US Bishops Call for Massive Mobilization Against Anti-Life Health-Care Reform

The Pro-Life Activities Secretariat of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has sent out an urgent email in an effort to mobilize every parish in the United States on the urgent matter of public policy concerning the fundamental and foundational human right to life as it relates to health-care reform. The email follows:

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From: Tom Grenchik, Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities
To: Diocesan Pro-Life Directors & State Catholic Conference Director

Re: URGENT: Nationwide USCCB Bulletin Insert on Health Care Reform

Attached [see below], please find an Urgent Memorandum highlighting USCCB plans and requests for diocesan and parish based activation on health care reform.

The President of the Conference and the Chairmen of the three major USCCB committees engaged in health care reform have written all the bishops and asked that the attached USCCB Nationwide Bulletin Insert on health care reform be printed or hand-stuffed in every parish bulletin and/or distributed in pews or at church entrances as soon as possible.

Congressional votes may take place as soon as early November. If your Arch/bishop is not in agreement with disseminating the bulletin insert, you will be hearing from his office immediately. You may wish to check with his office ASAP to see how you may be of assistance in distributing the Bulletin Insert, far and wide.

Tomorrow, the USCCB will be e-mailing these same materials to a large number of parishes across the country, already on a USCCB contact list. The parish list is incomplete, so we will still have to rely on diocesan e-mail systems to reach EVERY parish. Thank you for your great help with this.

Also included are suggested Pulpit Announcements and a Prayer Petition.

There is also a copy of a newly-released ad for the Catholic press, which may be printed as flyers for the vestibule or copied on the flip-side of the Bulletin Insert. The flyer/ad directs readers to www.usccb.org/action where they may send their pre-written e-mails to Congress through NCHLA’s Grassroots Action Center. If you wish to sponsor the ad in your local Catholic paper and need a different size, please contact Deirdre McQuade at dmcquade@usccb.org.

Please encourage parishioners to pray for this effort as well. More information can be found at www.usccb.org/healthcare.

Thank you for your urgent actions and prayers on behalf of this nationwide effort!

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The email included a number of attachments, including bulletin inserts, a flyer, pulpit announcements and prayer, etc. They are availble at the bishops' website: http://www.usccb.org/healthca/index.shtml but I have also included individual links here:

1) HC Cover Note to Leaders, Final.doc (a digital version of the email above)
2) HC Bulletin Insert 10-23-09 Final.pdf (the one-stop nationwide parish bulletin insert)
3) HC Pulpit Announcement & Prayer, Final 1.doc (a how-to for distributing the materials)
4) HC Ad Saving_Lives_Flyer_FINAL.pdf (a flyer to be placed on bulletin boards, etc.)

I trust all US parishes will act on this.

Blessings...