February 17, 2020 — Annapolis, MD
VIRTUAL CATHOLIC DAY OF ACTION IS
WEDNESDAY
Virtual Catholic Day of Action is this Wednesday, Feb.
19, and the Maryland Catholic Conference is encouraging
everyone to take time now to get to know the issues and spread the
word.
While the Conference has already weighed in on nearly 50 bills so
far this legislative session, it has selected three bills that we are
asking Catholics from across Maryland to take action on this
Wednesday, Feb. 19: Physician-assisted suicide, the BOOST Scholarship
Program and the Time to Care Act (paid family leave).
To help individuals get familiar with these issues and take action
on Feb. 19, we've compiled a toolkit complete with information on the
issues, direct links to take action, and sample posts and emails to
spread the word of Virtual Catholic Day of Action with family and
friends.
Planning to join us for Virtual Catholic Day of Action? Show your
support on Facebook by sharing our event! CLICK HERE to say you are going
and share the event with your network!
Learn more about the toolkit...
MARYLAND CATHOLIC CONFERENCE TESTIFIES
IN SUPPORT OF KIRWIN COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS
Only 50 days remain in the 2020 Maryland General Assembly Session,
and on Monday, Feb. 17, lawmakers heard hours of testimony on one of
the most anticipated bills: SB 1000/HB 1300 — known as The Blueprint
for Maryland's Future, the bill that would implement the proposals
from the Kirwin Commission.
Officially known as the "Commission on Innovation and
Excellence in Education" but generally referred to as the
Kirwin Commission in honor of its chairman William E. “Brit” Kirwan,
the commission convened in 2016 with a goal to develop recommendations
for how Maryland education is funded, operated and how it prepares
students for college or the workforce. The commission offered its
recommendations in 2019.
Maryland's Catholic Bishops have supported the
commission's recommendations and in January, Archbishop William E.
Lori, chairman of the Maryland Catholic Conference, jointly penned
with Baltimore City Public School's CEO Sonja Santelises an op-ed in
The Baltimore Sun calling on Maryland lawmakers to pass the
bill.
Read more...
JOIN BISHOP W. FRANCIS MALOOLY IN
PRAYER FOR MARYLAND'S GOVERNMENT LEADERS
This week's prayer for Maryland's elected officials is led by
the Most Rev. W. Francis Malooly, bishop of Wilmington
(DE). The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington includes
Maryland's Eastern shore.
The Conference encourages everyone to join us each Monday in
prayer. To pray along this week with Bishop Malooly, visit our Facebook page. Share the post and
use the hashtag #WeAreCatholic.
To access the prayer: CLICK HERE.
ATTEND THE SENATE HEARING ON
PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE ON FEB. 28
Want to help show legislators that there are many Marylanders who
stand strong against physician-assisted suicide? Join us on
Friday, Feb. 28 at 12 noon in Annapolis for the
Senate hearing!
The Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee will hear
testimony on the 2020 bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide (SB
701) on Friday, Feb. 28, at 12 noon. A hearing has not yet been
scheduled on the House version of the bill, HB 643.
The Senate hearing will be held in the Judicial Proceedings hearing
room on the second floor of the Miller Senate Office Building at 11
Bladen Street, Annapolis.
Read more...
BOOST SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS TO OPEN
SOON!
Applications for BOOST Scholarships for the 2020-21 school year
will open soon and the Conference is encouraging anyone who might be
interested in applying to sign up for the Maryland BOOST Scholarship
Coalition's Action Network so they will be the first to know when it
is time to apply.
Maryland generally accepts applications for BOOST staring sometime
in February.
The Conference is a member of the Maryland BOOST Scholarship
Coalition.
To join the BOOST Scholarship Coalition Action Network CLICK HERE.
GET INVOLVED
JOIN THE CATHOLIC ADVOCACY NETWORK
Learn more about the Catholic Advocacy Network and how you can take
action on important issues in Maryland: CLICK HERE.
VOLUNTEER WITH US!
The Maryland Catholic Conference is still looking for volunteers to
serve as Parish Legislative Ambassadors for some parishes. If you are
passionate about the work we do and want to help us speak up on
important issues in Maryland, please sign up to volunteer!
To sign-up to volunteer CLICK HERE.
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
February 18, 2020: PAS talk at
St. John Neumann (Gaithersburg)
February 19, 2020: Virtual
Catholic Day of Action
February 19, 2020: MCC
presentation at 270 Catholic Theology on Tap
February 22, 2020: MCC
presentation to 40 Days for Life event in Laurel
February 24, 2020: Maryland
March for Life in Annapolis
February 28, 2020: Senate
Hearing on Physician-Assisted Suicide
April 6, 2020: Sine Die (last
day of 2020 legislative session)
STAY CONNECTED WITH US!
  
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