D.C. Catholic Charities Forced to Cut Health Benefits
Far-Reaching Consequences of Same-Sex "Marriage"
Time for Catholics to Go on the Offense
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 2, 2010 -- The new same-sex "marriage" law in Washington, D.C., taking effect on Wednesday, March 3, has created another consequence for Catholic Charities. It has forced Catholic Charities to drop healthcare benefits for spouses of its employees in order to protect its freedom of religious expression and its ability to provide services to the poor. Under the new law, Catholic Charities would be compelled to extend benefits to same-sex "spouses" of its employees if it extended spousal benefits at all. The changes in coverage will apply only to new employees and employees that are currently single or are married but have not previously opted for spousal medical insurance coverage.

Manhattan Declaration: Turning Point in History
New Ecumenical Moment
In his Lenten message for this year, Pope Benedict XVI focuses on the theme of justice. He reminds us that there can be no true justice without God, that is, without human beings recognizing their need for God and that only God can give us what we ultimately need.

Cardinal George:
Mormons, Catholics Must Defend Religious Freedom
PROVO, UT, February 23, 2010 -- The fight to defend moral principles is linking Mormons and Catholics like never before. "In recent years, Catholics and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have stood more frequently side by side in the public square to defend human life and dignity,"  Francis Cardinal George told nearly 12,000 students, faculty and community members gathered Tuesday at BYU.

Same-Sex “Marriage” Drives D.C. Church Out of Adoption Services
Legal Wrangling Continues Over Rights of Voters
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 25 -- The Washington, D.C. Archdiocese has announced that, after 80 years of service, Catholic Charities ceased providing foster care and adoption services within the District effective February 1. A new law legalizing same-sex "marriage" taking effect on March 3 prohibits any organization providing services in the District from treating same-sex couples differently than married men and women. The D.C. City Council refused to make an exception for religious groups that provide services, forcing the current decision.

Risk of Stillbirth 4 Times Higher After IVF
AARHUS, Denmark, February 22, 2010 -- Women who become pregnant with a single fetus after in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) have an increased risk of a stillbirth, according to new research out today.

See video report

Go Against the Current During Lent
Path of Conversion and Openness to Divine Love
VATICAN CITY, February 17, 2010 - "Today, Ash Wednesday, we begin the Lenten path that lasts forty days and which leads us to the joy of the Lord's Easter", the Pope said at the beginning of his catechesis during today's general audience, celebrated in the Paul VI Audience Hall.

Laity Called to Step Up for New Evangelization
Pastoral Letter of Archbishop José Gomez of San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO, TX, February 15, 2010 -- On the fifth anniversary of his installation as archbishop, the Most Rev.José Gomez released a pastoral letter reminding the laity of their privilege and obligation to serve Christ and His Church in a very unique secular role.

Calif. Quietly Shifts Away from Embryo Research
Investors Knock Waste on Useless Research
LOS ANGELES, CA, January 29, 2010 - California's Institute for Regenerative Medicine came into being five years ago, fueled by a conviction that the Bush administration's restriction on embryo-destructive research in the National Institutes of Health was stifling the progress of science. But after years of fruitless work, the Institute has now quietly diverted funds from embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) to adult stem cell research - which has already produced dozens of treatments and all-out cures for maladies ranging from spinal cord injury, to Alzheimer's, to type I diabetes.

Ron Prentice

Marriage Trial Update Blog

Prayers / Oracións

California Marriage Trial
Testimony Concludes-Battle Just Beginning
SAN FRANCISCO, January 29, 2010 -- With the courtroom testimony of the trial for marriage completed, there will be much more to come before Chief U.S. Federal District Judge Vaughn Walker actually renders a decision. Ron Prentice, Chairman and Executive Director of ProtectMarriage.com has provided some analysis and  a glimpse of the long road ahead.

More than 40,000 take a Walk for Life on the West Coast
Saturday January 23rd was the date of the sixth annual West Coast Walk for Life, officially known as “Walk for Life WC”. This year’s event drew by far, the largest crowd in history of the event and estimates pegged the total number at just over 40,000 participants. The City of St Francis was alive with Pro-Life spirit and it took the shape of every age, race, gender and socio-economic status imaginable—including a blind walker led along the 2-plus mile route by two companions, and several individuals walking with canes and a limp. As one participant with a cane told me, “Yes it’s painful, but worth it! We’re speaking for those who never got a chance to speak, let alone walk!” But that’s not all…

California Prop 71 Bait and Switch
A Jobs Program for Scientist
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 -- Investor’s Business Daily opines that Proposition 71 has been a failure [at finding promised cures]. [But] sad fact is that Proposition 71 was a smashing success that splendidly served the broader purpose for which it was brought forth. Using outrageous hype–little children getting out of their wheelchairs, etc.–its designers saw it both as a political  hammer with which to concuss President Bush (only bruising him) and, more importantly, as a way by which to grab a permanent seat at the table of power for the Science Establishment.

Haiti Devastated by Earthquake
Archbishop Dies
How You Can Help
BALTIMORE, MD, January 13, 2010– The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti 10 miles southwest of the capital of Port au Prince at 4:53 p.m. Eastern, Tuesday, Jan. 12.Catholic Relief Services is readying food and other aid to help families affected by a powerful earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12. CRS has committed an initial $5 million (US) to help survivors of the devastating quake.

Marriage and Prop 8 Go On Trial in San Francisco

Marriage Trial Update Blog

Prayers / Oracións

National Call for Prayer and Fasting
Trial Could Determine Future of Marriage in U.S.
SAN FRANCISCO, January 8, 2010 -- The greatest threat against Prop 8 and traditional marriage so far is a trial, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, that starts in Federal District Court in San Francisco on Monday, January 11. It is not only an attack on the initiative passed by voters last year, but an attack on the supporters themselves. Plaintiffs claim that there is no rational reason to preserve marriage as between a man and a woman except hatred or bigotry. This case will likely go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and has the potential of forcing same-sex “marriage” not only on California, but on the entire nation.