ACTION ALERT - Conscience Protection- HEALTHCARE

Now is the time to contact your representatives to urge them to co-sponsor and work to enact the Conscience Protection Act of 2016 (H.R. 4828/S. 2927).

Please tell your members to uphold the right of conscientious objection to abortion by enacting this much-needed legislation. The bill, now introduced into both chambers, contains the policy of what in past years has been called the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA).

The need for federal conscience protection has only grown since 2014, when California started forcing almost all health plans in the state to cover elective abortions, even late-term abortions. This policy has no exemption for moral or religious objections. A mandate for hospitals, even religious ones, to perform abortions may be next. What is more, other states such as Washington and New York may be following California's lead. 

These actions clearly violate a federal law known as the Weldon Amendment, which forbids governments receiving federal health care funds to discriminate against those who decline to take part in abortion or abortion coverage. Unfortunately, this amendment has legal weaknesses that make it largely ineffective against such challenges.

The Conscience Protection Act of 2016 (H.R. 4828/S. 2927),  will protect health care providers from being forced to pay for or participate in abortions, and allow victims of discrimination a "right of action" to defend their rights in court. For example, nurses threatened with loss of their jobs unless they assist in abortions have found they have no right to go to court to see the law enforced. Congress should reaffirm a principle that has long enjoyed broad bipartisan support: Government should not force hospitals, doctors, nurses and other providers to stop offering much-needed health care because they cannot in good conscience participate in destroying a developing life.

Recommended Actions to take immediately:

• Send emails through the USCCB Action Center
• Contact your Representative by phone. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at202-224-3121 or call his or her local office. Members' mailing addresses may be found at www.house.gov
• Follow us on Twitter @usccbfreedom and retweet our posts. Repost the link to this alert on your Facebook page or other social media platforms

Background

On June 7, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and Archbishop William E. Lori – as chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities and Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, respectively – called for immediate action by the U.S. House of Representatives to enact the Conscience Protection Act of 2016.  The bishops wrote that "disturbing new actions to force healthcare providers to participate in the destruction of human life cry out for an immediate federal remedy."  See the full text of their letter at: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/cardinal-dolan-and-archbishop-lori-urge-passage-of-the-conscience-protection-act-of-2016.cfm.

For a joint letter from the USCCB and twenty-five other major pro-life, religious, and health care organizations urging support for H.R. 4828, see:humanlifeactioncenter.org/sites/default/files/Joint-Ltr-Conscience-Protection-Act-2016.pdf

Modern usurers - Payday lenders.

A Catholic Call 

to End Payday Lending Abuses 

by Jean Hill 

Say the words “payday lender” in some circles and stories of friends, family members, or neighbors who sought quick loans to make ends meet and ended up caught in a devastating cycle of debt will begin to flow.

Often, these stories begin with someone living paycheck to paycheck and unsure how to make a rent payment, buy food, pay bills, and cover other short term expenses. The tales end with harassing phone calls and court filings for repayment of ridiculously high-interest rate loans and mounting debts that now include court costs.

As Catholics, we are called not only to empathize with these stories but to act to protect the poor and vulnerable who find themselves preyed upon by unscrupulous businesses. Prohibitions against charging outrageous interest on loans go back to Babylonian times. More than one Old Testament prophet condemned usury, along with exploitation of the poor. Yet usury not only persists in our modern economy, it prospers. In 2010, there were an estimated 19,700 payday loan stores in the United States (That number does not include Internet loan sources. A recent federal agency report found at least 332 separate Internet loan providers). Thirty-two states permit loans with triple digit or no caps on the amount of interest the lenders may charge.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church insists that “economic life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit and power; it is ordered first of all to the service of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire human community” (no. 2426). In theory, payday lenders provide a service to individuals who are often barred from traditional bank loans. In practice, however, these loans are vehicles for exploiting people already in a highly vulnerable financial state.

In a typical payday loan transaction, the customer seeks to make ends meet until the next paycheck, or maybe the next two. Unlike a traditional loan, however, the individual will not sit down with the lender and determine a reasonable repayment structure based on ability to pay. The customer will not be able to bargain for a better rate or realistic payment plan. Instead, the astronomically high interest rates (the national average is above 400 percent per loan), fees, and payment schedule will be based solely on the needs of the lenders. In short, the loan is all about the profit of the business, rendering the persons seeking help, in the words of Pope Francis, “as consumer goods which can be used and thrown away” (Address, May 16, 2013).

The social doctrine of our faith compels each of us to be involved in changing such an unjust system. We can raise our Catholic voices to remind payday lenders that their customers are first and foremost human beings, not profit centers. We can insist that our state and federal governments establish reasonable limits on the actions of the lenders to ensure they are not “so powerful as to reduce the [consumer] to subservience” (St. John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, no. 15).

Now, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau considers regulations to address some payday lending abuses, is an opportune moment to challenge our congressmen and women to take additional actions against usury to protect the working poor, as our Pope and our doctrine urge us to do.

Jean Hill is government liaison for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City. Article taken from To Go Forth, a blog from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Justice, Peace & Human Development. Copyright © 2016, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, copyright © 2000, Libreria Editrice Vaticana–United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Quote from Pope Francis, copyright © 2013, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City State. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Quote from St. John Paul II, copyright © 1991, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City State. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

May - Mental Health Month - Parish Nurses

MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH MONTH

From the Parish Nurses

The magnitude of mental illness in this country is staggering. According to the Surgeon General, one in every five Americans experiences a mental disorder in any given year and half of all Americans have such disorders at some time in their lives. These illnesses of the brain affect all of us, regardless of age, gender, economic status or ethnicity. Mental illness affects the mind, body and the spirit. It is a real, common and treatable illness. Mental illnesses are far more common than cancer, diabetes, heart disease or arthritis. 

Mental Health First Aid

Just as CPR helps you assist an individual having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. In the Mental Health First Aid course, you learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns; strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations; and where to turn for help.

Topics covered will include: depression and mood disorders, anxiety disorder, trauma, psychosis and substance use disorders.

This eight-hour program will be divided into two, four hour sessions, and offered at:

Good Shepherd Community of Faith

187 Southside Parkway, Buffalo, NY 14220

Saturday, June 4^th, 2016 and

Saturday June 11^th, 2016 9am-1pm

There is NO FEE. Light refreshments will be available. ALL are welcome.

Class size is limited.

To reserve your spot contact:

Sue Allen

Good Shepherd Community of Faith

Wellness Ministry, Coordinator

Call or text 716-697-1657 or email bsuea@yahoo.com

Home Again Refugee Resettlement Project update

The Salt and Light Group has collected many household items for the Home Again Project. We are all set with furniture donations. We could use clothing hangers, window fans, household decorating items,  a microwave and male and female hygiene items (comb, brush, shampoo, bar soap, etc).

For donation pick up please call Maura MacDonald at 832-5429 or email her at sixmacs85@gmail.com.

Also remember to volunteer on June 11th - move in day, we have 3 crews:

Cleaning crew - 9-11a
Move In crew - 11a-1p
Decorating crew- 1-4p

Please let her know where you can help. Many hands make light work.
Thank you.

Prescription Drug drop off - from our Parish Nurses

From Catholic Health & the Parish Nurses

As we know, prescription drugs is the easiest way drug addiction starts. So let us not have any laying around. (This includes ANY prescription drug.) 

You can drop off old prescription this Saturday.

Saturday, April 30 from 10 am- 2pm at the following hospitals:

    Kenmore Mercy Hospital

    Sisters of Charity Hospital

    St. Joseph's Hospital Campus

For additional info visit: 

    www.nationalprescriptiondrugdropoff.com or call 649-2640

Naloxone (Narcan) training - from our Parish Nurses

NALOXONE TRAINING FOR OPIATE OVERDOSE

LIVES MATTER.

Good Shepherd Community of Faith, 187 Southside Parkway, Buffalo NY, 14220 is responding to the opioid epidemic in WNY by housing a “COMMUNITY TRAINING OPIOID OVERDOSE RECOGNITION & NALOXONE USE workshop offered by Erie County Department of Health on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, 6-8pm.

Attendees will learn how to recognize symptoms of drug overdose and how to administer naloxone (Narcan) via nasal spray.

A free two-dose naloxone kit will be given to each person over the age of sixteen upon completion of this two hour workshop.

This event is free of charge. Light refreshments will be available

Online registration  www.eriecounty.gov/health.  Or call 716-858-7960.

March - Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month As Catholics we are called to always be aware of and respond to the needs of people who feel marginalized. However, months dedicated to particular issues of awareness offer the opportunity for enhancing attention and education.   March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.  When a person lives with a disability or condition, the whole family is impacted. The term "developmental disabilities" is a broad category thatrefers to an often lifelong disability occurring before the age of 22 that can be intellectual, physical, or both.  For more information click here.  Having a developmental disability does not minimize a person’s ability for meaningful participation in the Church.  Yet as Church we do not always appreciate the many different forms of gifts that come from the people of God.   At times we are too impatient to appreciate the richness the diversity of the human family provides.  Take a few minutes to watch this video, A Life Like Yours to see the many ways Maddie shares the gift of her presence, talents and interests: Let us be more aware of the richness and diversity within our Church and world. Consider proactive steps your parish or diocese can undertake to build awareness and create communities where meaningful participation thrives.  Visit http://ncpd.orgfor a wide range of resources.   March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day (for more information, visit https://worlddownsyndromeday.org/wdsd-2016) As we see from the A Life Like Yours video, Maddie has a rich life.  Her faith is important to her, as are her family and friends.  But as mentioned in the video, lives are threatened each day by the reality of prenatal diagnosis and abortion.  Up to 90% of pregnancies in which Down syndrome or a similar condition is detected end in abortion.  Check out this link for information on a webinar and toolkit resources available from NCPD on this topic:  http://ncpd.org/webinars/prenatal.  Learn more about Be Not Afraid (and on Facebook ) and other ministries available in numerous dioceses that support families when they receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome or other disabilities or life-threatening conditions.

HOME AGAIN meeting March 29th at 7pm

Jerusalem from our church windows

Our Salt and Light Group here at St Benedict's is taking on a bigger role this year. After the successful collection of the many household items over these past many months, we have decided to step up our efforts.

We are going to participate in a project called HOME AGAIN where we actually prepare an apartment from start to finish for a refugee family. We are collaborating again with our neighbors from St Peter's Episcopal Church.

Our first organizational meeting will be held Tuesday March 29th at 7pm in the school cafeteria. Please feel free to call Maura MacDonald with any questions at 832-5429 or email her at sixmacs85@gmail.com. Light refreshments will be served.