WASHINGTON - In response to the July 4th shooting in Highland Park, IL, which killed 7 and injured dozens more, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth issued the following statement:

"Over the holiday, yet another community experienced the devastation of a mass shooting, a situation that has become shockingly commonplace in our country. One of the many horrors that emerged from this shooting was the orphaning of a two-year-old boy. He was found underneath his father, who died shielding him from gunfire. Our prayers are with this child, and all those who grieve in the face of this tragedy."

"It seems there are no days of the year when our nation is not grieving the latest mass shooting.?It has not always been this way, and it is getting worse.?That the Highland Park shooting took place on a day when we celebrate all that is good about America and America’s freedoms is a devastating reminder that mass shootings do not happen with the same relentless and brutal frequency in other places in the world. "

"It can be hard to find hope now, though we know our hope is in Jesus who is always near to us in suffering. We are grateful that Congress recently passed its first major gun legislation in nearly 30 years.?But in the face of these repeated acts of violence, that cannot be all we do. We call on Catholics, lawmakers, community leaders, health care and social service providers, law enforcement, and families to keep pushing for change and offer prayers, support, and generous assistance to victims. For years, the Catholic bishops of the United States have supported policies to strengthen gun laws, as well as emphasized mental health, family, and cultural factors, aimed at curbing gun violence.?We support a total ban on assault weapons and limitations on civilian access to high-capacity weapons and ammunition magazines.?It is sobering to think that as horrible as mass shootings are, they are but a sliver of total annual homicides committed with guns; and gun homicides, in turn, are far outnumbered by gun suicides."

"May we live to see an America that can celebrate its freedoms without orphaning its children.??May the pursuit of liberty one day be a faithful guardian to the pursuit of life.?May the Light of God’s compassion shine on?us and guide our feet out of darkness and the shadow of death, and into the way of peace.""

For more information on the USCCB’s advocacy to prevent gun violence, please see:

• June 3, 2022, Letter to Congress
• June 23, 2022, Letter to Congress
• November 11, 2019, Address on Responses to the Plague of Gun Violence

Media Contact:
Chieko Noguchi
202-541-3200

View this release on the USCCB website.

“In God’s eyes, all human life is sacred. God has a plan for every person – every mother, and every pre-born child. The Church believes in the sacredness of human life, beginning at conception until natural death. Every child born and unborn has the right to life.

As Mother Theresa so eloquently wrote, ‘Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government.’ Nor should the fundamental right to life be extinguished by the government. The right to life should not depend upon, and cannot be contingent upon, anyone else - not even a parent. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his or her humanity.

With the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, the Supreme Court has undone the grave injustice of 1973, when Roe v. Wade decided that a whole class of human beings, the preborn, are outside the protection of the law.

Since that decision, more than 60 million innocent lives have been taken. As Roe is overturned, states will again be able to protect the lives of preborn children, and in doing so, also protect millions of women from the tragic emotional and spiritual consequences of abortion.

In the words of Archbishop Jose Gomez, President of the USCCB, “Now is the time to begin the work of building a post-Roe America. It is a time for healing wounds and repairing social divisions; it is a time for reasoned reflection and civil dialogue, and for coming together to build a society and economy that supports marriages and families, and where every woman has the support and resources she needs to bring her child into this world in love.”

In Las Vegas, the Respect Life ministry provides support from conception to natural death with pastoral care and outreach, adoption services and natural family planning. To those who have procured an abortion in the past or are contemplating one, our opposition to abortion is not an opposition to you. We at the Diocese of Las Vegas stand ready to embrace you in love, charity, and compassion.”

More information on the Respect Life Ministry of the Catholic Church in the United States and the Church’s position on Dobb’s v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling can be found by visiting the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s website at www.usccb.org. Read original statement.

WASHINGTON - In response to the Supreme Court of the United States issuing its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities issued the following statement:

“This is a historic day in the life of our country, one that stirs our thoughts, emotions and prayers. For nearly fifty years, America has enforced an unjust law that has permitted some to decide whether others can live or die; this policy has resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of preborn children, generations that were denied the right to even be born.

“America was founded on the truth that all men and women are created equal, with God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This truth was grievously denied by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized and normalized the taking of innocent human life. We thank God today that the Court has now overturned this decision. We pray that our elected officials will now enact laws and policies that promote and protect the most vulnerable among us. Read more.

The celebration of the Eucharist is the source and summit of the whole Christian life. This year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced a three-year National Eucharistic Revival with the vision to facilitate, “A movement of Catholics across the United States, healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist – and sent out in mission ‘for the life of the world’.”

The Diocese of Las Vegas, with representatives from 24 of parishes and missions, held our first Diocesan event on June 18th – the Vigil of the Feast of Corpus Christi – at the Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer. After Mass, we moved together in procession following the Blessed Sacrament as a public witness of the veneration toward the most holy Eucharist. The Feast of Corpus Christi and the procession with the Blessed Sacrament, celebrate and signify God’s presence in our world and in our lives and remind us of our common pilgrimage to Heaven.

Our second Diocesan event takes place on September 9 & 10 with our Annual Diocesan Conference. This year’s Conference theme, “Becoming … Seremos …” continues our formation on the Eucharist with an emphasis on our call to ‘become what we receive’ as stated by St. Augustine. We are called to be the body of Christ in our world – his hands, his feet, his voice, his love! More information on the upcoming Conference can be found at www.lasvegasdiocesanconference.org.

After court decision, it's time for widespread pro-life work, Vatican says
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A truly pro-life celebration of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade would lead to cooperative efforts to pass legislation protecting life, women's rights and motherhood, said an editorial in Vatican News and L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.

Those efforts should include finding ways to protect maternal health and lower the maternal death rate, assist poor women, provide or expand paid family leave and control access to guns in the country, said the piece written by Andrea Tornielli, editorial director at the Vatican Dicastery for Communication.

The Vatican published the editorial June 25, the day after the Supreme Court ruled that there is no constitutional right to abortion in the United States, giving individual states the power to legislate abortion.  Read more.

Bishop Thomas releases statement encouraging Catholics to intensify prayers for the protection of the unborn.  

As Catholics, we believe in the sacredness of every human life, beginning at conception until natural death.   

We hold that every child, born and unborn, has the right to life.   

As we await the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the possible reversal of Roe and Casey, we urge everyone to intensify their prayers for the protection of God’s innocent unborn children, who are the most vulnerable among us.    

We are hopeful the recent leak from the Supreme Court is a positive bellwether for the protection of unborn life.  

Cautious optimism is the order of the day.  

Our Lady of Guadalupe, hear our prayers as we endeavor to protect the innocent, unborn lives across our land.  

Sincerely yours in Christ,

+George Leo Thomas
Bishop of Las Vegas

On July 28, 2021, Father Adam Kotas abandoned his parish in the Diocese of Santa Rosa and defected from the Roman Catholic Church. At present, he is a member of the schismatic Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) founded in 1897 by Reverend Francis Hodur, who led Pennsylvania parishioners away from the Roman Catholic Church.

For a period of three years, Father Kotas was “on loan” to the Diocese of Las Vegas before voluntarily returning to his home Diocese of Santa Rosa. He is using his prior association and charismatic preaching style to entice uninformed Catholics into the PNCC. Read more/sequin leyendo

Statements regarding Adam Kotas Click HERE

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