Archives for November 2023

November 8, 2023 by Jennifer Schack

Release Date: Nov. 7, 2023

Statement From Archbishop Schnurr on the Passage of Issue 1

The passage of Issue 1 is deeply disturbing. Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati has released a video statement in response. Found here.

The text copy of the statement:

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this is Archbishop Dennis Schnurr.

The people of Ohio missed this important opportunity to demonstrate that the health and safety of women, the fundamental rights of parents, and the lives of preborn children deserve protection. Despite this outcome, we are grateful for all of you who prayed, educated yourselves and others, and voted NO on this horrific amendment. And we praise God for the gift of His great love and mercy which He continues to pour out to us in good times and in bad.

The passage of Issue 1 shows that there remains a desperate need for conversion of hearts and minds to a culture of life in our country, one that respects the inherent dignity and sacredness of every human being from conception to natural death. This conversion will only come about through the witness of our earnest prayer and compassionate care for the most vulnerable among us. I urge everyone in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to redouble support for the many Catholic ministries that provide material resources and personal accompaniment to women, children and families so that abortion ceases to be a consideration.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, graciously help us build a culture of life and a civilization of love to the praise and glory of God, the Creator of all.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 51^stlargest 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 206 canonical parishes organized into 57 Families of Parishes, and 109 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

Jennifer Schack

Director of Media Relations

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Office | 513.263.6618

Cell | 859.512.5626

[email protected]

November 8, 2023 by Peter Garcia

Download PDF Version – English | Download PDF Version – Spanish

November 8, 2023

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Yesterday’s passage of Issue 1 is deeply disturbing. The people of Ohio missed on this important opportunity to demonstrate that the health and safety of women, the fundamental rights of parents, and the lives of preborn children deserve protection. Despite this outcome, we are grateful for all of you who prayed, educated yourselves and others, and voted NO on this horrific amendment. And we praise God for the gift of His great love and mercy which He continues to pour out to us in good times and in bad.

The passage of Issue 1 shows that there remains a desperate need for conversion of hearts and minds to a culture of life in our country, one that respects the inherent dignity and sacredness of every human being from conception to natural death. This conversion will come about only through earnest prayer and the witness of our compassionate care for the most vulnerable among us – immigrants, the poor, the elderly, preborn children, and women in need.

Expectant mothers 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. In such times, every woman should be able to count on a community of support, both during pregnancy and after a child is born. Thank you to the many pregnancy centers, Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul conferences, Catholic healthcare systems and other wonderful pro-life ministries that create that community of support, lovingly walking with women in need and helping them navigate difficult circumstances. I urge everyone in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to redouble support for these Catholic ministries that provide material resources and personal accompaniment to women, children and families so that abortion, legal or not, ceases to be even a consideration. For a listing of such ministries in our archdiocese, please go to https://catholicaoc.org/forlife.

The passage of Issue 1 in Ohio is part of what appears to be a coordinated state-by-state attack on life. Please pray for our sisters and brothers in Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, and South Dakota who likely will face proposals similar to Issue 1 on their respective state ballots in 2024. We must not become disheartened by setbacks. As Catholics, we are called to trust always in God’s providence and be courageous in our defense of the health and safety of women, the inviolability of the family, and the inestimable value of each human life.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, graciously help us build a culture of life and a civilization of love to the praise and glory of God, the Creator of all.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr

Archbishop of Cincinnati

November 3, 2023 by Jennifer Schack

W H A T | 24-hour Prayer Vigil

W H E N | Beginning Monday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. until Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m.

W H E R E | St. Gertrude Church: 6543 Miami Ave. Madeira, OH 45243

Release Date: Nov. 3, 2023

24-Hour Prayer Vigil Heading into Election Day

Catholics from across the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will be gathering at churches over the coming days to pray for the protection of human life and dignity and the defeat of Issue 1. Churches across the archdiocese are holding prayer services, holy hours, and prayer vigils over the weekend and on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 6 and 7. A listing of prayer services can be found here.

A 24-hour prayer vigil will be held at St. Gertrude in Madeira beginning at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 6 and lasting until 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7. Worshipers will be praying alongside the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima that will be visiting the parish. The International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima has traveled the world bringing the graces of the apparition of the Virgin Mary at Fatima, Portugal in 1917. The traveling statue brings the message of hope, peace and salvation to the millions of people who have never had the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Fatima.

The 24-hour prayer vigil at St. Gertrude will include an opening presentation about the statue, eucharistic adoration, hourly recitation of the Rosary, daily Mass at 7 a.m, 8 a.m., and 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 7 and closing benediction beginning at 7:30 p.m. A complete schedule of the prayer vigil can be found here: https://www.stgertrude.org/fatima.

Nov. 7 is also the conclusion of the 54-Day Rosary Novena. More than 15,000 Catholics from across the state of Ohio have been praying a rosary each day for 54 days for the protection of life and defeat of Issue 1. The 54-Day Rosary Novena began on Sept. 15 and concludes November 7.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has been strongly opposed to Issue 1. Archbishop Schnurr has been urging Catholics throughout western and southwestern Ohio to pray for an increase in respect for human life and dignity, educate themselves and others about the dangers of the proposed amendment and vote NO on Issue 1 on or before November 7.

To learn more about why the Archdiocese of Cincinnati opposes Issue 1 please visit www.WhereDoesItSayThat.com and www.catholicaoc.org/VoteNO. In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati there are more than 30 pro-life centers that assist pregnant women and families in need of assistance. More information about archdiocesan resources for women can be found on the For Life page of our website.

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Contacts:

Jennifer Schack

Director of Media Relations

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Office | 513.263.6618

Cell | 859.512.5626

[email protected]

Michelle Dushensky

Director of Communications

St. Gertrude Parish

Office | 513.561.5954 ext. 2121

[email protected]

November 1, 2023 by Jennifer Schack

Download PDF Version – English | Download PDF Version – Spanish

In his encyclical Evangelium Vitae on the value and inviolability of human life, Pope St. John Paul II speaks about God’s call for each person to share in the fullness of life for all eternity with Him. Even during our life in this temporal, physical world, we participate in the life of grace and have a foretaste of the blessedness of heaven. It is this call from God to share in His life that reveals the greatness and inestimable value of each human life (cf. EV 2).

As Catholics we believe in the dignity and value of every human life from conception to natural death. Because of this conviction, we have fought against the grave evils which threaten life, particularly abortion, which has claimed the lives of tens of millions of innocent children. The 2022 Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization returned the issue of the legality of abortion back to the state level – a critical victory, but certainly not the end of our efforts to defend life.

Now, a little over a year later, human life and dignity are under serious attack in the State of Ohio. The constitutional amendment proposed as Issue 1 on the November ballot is, by any measure, extreme. Not only would it expand access to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, but it would enable the removal of regulations protecting the health and safety of women which abortion centers are currently required to observe. This amendment also would eliminate parents’ rights of notification and consent in the reproductive healthcare decisions of their minor children, something that would do irreparable damage to the family, the cornerstone of society. This proposed change to Ohio’s constitution is so extreme that even those who do not fully share in the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of life at every stage should see how it far exceeds the moral bounds of any just society.

Pope St. John Paul II taught about this reality, stating, “The Church knows that this Gospel of life, which she has received from her Lord, has a profound and persuasive echo in the heart of every person – believer and non-believer alike – because it marvelously fulfills all the heart’s expectations while infinitely surpassing them. Even in the midst of difficulties and uncertainties, every person sincerely open to truth and goodness can, by the light of reason and the hidden action of grace, come to recognize in the natural law written in the heart the sacred value of human life from its very beginning until its end, and can affirm the right of every human being to have this primary good respected to the highest degree” (EV 2).

Every person – regardless of race, nationality, sex, creed, status or any other trait – is worthy of equal respect and dignity because we all share in the same human nature which is the pinnacle of God’s creation, made sacred by the Incarnation of His only begotten Son. We must together build up a culture in which every person not only enjoys the right to life but experiences the life in abundance which Jesus Christ came to give us (cf. Jn. 10:10).

With the imminent threat posed by Issue 1 to the values which we as Catholics and Ohioans hold dear, I urge you to pray earnestly for an increase in respect for human life and dignity; to educate yourself and others about the dangers of this amendment; and to Vote NO on Issue 1 on November 7. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord and Savior, and St. Joseph, protector of the Holy Family, intercede for Ohio and its families in the days ahead.