Holy Trinity Catholic Church and School

By Jennifer Brinker & Joseph Kenny 

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure has reversed its decision to halt grants to Planned Parenthood, leaving members of the local and national pro-life community dazed.

The organization apologized and has decided to revise its policy that led to its earlier decision to cut funding to the nation's largest abortion provider.

"We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities," according to a statement from Komen founder and CEO Nancy Brinker.

"Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair," the statement continued. " ... We sincerely hope that these changes will be welcomed by those who have expressed their concern."

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February 1, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I write to you concerning an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the Church in the United States directly and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith.  The federal government, which was formed to be “of, by, and for the people,” has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a quarter of those people – the Catholic population – and to the millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception.  Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those “services” in the health policies they write.  And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.

In so ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our nation’s first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty.  And, as a result, unless the rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences or to drop health coverage for our employees (and bring about the consequences for all in doing so).  The Administration’s sole concession was to give nonprofit employers, like hospitals and universities, which do not currently provide such coverage, one year in which to comply.

We believe this new requirement signals a direct attack on our religious freedom.  People of faith cannot be made second-class citizens.  We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom.  Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America’s cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God-given rights.  In generations past, the Church has always counted on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties.  I hope and trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same.  Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.

And, therefore, I would ask of you two things.  First, as a community of faith, we must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting, that wisdom and justice may prevail, and religious liberty may be restored.  Without God, we can do nothing; with God, nothing is impossible.  Second, I would also recommend visiting www.usccb.org/conscience, to learn more about this severe assault on religious liberty and how to contact Congress in support of legislation that would reverse the Administration’s decision.

I call upon each of you to join me and the Bishops of the United States in speaking out on this violation of religious freedom and conscience by contacting your U.S. Representatives and our U.S. Senators.  Every Catholic has the responsibility to promote the dignity of human life and religious freedom.  If we do not make our voices heard, no one else will.  Let us work together to preserve the freedoms our forefathers established in our Constitution!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson
Archbishop of St. Louis

By Barbara Watkins|St. Louis Review 

Come home to the Church, Archbishop Robert J. Carlson said at a Dec. 9 press conference announcing the kick off of the Catholics Come Home initiative in the St. Louis Archdiocese.

"Our Gospel responsibility is to proclaim the Good News," the archbishop said at the press conference, held at the Catholic Education Center in the Central West End.

The archbishop was giving an official, public introduction to the Catholics Come Home initiative, the campaign of inspiring television commercials to air on stations throughout the archdiocese Dec. 16-Jan. 22. Most Catholics throughout the 11-county archdiocese are already aware of the effort, through articles in the St. Louis Review, information provided at parishes and other archdiocesan sources.

In fact, local Catholics are paying for the initiative, which is provided through a partnership with Catholics Come Home®, an individual, independent Catholic lay apostolate.

"I'm representing thousands of people in the archdiocese who are financing this initiative" Archbishop Carlson said. "Why are we doing this?" he asked. Because it is the mission given to us 2,000 years ago by Jesus Christ, he said, referring to the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 28. "We are all called to be evangelizers."

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Jesus said, “this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (Jn 15:12) As Christians we are called by these words of Christ to love and care for one another. The greatest way to outwardly express our love for one another is through charity- by donating our time, talent, and treasures to those in need.

The Advent and Christmas seasons are wonderful times to volunteer help for the less-fortunate in our community, but it’s important to keep in mind that there are many needs throughout the year that could benefit from your helping hands.

There are many ways to get involved in the Catholic ministries in the Archdiocese of St. Louis that help the poor, abused, neglected, elderly, disabled and lonely in our community. We invite you take a deeper look into to each of our ministries and help in whichever ways speak to you.

Father Dempsey’s Charities

Since 1906, Father Dempsey's Charities has provided transitional housing and a safe place to give a fresh start to men without a home. Today, Fr. Dempsey’s gives up to 60 residents a place to live and help with daily nourishment, getting a job, obtaining needed medical treatment, and accessing government benefits available due to military service, age, or disability. The average length of stay is one year.

As guests prepare to leave Father Dempsey's Charities to begin living independently, there is need for furniture and household items to help them get started. If you have useful items in good condition to share, please contact Maureen Quinn at 314.652.7275.

Contact Father Dempsey’s to volunteer or donate at 314.535.7221 or donate online.

Read more about Father Dempsey’s Charities.

Catholic Charities of St. Louis

Catholic Charities of St. Louis is one of the largest private providers of social services in the state of Missouri. Catholic Charities is comprised of 8 agencies offering more than 100 programs to assist, on average, more than 150,00 poor and impoverished people annually.

The Catholic Charities agencies and nearly 6,000 volunteers are dedicated to serving countless children, women, and men who do not have enough food to eat; who are deprived of adequate education, housing, or employment; who suffer the trauma of abuse or neglect.

Contact Catholic Charities year round for volunteer opportunities or to donate at 314.367.550 or donate online.

Read more about Catholic Charities of St. Louis.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

“Serving Christ’s needy is the first purpose of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.”

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides services in crisis intervention, housing, criminal justice ministry, transportation, and health.

Most parishes have a Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference, which are “chapters” of the Society. To find volunteer opportunities with your parish SVDP conference, you can call your parish office or look at the list of SVDP conferences.

To volunteer or donate to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul call 314.881.6000 or donate online.

Read more about the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

By Archbishop Robert J. Carlson

Silence is not simply the absence of noise. It is a necessary condition for discernment and reflection, for meditation and prayer, and for "welcoming the word" into our minds and hearts.

Silence is necessary for evangelization -- welcoming God's word and integrating it into our daily lives. Unless we are able to filter out the ever-increasing bombardment of messages of social communication and mass media, there is no way we can welcome God's word. Or reflect on it prayerfully. Or act on it in our daily lives.

Silence is essential to our ministry to the young Church. Young women and men are the targets of advertisements and the entertainment media. They are the constant recipients of seductive and alluring images that are meant to persuade them to think, dress, consume and behave in certain ways. They are told what to do and what to value. To counteract the barrage of secular or worldly communications directed at the young, we must preach the Gospel in word and action. But we must also make room for silence to allow members of the young Church to welcome the word and to discern what they are being called to be and do as followers of Jesus Christ.

The patron saint of silence is St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus. In the Gospels he does not speak a word. He listens. He reflects. He acts. St. Joseph welcomed the word of God into his mind and heart. He welcomed Jesus, the Word made flesh, into his family and into his loving care. The silence of St. Joseph speaks louder than words. It gives bold witness to his unique vocation as redemptoris custos (the guardian of our redeemer).

If we want to reach out to members of the young Church and encourage them to welcome God's word in their lives, we need to help them discover what it means to be silent. If we want to foster vocations to ordained ministry, to consecrated life, to marriage and to the dedicated single life, we must help young men and women discover times and places where they can turn off the noise of modern life and tune in to the grand silence of God's holy peace.

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