Inside this issue
• Assembly Votes to Expand Taxpayer-Funded Abortion
• CCC and Interfaith Group Supporting Racial Justice Bill
• Mental Health Ministry Conference
• California Catholic Conference Career Opportunity
• In The News
Assembly Votes to Expand Taxpayer-Funded Abortion
The State Assembly voted Thursday morning to pass SB 245, a bill vehemently opposed by the CCC that would remove insurance co-pays or any other cost-sharing requirement for all abortion services and prohibit cost-sharing from being imposed on a Medi-Cal beneficiary for those services.
The bill passed on a 46 - 18 party-line vote.
"Instead of focusing on how to make abortion services more affordable, the legislature should be working on making the cost-of-living more affordable for mothers and caregivers," said California Catholic Conference Executive Director Kathleen Domingo. "Where is the equitable push for services for mothers who can't afford to take their child to the doctor when they are sick or for increased benefits for pregnant mothers to ensure their health and the health of their child? Removing co-pays and using taxpayer money for abortion procedures instead of increasing parental support services tells California's mothers they are less valuable than those seeking abortions."
Thank you to all who contacted their legislator via The Legislative Network to urge a no vote on this bill. Please stay with the CCC as we continue to fight this bill as it heads to the Governor.
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CCC and Interfaith Group Supporting Racial Justice Bill
The CCC, collaborating with a coalition of over 100 faith-based leaders, delivered letters to lawmakers this week announcing their support of AB 256, the Racial Justice for All bill by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D - San Jose).
The letter, signed by over 110 faith leaders, including 30 Catholics, urges Senators to extend the protections against discrimination in the courtroom based on race, ethnicity, or national origin to everyone, regardless of when that discrimination occurred.
In 2020, California passed the California Racial Justice Act, which prohibits the state from seeking or obtaining a conviction or sentence based on race, ethnicity, or national origin. Still, that bill was prospective and left many people with discrimination convictions behind. AB 256 applies it retroactively.
View the letter here.
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Mental Health Ministry Conference
The CCC invites you to join us for the first-ever Mental Health Ministry Conference for mental health ministers, May 19-21, at the Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos, CA.
The theme for the inaugural event is Building a Culture of Community: Equipping Leaders for Mental Health Ministry. Mental health ministers and caregivers will join with others in ministry from around the country, hear from experts, and share resources and best practices. The conference fee includes an opening banquet, lodging, and all meals.
The event is co-sponsored by the Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers, the National Catholic Partnership on Disability, and the California Catholic Conference.
Click here for more information and to register. Early Bird Registration ends Mar 31!
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California Catholic Conference Career Opportunity
The California Catholic Conference is currently seeking an Office Manager for our Sacramento-based office. The Office Manager is responsible for overall office and personnel operations, including human resources needs, the needs of the physical office, and support for meetings, events, and conferences for the California Catholic Conference and California Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Click here for a full description and information on how to apply.
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In The News
Idaho Passes Bill to Ban Abortion After Six Weeks of Pregnancy
Like the Texas abortion law, the bill extends the state's Fetal Heartbeat Preborn Child Protection Act, which the Idaho Legislature passed last year.
Pope Francis discusses Ukraine war with Russian Orthodox leader
The pope and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia addressed the conflict during a video conference call on March 16.
Newsweek Op-Ed: We Represent Diverse Christian Denominations, But We Agree on Immigration Reform
Collectively, we represent people across a range of religious traditions: a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, and the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's largest evangelical denomination. We are a diverse group of Christian leaders. We also have significant theological and political differences, as do the congregants whom we lead.... But for all of our differences, we agree on the urgency of immigration reforms.
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March 18, 2022
Vol. 15 No. 10
California Catholic Conference
En Español
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners.
Lord Jesus, born under the bombs of Kyiv, have mercy on us.
Lord Jesus, who died in his mother's arms in a bunker in Kharkiv, have mercy on us.
Lord Jesus, sent at 20 years old to the front, have mercy on us.
Lord Jesus, who still sees armed hands in the shadow of your Cross, have mercy on us!
Forgive us, Lord,
if, not content with the nails with which we pierced your hands, we continue to drink from the blood of the dead torn apart by weapons.
Forgive us, Lord, if these hands that you created for care have been transformed into instruments of death.
Forgive us, Lord, if we continue to kill our brother, if we continue like Cain to remove the stones from our field to kill Abel. Forgive us if we continue to justify cruelty with our toil, if with our pain we legitimize the cruelty of our actions.
Forgive us the war, Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, we implore you: Stop the hand of Cain!
Enlighten our consciences,
let not our will be done,
do not abandon us to our own actions.
Stop us, Lord, stop us.
@Pontifex
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