More Help for College Students Who Choose Life

Governor Newsom has signed into law a bill aimed at providing help to single parents in college as they balance classwork and parenting. One of our Catholic Advocacy Day bill, the Conference has been working diligently on the passage of AB 809 for the entire session.

AB 809 by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) will help pregnant and parenting students complete their higher education by providing more information about their protections under Title IX, and encouraging on-campus childcare programs to prioritize the children of single, low-income students.

Title IX protections for pregnant and parenting students include the ability to make up missed classwork due to pregnancy or childbirth, the ability to return to the same academic status after a medical leave and the ability to have home instruction or independent study to meet course requirements. These rules will ease the challenges of juggling pregnancy or parenting with classwork - but only 39 percent of college campuses publish this information on their websites. That leaves too many mothers and pregnant students to make decisions about their education based on a crippling lack of information.

Christians Join in Prayer for the Season of Creation

The Season of Creation spans five weeks between the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (September 1) and the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4).

This "time for creation" offers, in the words of Pope Francis, "individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live."

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has put together suggestions for families and communities on how they live out Pope Franicis' call to Care for Our Common Home. And In God Calls Us All to Care for Our Common Home, the California Bishops challenge the people of California to appreciate the beauty of the state and to apply - both individually and collectively - the teachings of Laudato Si' in safeguarding our natural gifts.

We are still awaiting votes on some critical bills including SB 24 which would require state colleges and universities to have abortion medication at student health centers. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the latest developments.

Encuentro V Delegation Heads to the Vatican

Archbishop José Gomez, of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is leading a delegation to the Vatican starting today to present to Pope Francis the Proceedings and Conclusions of the Fifth National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry.

For the last two and a half years, the Catholic Church in the United States has taken Pope Francis' call to embrace an experience what it means to evangelize, reaching out in a special way to those in the peripheries, specifically through the V National Encuentro. The Proceeding and Conclusions, meant to be a practical resource for utilization by dioceses, captures the five steps of the V Encuentro process.

The Proceedings and Conclusions provide a summary of challenges and opportunities, hopes and dreams, gifts and talents, insights, recommendations, strategies, and successful practices for the pastoral care and accompaniment of the Hispanic/Latinos in the United States. Dioceses around the country have already begun a process of incorporating V Encuentro findings to their existing pastoral plans or are in the process of developing new ones

Lawmakers Earmark More Funds for Abortion Providers

In a late addition to a budget trailer bill, California lawmakers added $10 million dollars in funding for the California Health Center Security Grant Program earmarked specifically for health centers that provide abortion services.

The California Catholic Conference opposed the funding in a letter to the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.

The use of our tax dollars to pay for the destruction of innocent human beings continues to be an issue of moral significance and ongoing controversy in our society. While there are those who argue that our tax dollars must pay for an individual's decision to have an abortion, it still is a morally wrong decision.

September 13, 2019

Vol. 12, No. 25

En Español

**Catholic Filmmaker Hopes El Norte Inspires Immigration Reform**

A film that moved audiences, critics, and even lawmakers to action 35 years ago is making a one-day comeback to theaters around the country this Sunday.

"El Norte," which tells the story of a brother and sister's perilous journey from Guatemala to the United States, was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar award in 1985.

The film is widely credited with helping prompt the U.S. government to action with the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli Act, which extended the protection status for Central American immigrants.

Continue Reading at the Angelus

9/11:
"The darkest day"

Pope Saint John Paul II described September 11, 2001 as a "dark day in human history". Popes Benedict XVI and Francis have paid tribute to the victims at Ground Zero and raised their voices to appeal for a culture of peace and fraternity. View a Vatican News video highlighting how recent Popes have commemorated the day.

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