US Bishops reiterate objection to abortion wording in bill
Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
(CNS/KAREN CALLAWAY, CATHOLIC NEW WORLD)
Catholic News Service
Cardinal Francis E. George, president of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, visits a patient at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago in this December file photo. Cardinal George said March 15 that despite the good the Senate health reform bill might achieve, the bishops will continue to oppose it until concerns about the abortion wording are addressed.
By Carol Zimmermann WASHINGTON (CNS) – In the United States and Canada, membership numbers have gone up for the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Assemblies of God, among others, according to the 2010 edition of a yearbook published by the National Council of Churches. The 78th annual edition of the “Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches” also reported a continuing decline in membership of nearly all mainline Protestant denominations including the Southern Baptist Convention, which reported a loss of members for the second year in a row. With more than 16 million members, it is still the nation’s second largest denomination. The U.S. Catholic Church – the country’s largest denomination with more than 68 million members – reported a slight membership decline in the 2009 yearbook, but it rebounded this year with a 1.49 percent growth. The Latter-day Saints grew 1.71 percent to almost 6 million members and the Assemblies of God grew 1.27 percent to about 2.9 million CHURCH IN US, page 5 members.
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March 19, 2010
Young Men’s Institute Catholic fraternal organization born in 19th century hopes for resurgence in 21st (PHOTO BY RICK DELVECCHIO/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)
Catholic Church in US increases membership
WASHINGTON – “Despite the good” that proposed health reform legislation “intends or might achieve,” concerns about the abortion wording in the Senate-passed bill compel the U.S. bishops to “regretfully hold that it must be opposed until these serious moral problems are addressed,” Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago said March 15. A House vote on the health reform legislation was expected by March 20, with Senate and House action to follow on a separate bill containing a set of “fixes” proposed by President Barack Obama. In his statement, Cardinal George said, “Throughout the discussion on health care over the last year, the bishops have advocated a bipartisan approach to solving our national health care needs. They have urged that all who are sick, injured or in need receive necessary and appropriate medical assistance, and that no one be deliberately killed through an expansion of federal funding of abortion itself or of insurance plans that cover abortion. These are the provisions of the long standing Hyde amendment, passed annually in every federal bill appropriating funds for health care; and surveys show that this legislation reflects the will of the majority of our fellow citizens. The American people and the Catholic bishops have been promised that, in any final bill, no federal funds would be used for abortion and that the legal status quo would be respected.” The statement from the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops came soon after the head of the Catholic Health Association called on House members to quickly pass the Senate legislation and make changes later. Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who is US BISHOPS OBJECTION, page 5
By John Wildermuth The clean, crisp ads have been showing up in Catholic San Francisco and Catholic diocesan papers across the state. “The YMI … Join the Brotherhood,” the ad proclaims, reminding readers of the 127 years that members of the Young Men’s Institute have been joined in service, faith and fraternity. The group is making an all-out effort to boost its aging and declining membership by using all the modern communication tools to get its message in front of today’s Catholic men. Besides the ads and public service announcements on Catholic radio stations, the YMI has a web site, an e-mail address and even a Facebook page, all designed to show that there’s still a place for the type of Catholic organization that has allowed tens of thousands of men to serve their
Mike Amato, a St. Veronica parishioner who is grand secretary of the Young Men’s Institute, kneels at the plaque that commemorates the fraternal organization’s founding in San Francisco 1883.
church and their community over the years – and have fun doing it. “In recent years we’ve found that many people, including clergy, don’t really know what the YMI does,” said Mike Amato, grand secretary of the YMI and president of one of its two San Francisco councils. “But we need to get our message out there and let people know we’re still here.” On March 4, 1883, a half-dozen San Francisco men met in the parish hall of St. Joseph’s Church and formed the Young Men’s Institute, an organization that would provide a religious, fraternal and social anchor for generations of Catholic men. A plaque commemorating the founding of YMI today is located at Notre Dame des Victoires Church at 566 Bush St., under a lamppost that was originally located at St. Joseph Church at 10th and Howard streets. YOUNG MEN’S INSTITUTE, page 4
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Vatican defends efforts . . . . . 3 Construction in 3 counties . 6-7 Youth decathlon, retreat . . 8-9 Archbishop’s Journal. . . . . . 12 Scripture & reflection. . . . . 14
St. Patrick’s Day parade: News in brief ~ Pages 10-11 ~
In touch with the Lord: New books on priesthood. . 16 Rediscovering confession Datebook of events . . . . . . . 17 ~ Page 15 ~ www.catholic-sf.org
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