My dear friends,

Once again, I want to apologize for the bulletins not arriving on time last week. We are in the midst of a transition from one bulletin company to another. The details are still being worked out, and the previous two weeks we were able to get them printed. But having this happen two times in the month of May is unacceptable especially during a long weekend when we had so many visitors and had such important announcements to convey to you. The sheets that your were handed last week, I must confess, were a last minute bandaid that I put together right before the 5pm Vigil Mass when it became clear that the bulletins wouldn’t be here for the weekend. I did not want to bother any of our dedicated staff during a long weekend, so I printed the readings (sorry about the small font) and the songs, and a critically important column that I feel needs to be reprinted today. The Hyde Amendment and it’s survival is so important to the survival of so many innocent unborn lives. So, on this Corpus Christi Sunday, as we come before the Lord and reflect on his Real Presence in the Eucharist, I offer you excerpts of my column from last weekend which is of vital importance, and I humbly ask you to participate in the Archbishop’s call to action to save innocent lives.

Early last month, Archbishop Wenski sent all his priests a letter about a national initiative that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is undertaking the first week of June. As a people of faith who are citizens of this great nation, we must fight back against those who seek to rid our laws of the Hyde Amendment which for decades has prohibited our tax dollars from funding abortions and has been supported by members of both political parties for 45 years. It is credited with saving 2.4 million lives! Every life is precious and sacred, and we cannot allow abortion to be more accessible.

In his letter to priests, the Archbishop stated that without the Hyde Amendment “billions of taxpayer dollars could go to pay for abortion…It is critically important for Catholics to send a strong message before Congress moves forward to impose taxpayer-funded abortion. Because of the incredibly high stakes Congress needs to hear from a massive amount of people.”

There are over 70 million Catholics in the United States. That’s roughly 20% of our population. Imagine if we stood up as one to stop this assault on human life. So what can you do?

I invite you to join me in signing the petition on NoTaxpayerAbortion.com. (I literally signed it after typing that last line, and within minutes it directed me to send a message to my senators and representative. It was very simple.) I also invite you to share that petition with your friends, neighbors, and fellow parishioners by posting it on social media or simply texting it to them.

Please join me in this endeavor as we pray and act to put an end to the culture of death that has claimed way too many lives.

God bless,