Archives for August 2023

August 12, 2023 by Colin Rahill

Release Date: August 12, 2023

Letter Opposing November Amendment

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr, Archbishop of Cincinnati released the following letter to the faithful, today:

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, On November 7, 2023, Ohioans will have the opportunity to demonstrate how our state views the sacredness of life and the dignity of women. On the November ballot will be a proposed amendment (deceptively named “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety”) to the Ohio Constitution that would enshrine the “right” to take the lives of innocent children in the womb while harming women and families in the process.

An expectant mother of any age can face many challenges, including lack of support from the father, financial strains, concerns about her own health and that of her child, and pressures from family and friends. Every woman, regardless of circumstances, should be able to depend upon a community of support. That is why Catholic social service agencies, in collaboration with many other faith-based and secular organizations, assist pregnant women in need with material resources and personal accompaniment, both during pregnancy and after their child is born.

By contrast, the proposed amendment does none of that. If enacted, it would amend the Constitution of Ohio to effectively:

• Put women at risk. This amendment would enable elimination of some of the most basic, fundamental safety regulations on abortion clinics, including the current requirement for an abortion to be performed by a licensed physician.

• Threaten parental rights. The vague language in the amendment opens the door to anyone under 18 having an abortion, or even beginning cross-sex hormone treatment, without parental consent or notification.

• Allow abortion through 9 months of pregnancy. The amendment provides caveats such that a healthy, fully-formed infant in the womb who otherwise could be delivered with no issues would still be a candidate for a surgical dismemberment abortion.

We must reject this extraordinary and dangerous attempt to radically reshape Ohio through a constitutional amendment that does nothing to aid women or promote life.

The amendment’s supporters will claim that its passage is necessary to preserve medical treatment for women who experience miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies. This is not true. No Ohio laws – or the laws of any U.S. state, for that matter – prevent such treatment. Hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, and physicians have always provided comprehensive miscarriage care, and will continue to do so regardless of the outcome of this vote.

Some may insist that the Catholic Church should not be involved in politics. However, the defense of life and care for women compels our participation in this critical moral issue. As Catholics, we are morally obliged to uphold the dignity of life of all vulnerable humans – immigrants, the poor, preborn children. We cannot remain silent on a direct ballot question like the one in November. The Church must not remain on the sidelines when confronted with such a clear threat to human life and dignity and the primacy of the family.

Ohio does not need a constitutional amendment that only perpetuates violence and a culture of death. I urge Catholics and all people of goodwill to pray earnestly for the defeat of this extreme amendment; to educate yourselves and your family and friends about the dangers of the proposed amendment; and to vote NO on November 7. Beyond that, we must continue our commitment to caring for women, children and families.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord and Savior, and St. Joseph, protector of the family, intercede for Ohio and its families in the weeks ahead.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr

Archbishop of Cincinnati

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 51st largest Catholic diocese in the country, with around 435,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with nearly 40,000 students. The 19-county territory includes 208 canonical parishes organized into 57 Families of Parishes, and 110 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

Jennifer Schack

Director of Media Relations

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Office | 513.263.6618

Cell | 859.512.5626

[email protected]

August 11, 2023 by Colin Rahill

Download PDF Version – English | Download PDF Version – Spanish

August 12, 2023

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

On November 7, 2023, Ohioans will have the opportunity to demonstrate how our state views the sacredness of life and the dignity of women. On the November ballot will be a proposed amendment (deceptively named “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety”) to the Ohio Constitution that would enshrine the “right” to take the lives of innocent children in the womb while harming women and families in the process.

By contrast, the proposed amendment does none of that. If enacted, it would amend the Constitution of Ohio to effectively:

Put women at risk. This amendment would enable elimination of some of the most basic, fundamental safety regulations on abortion clinics, including the current requirement for an abortion to be performed by a licensed physician.
Threaten parental rights. The vague language in the amendment opens the door to anyone under 18 having an abortion, or even beginning cross-sex hormone treatment, without parental consent or notification.
Allow abortion through 9 months of pregnancy. The amendment provides caveats such that a healthy, fully-formed infant in the womb who otherwise could be delivered with no issues would still be a candidate for a surgical dismemberment abortion.

We must reject this extraordinary and dangerous attempt to radically reshape Ohio through a constitutional amendment that does nothing to aid women or promote life.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord and Savior, and St. Joseph, protector of the family, intercede for Ohio and its families in the weeks ahead.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr

Archbishop of Cincinnati

August 1, 2023 by Jennifer Schack

Download PDF Version – English | Download PDF Version – Spanish

We have all heard the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child”—and for good reason. Over the millennia, members of a given community have assisted each other in the formation and development of their youth to ensure that each learns the skills necessary to contribute to the common good. As we prepare to usher in another academic year, it is fitting for us to reflect on education as the Church understands it.

A good source for such reflections is the set of principles laid out in the Code of Canon Law. Some might think Church law is mere legalism; in fact, it is “juridic theology”—applying the foundational realities of our faith to all aspects of Church life and, in the process, delineating the rights and obligations of Church members with respect to our various roles and states of life. The third main section of the Code is devoted to the teaching function of the Church, and we find there, among other things, the basic premise that education, while being primarily the responsibility of parents, is a collaborative work.

The opening words to this section state, “Parents and those who take their place are bound by the obligation and possess the right of educating their offspring” (canon 793). With these words the Church beautifully recognizes the role parents are entrusted to fulfill in raising their children. This flows directly from one of the ends of marriage: the procreation and education of children. Parents participate in the Creator’s work of bringing life into this world, and they also share in His work of bringing that life to its perfection in eternity. Parents are free to choose the means of educating their children and are equally free to select the institutions which can assist them in fulfilling this responsibility.

Education is a collaborative work because it aims for “complete formation of the human person that looks to his or her final end as well as to the common good of societies” (canon 795). Whether parents choose to send their children to a school—Catholic, public or private—or to homeschool, they rely on the assistance of others to help mold their sons and daughters into disciples of Jesus Christ equipped to live out the Gospel in whatever field of work they eventually pursue.

The Church’s pastors are chief among those who assist parents in this responsibility. In their parishes, pastors are to arrange all that is necessary for the education and formation of young people (cf. canon 794). In many cases, with the assistance of a principal, they oversee the operations of a school. Pastors typically also provide additional parish-based opportunities for faith instruction.

Teachers and catechists exercise an incredible ministry for the benefit of young people. These individuals, aware of the commission they accept to form their students into faithful Christian disciples, are called to be “outstanding in correct doctrine, the witness of a Christian life, and teaching skill” (canon 804).

Thus, parents are not alone in raising and educating their children; the entire Christian community has a part to play in this process. Pastors, principals and teachers directly assist parents in fulfilling their responsibility to educate their children. The rest of the Christian faithful are called to fortify the work of schools, teachers and parents through prayer and financial support of the institutions the Church has established to carry out this task (cf. canon 800). Therefore, let us begin this academic year more deeply aware of the call we each have to empower the teaching function of the Church and so spread the Gospel from generation to generation.