every single parish pastor in every single diocese in this country to devote the next few weeks to this. However, I'm getting feedback from friends across the country that this isn't happening and would love a Freeper Catholic response so we can all get a broad view of how powerful (or weak) the Catholic message to the current pro-death Administration might be.

Excellently written bulletin inserts and fliers and pre-printed postcards were mailed directly from the USCCB to parishes nationwide, with coordination supposedly coming from all the chanceries with letters from bishops to priests and coordination by diocesan Respect Life (or in some cases Peace & Justice) offices.

In my parish, which some might call orthodox or conservative, the priest has been on this since day one. Bulletin, announcements, sermons, etc. Today before Mass he read the bishops' statement and told everyone to sign the cards. The ushers passed them out. When a few reluctant folks were obviously not participating, the priest bellowed "I want to see every pen moving! The lives of innocent babies are not going to be on my or your consciences as long as I am in this pulpit." To make it easier, ushers then collected the signed cards, and the parish will pay the postage and volunteers will stamp and mail. In a nutshell, total compliance with our bishop and beyond (the bishop's letter was actually quite weak).

Imagine my dismay at this scenario described by a relative in the Diocese of Oakland:

First the words "abortion" and "pro-life" are NEVER mentioned in her parish, from the pulpit, or the bulletin, or the prayer group. However, when I told her this event was coming and mandated by the bishops, she was hoping. For the past few weeks she's diligently looked for something, and finally asked the pastor, who muttered a gruff, incomprehensible response and walked away.

So she waited until today thinking the postcards would at least be made available in the vestibule. Hearing no mention at Mass and seeing nothing around, she approached the visiting priest (since the regular pastor took this week off, hmmm). This priest said, "I'm not responsible for anything in this parish, ask him," and jerked a thumb at the parish deacon a few yards away. My relative then approached the deacon, who refused to meet her eyes, and said he knew nothing about it. In desperation, knowing the Knights of Columbus usually are active in pro-life things, she went up to their table at coffee & donuts and politely asked if they knew the bishops had organized a write-in campaign to oppose FOCA and some materials were made available to the parishes. These Knights seemed honestly confused and said they knew nothing either.

So, the obvious bottom line question: how many parishes really are participating? And if not, is it due to obfuscation by the priest, or because the bishop did not give the mandate?

The glaring difference between my parish and my relative's shows the great divide in the US Catholic Church today.


TOPICS: Catholic; Current Events; Moral Issues; Religion & Culture; Religion & Politics; Worship
KEYWORDS: abortion; bishops; catholic; foca; obama; postcard; prolife
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To: baa39

I thought so too.


21 posted on 01/26/2009 5:53:28 PM PST by TASMANIANRED (TAZ:Untamed, Unpredictable, Uninhibited.)
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To: TASMANIANRED

Great idea to be presented with the Gifts.


22 posted on 01/26/2009 6:42:11 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: baa39

Diocese of Worcester Launches F.O.C.A. Post Card Drive

The Catholic Free Press reported that Bishop McManus called for a very successful post card drive this past weekend, joining fellow bishops across the United States in mobilization of the Catholic laity to call upon their representatives in Congress to oppose the proposed F.O.C.A. legislation. 

Citing the effects of F.O.C.A. provisions which would prove the most far-sweeping, radical and insidious federal mandate in our nation’s history, Bishop McManus noted that “the innocent unborn child deserves that his or her God-given right to life be safeguarded,” and further added that “some disturbing implications of FOCA, or any other law or executive order like it, are that taxpayers would have to pay through their tax dollars for abortions that they find morally wrong.” 

The words proved prophetic as hours later President Obama reversed years of prudent federal policy that prohibited taxpayer funds to be used for abortions across international waters and borders.


23 posted on 01/26/2009 6:42:40 PM PST by Salvation ( †With God all things are possible.†)
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To: baa39

Diocese of Richmond here. Fairly liberal parish. Priest preached on the issue of foca, suprising the hell out of me. Last weekend postcards were signed, very suprised at the enthusiasm I saw with folks signing them.

The folks in DC are going to be stunned at the amount of mail they are going to be getting in a week or two.

Has post card drives by the Church happened before?

Freegards


24 posted on 01/27/2009 7:57:54 AM PST by Ransomed (Son of Ransomed Says Keep the Faith!)
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To: Ransomed

That goes to show that when encouraged by priests and bishops, there are plenty of devout Catholics willing to do what’s right and take a stand if necessary. I guess these are the Catholics usually quietly going about their lives and attending Mass while people like VOTF or heretic priests rant and rave on TV about the Church being oppressive and out of date!

Yes, I know the bishops have had postcard campaigns, it seems it was several years ago, and I don’t recall if the topic was pro-life. This shows they’re really concerned about Obama’s aggressive abortion views, because it takes quite a bit of organization/cooperation to put on a national mail-in program like this.

I hope the Congressional mailroom will be literally flooded!


25 posted on 01/30/2009 4:04:48 PM PST by baa39 (Mater Dei, ora pro nobis.)
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To: baa39

“I hope the Congressional mailroom will be literally flooded!”

If the postcard campaign is as widespread as it seems, I think the mailroom will be CRUSHED. We just gotta be careful they don’t try to slip foca through piecemeal...

Freegards


26 posted on 01/30/2009 4:15:38 PM PST by Ransomed (Son of Ransomed Says Keep the Faith!)
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To: Ransomed

Very good point about “piecemeal.” My rationale is that most of those issues are States rights matters anyway and it would be unconstitutional for the Federal Congress to pass laws on many of the various parts of FOCA. Of course, that is also the thinking by some of Roe vs. Wade itself, and I guess the experts in pro-life areas don’t see that as a win-able battle as it’s not a major focus?


27 posted on 01/30/2009 9:15:30 PM PST by baa39 (Mater Dei, ora pro nobis.)
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To: baa39

Well, tossing it back to the states is perhaps the practical plan of action, at least for now. But inalienable rights should be protected at all levels of gubberment, be it state or national or whatever. If a state has legal baby butchery for a few hundred years, I could easily see them eventually extending the murder age limit to kids under one year if the parents would wish it, because evil will keep creeping along.

Freegards


28 posted on 01/31/2009 7:37:04 AM PST by Ransomed (Son of Ransomed Says Keep the Faith!)
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To: Ransomed

True! Several months back here on FR there was an article about an “ethicist” in Britain who seriously proposes that parents have the right to kill their babies until 3 months after birth. His reasoning is that a “defect” in the child might not be apparent from ultrasound or in the early newborn stage, but if something crops up (like brown eyes?!?), then a 3-month old baby is not really “human” yet because it does not have a “consciousness” of itself as a separate entity, and therefore the mother has the right to kill it.

So the evil does creep. It starts with contraception, which removes procreation entirely from sex and makes it a matter of pleasure, basically using another person’s body for masturbation (pardon my language, but this is now what relationships often are, with “hook-ups” replacing dating, no personal meaning)...to the viability concept (which once meant abortion only in first trimester) to full-term abortions, to partial-birth, and now we have infanticide occurring regularly.

From the other end of the life span the evil creeps along too, from euthanasia for a suffering old person, to assisted suicide for any sick person, to court mandated-murder of the disabled as with Terri Schiavo, a young woman.

What scares me about Obama and some like him (Hillary, Pelosi, Boxer, UN, PP, Unicef, etc), is they don’t seem just neutral on killing babies, they actually seem obsessed with promoting abortion and all forms of things that promote death and promiscuity. In “Audacity of Hope” Obama discusses abortion 26 times. It’s as if death is their religion.


29 posted on 01/31/2009 10:26:46 PM PST by baa39 (Mater Dei, ora pro nobis.)
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To: baa39

We did it today! I noticed there were some democrats who did not sign. I would have thought this would have been a good time for some repentance on their part. Sadly, they are democrats first and Catholics last.


30 posted on 02/01/2009 11:52:58 AM PST by Helob
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