Inside this issue

• Join Pope Francis in Consecrating Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart
• Newsom Signs Bill to Remove Abortion Co-Pays
• Standing With Moms in Need
• Catholic Climate Covenant Earth Day Program
• Pope's Holy Week Schedule

  Join Pope Francis in Consecrating Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart  
 
Pope Francis is asking all Catholics to join him today, Friday, March 25, at 9 a.m. PDT, to pray to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The text of the prayer can be found here. There will also be live streaming services online here. 

"I ask you to join in this act by inviting the priests, religious and faithful to assemble in their churches and places of prayer on March 25, so that God's Holy People may raise a heartfelt and choral plea to Mary our Mother," Pope Francis said in his letter sent to all the world's bishops earlier this week.
 
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  Newsom Signs Bill to Remove Abortion Co-Pays  
 
This week, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 245, officially removing insurance co-pays or any other cost-sharing requirement for all abortion services in California. 

"California continues to prioritize taxpayer-funded abortion access as the single best solution to challenges facing women in our state," said California Catholic Conference Executive Director Kathleen Domingo. "Instead, the bishops of California support life-affirming efforts to assist women, children, and families with initiatives such as AB 1937 that provides financial assistance for birth and infant classes, doula services, midwifery care, and lactation support." 

SB 245 by Senator Lena Gonzales (D - Long Beach) was vigorously opposed by the CCC. The countless letters and alerts submitted through the Catholic Legislative Network did not go unnoticed. 

There are at least 12 additional abortion bills that the CCC is currently fighting. Please continue to visit cacatholic.org for updates and ways to help defeat these bills. 
 
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  Standing With Moms in Need  
 
In anticipation of the Supreme Court of the United States issuing its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and chairmen of USCCB committees serving women and families issued the following statement:

As our nation awaits the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, we join together in prayer and expectant hope that states will again be able to protect women and children from the injustice of abortion. As we affirm the value of every human life, we welcome the possibility of saving countless unborn children as well as sparing women and families the pain of abortion. 

The Catholic Church has a long history of service to those who are most vulnerable and remains the largest private provider of social services in the United States. Through the sacrificial efforts of faithful Catholics, the Church serves millions through diocesan ministries and agencies, Catholic hospitals and healthcare systems, immigration clinics, shelters, and Catholic schools and parishes. From religious communities to pregnancy care centers, from refugee resettlement services to foster care and adoption agencies, and from maternity homes to parish-based ministries, the Church consistently bears witness in word and deed to the beauty and dignity of every human life-including both mother and child. 

Continue Reading at USCCB.org
 
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  Catholic Climate Covenant Earth Day Program  
 
How will you and your parish, school, or community commemorate Earth Day and the anniversary of Laudato Si' this year? The Catholic Climate Covenant's 2022 Earth Day program, "Integral Ecology; Pursuing the Common Good for Our Common Home," is now available to assist you with planning. 

The approximately one-hour program includes prayers, readings, a short video, and practical activities. The program is intended to commemorate Earth Day (April 22), the 7th anniversary of Laudato Si' (May 22-29), or any time that it fits your community's schedule.

Learn more here.
 
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  Pope's Holy Week Schedule  
 
The Vatican has released the Pope's Holy Week and Easter schedule that marks a celebration of the return to the traditional liturgical events since the pandemic began two years ago. 

The schedule includes Mass on Palm Sunday in St. Peter's Square and the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum on Good Friday.  

Click here for the full schedule.
 
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March 25, 2022
Vol. 15 No. 11

California Catholic Conference

 En Español

Let us prepare ourselves to live a day of prayer on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, asking the Mother of God to lift up the hearts of those who are afflicted by the cruelty of war. May the Act of Consecration to her Immaculate Heart bring peace to the world. 

@Pontifex

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