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.

Intro

“If one member suffers, all suffer together with it” (1 Cor 12:26). These words of Saint Paul forcefully echo in my heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons. Crimes that inflict deep wounds of pain and powerlessness, primarily among the victims, but also in their family members and in the larger community of believers and nonbelievers alike. Looking back to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient. Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated. The pain of the victims and their families is also our pain, and so it is urgent that we once more reaffirm our commitment to ensure the protection of minors and of vulnerable adults.

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

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.

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

HB 461, the Protect Trafficked Minors Act, sponsored by Representative Fedor (D - Toledo) and  Representative Galonski (D - Akron), would mirror Ohio law with federal law in cases involving the human trafficking of minors aged 16 and 17-years-old. This bill will increase the penalties for people who traffic 16 and 17-year-olds. Additionally, HB 461 will require a juvenile court to appoint a guardian ad litem for a minor child if the court has reason to believe that the crime charged is prostitution or human trafficking-related. The bill is pending in the House Criminal Justice Committee.

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