Catholic Conference of Ohio The official representative of the Catholic Church in public matters affecting the Church and the general welfare of the citizens of Ohio.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has announced three goals and three principles, along with initial steps of a plan that will involve laity, experts, and the Vatican. A more developed plan will be presented to the full body of bishops at their general assembly meeting in Baltimore in November.

Pope Francis calls the death penalty "inadmissible"..." an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”. 

He makes the following change to Catholic teaching:

The death penalty

2267. Recourse to the death penalty on the part of legitimate authority, following a fair trial, was long considered an appropriate response to the gravity of certain crimes and an acceptable, albeit extreme, means of safeguarding the common good.

Today, however, there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes. In addition, a new understanding has emerged of the significance of penal sanctions imposed by the state. Lastly, more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.

Consequently, the Church teaches, in the light of the Gospel, that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person”,[1] and she works with determination for its abolition worldwide.

[1] FRANCIS, Address to Participants in the Meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, 11 October 2017: L’Osservatore Romano, 13 October 2017, 5.

Letter to the Bishops regarding the new revision of number 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the death penalty

Revised text to the Catechism

USCCB response to new changes

Substitute HB 123, as passed by the Senate, was agreed to in the Ohio House by a vote of 61-24.  The Catholic Conference of Ohio joined with other faith communities in calling for the reform of Ohio’s payday lending practices.  Substitute House Bill 123 provides consumer protections consistent with the intent of Ohio’s 2008 Payday Reform Act. This bill will help protect borrowers from excessive payday lending fees while allowing lenders to maintain reasonable cost-of-business fees. 

The Catholic Conference of Ohio supports lending models that provide fair and helpful loans for persons in need. In the teachings of our faith, we have many warnings about usury and exploitation of people.  Lending practices that, intentionally or unintentionally, take unfair advantage of one’s desperate circumstances are unjust. Catholic Social Teaching demands respect for the dignity of persons, preferential concern for the poor and vulnerable, and the pursuit of the common good.  These principles coupled with our teaching on economic justice animate our questioning of current payday lending practices.

Watch the House concurrence debate

Release from Ohioans for Payday Loan Reform

Watch the Senate floor debate

Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, Archbishop of New York and Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued a statement inviting all people of good will to join in a prayer campaign that the change in the U.S. Supreme Court will move our nation closer to the day when every human being is protected in law and welcomed in life.

Call to Prayer materials will be accessible at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/take-action-now/call-to-prayer/legal-protection-of-human-life.cfm. Those wishing to join this nine-week prayer effort can sign up at www.usccb.org/pray to participate in this and subsequent Call to Prayer initiatives via email or text message.

Diocese of Youngstown has named Stephen Carattini Director for Social Concerns

Diocese of Columbus has named Jerry Freewalt Director of the Office for Social Concerns

Diocese of Cleveland has named Diane Zbasnik Director for the Social Action Office at Catholic Charities

Diocese of Cleveland has named Cary Dabney Director for the Office of Ministry to African-American Catholics

Archdiocese of Cincinnati has named Sara Seligmann Regional Director for Catholic Social Action

Most Reverend Daniel Schnurr's letter to priests and deacons (Archbishop of Cincinnati) encouraging them to address the government's taking and detaining 2,300 migrant children who crossed into the United States.

A second immigration raid in Ohio raises concern for innocent children and families and reflects the need for just immigration reform. Click here for the statement of the Youngstown diocese.

Bishop Nelson Perez, Diocese of Cleveland, press interview on immigration policy. "Separating parents from their children is a moral issue."

Archbishop Schnurr's press coverage on immigration

USCCB's Office of Migration and Refugee Services concerns over pending immigration legislation

Pope Francis raises concerns over U.S. immigration policy that separates children

Ohio Bishops statements regarding immigration-related issues