BALTIMORE—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have taken three separate votes that will lead to the establishment of a third-party reporting system designed to receive confidentially, by phone or online, reports of possible violations by bishops per Pope Francis’s Vos estis lux mundi.
The bishops voted overwhelmingly in favor of each of the elements necessary to establish a third-party reporting system yesterday.
WASHINGTON—Yesterday, the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates voted by a 2 to 1 margin to affirm its longstanding opposition to physician-assisted suicide. Following the vote, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities has issued the following statement:
“A report involving the legislative efforts of dioceses in the United States regarding statute of limitations is inaccurate and a misrepresentation with regards to the work of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference (MCC).
Today, Senate Bill 1209 was referred from the Joint Committee on Public Health to the Joint Committee on Judiciary. Therefore, both ROE bills (HB 3320 and SB 1209) will be heard by the Joint Committee on Judiciary.
A Statement of the Roman Catholic Bishops of Massachusetts
The Massachusetts State Legislature will consider passing into law two deeply troubling bills this legislative session. They are identical in text but differ slightly in their titles. The first, (HB 3320) is “An Act removing obstacles and expanding access to women’s reproductive health”. The second, (SB 1209) is “An Act to remove obstacles and expand abortion access”. Combined they share the same acronym – ROE.
WASHINGTON— Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, applauds the House of Representatives for passing the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R. 6), legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for qualifying Dreamers and TPS and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) holders.
"Following the international summit in Rome this past February, Pope Francis pledged “concrete measures” to respond to the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Church. Vos estis lux mundi is one means of fulfilling that pledge, establishing specific mandatory protocols and reporting systems for matters concerning such abuse.
