Join the USCCB in Responding to the EEOC: November 1st

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has proposed guidance regarding harassment in the workplace that would suppress or prohibit speech that upholds the sacred gift of human life, the truth of God's design for marriage, and the reality that we are each created male or female. The guidance claims that sexual harassment includes harassment based on (1) “a woman’s reproductive decisions, such as decisions about contraception or abortion,” and (2) “sexual orientation and gender identity.” It is good that we have laws prohibiting harassment in the workplace. But speech expressing moral opposition to abortion, contraception, or same-sex unions, or speech that refers to people by their actual sex, is not harassment. Likewise, maintaining separate restrooms and dressing areas for men and women is not harassment. 

Join USCCB in telling the EEOC to change its guidance to remove its references to abortion, contraception, sexual orientation, and gender identity! The deadline to comment is November 1. Take action today! To read the USCCB's letter to the EEOC, click here.

Compose your message here.

An Evening with Coalition Life: November 4th

Where: St. Michael the Archangel Parish Hall (14251 Nall Ave, Overland Park, KS 66223)

When: 6:00 p.m.

As you know the stakes could not be higher regarding our pro-life efforts. Missouri may have halted abortion for a time but the efforts to ensconce abortion in the state constitution continue at a feverish pace. In the meantime, women and girls from Missouri and other states who believe abortion is their only option are pouring into Kansas to end the life of their babies. We are encouraged that Coalition Life is coming to join us in this endeavor.

Coalition Life deploys professional sidewalk counselors who use a proven approach to successfully reach abortion-minded women. They measure success in the number of “turnarounds”—women who arrived at the abortion facility, met their counselors on the sidewalk, and left choosing life-affirming options over abortion. They've facilitated more than 3,800 turnarounds over the last dozen years. Kansas City site manager Lisa Weinand, a member of St. Michael the Archangel in Leawood, has already been out on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood in Overland Park and they have very high hopes for the impact they can make in Overland Park. In a weeklong beta test with our trained counselors they had 10 turnarounds.

Archbishop Naumann invited Coalition Life to begin their ministry in Kansas at the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Overland Park, saying, "Where we can no longer protect pre-born and women's lives through law, we can rescue them through love." We can save lives on the sidewalk in spite of the defeats in the courts and at the ballot box.

Coalition Life needs your help to ensure that this life saving ministry can have an enduring presence providing a last line of defense for preborn lives in Kansas. Please RSVP to join them at St. Michael's on November 4th. Please also share that website with friends and other pro-lifers in your parish.

If you'd like to learn more about Coalition Life's expansion to Kansas City, check out this article in The Leaven or listen to the archbishop's most recent podcast.

Also on Nov. 4th, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Coalition Life will be offering a free sidewalk counseling training. They hope you can join for both events and learn about who they are and what they do! Register here for both events!

Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week: November 11-18, 2023 + World Day of the Poor: November 19th

As many look forward to Thanksgiving as an opportunity to give thanks for abundance, we are also made aware of many in our community who are without basic human needs, including food and shelter. Through Catholic Social Teaching, we know that each person is sacred and dignified, and we have a special concern for the poorest and most vulnerable. As we approach Thanksgiving, consider volunteering or giving generously to one of our many community partners supported through our Life & Justice Campaign. Some organizations you might consider include:

A Simple House

Bishop Sullivan Center

Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph

Catholic Relief Services

Morning Glory Ministries

Redemptorist Center

For even more ideas, visit https://www.lifeandjusticekcsj.org/grant-recipients.html.

Black Catholic Implementation Team Presentation

and

Knights of Peter Claver Founders Day Celebration: November 12th, 2023

Where: Ferguson Hall at St. Monica Catholic Church, 1616 The Paseo, Kansas City, MO 64108

When: Immediately following the 9:00a.m. Mass

During Black Catholic History Month, please join us as we join in the Black Catholic Implementation Team Presentation on their attendance at the National Black Catholic Congress and the Knights of Peter Claver Founders Day Celebration. Food will be served and there will be giveaways; youth are encouraged to attend as well. Food bank donations will also be collected for St. Monica, St. Therese Little Flower, and Our Lady and St. Rose Catholic Churches’ food pantries. Please send questions to St. Monica Catholic Church parish office at 816.471.3696.

Feast of Christ the King (November 26th, 2023) and Religious Freedom

From the USCCB: “On the Last Sunday of each liturgical year, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, or Christ the King. Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 with his encyclical Quas primas (“in the first”) to respond to growing secularism and atheism… Pope Pius XI’s encyclical gave Catholics hope and-while governments around them crumbled-the assurance that Christ the King shall reign forever…Today, religious freedom for many people means that we can believe whatever we want in private, but when we enter the public square or the marketplace, we may not speak of anything that relates to our faith. However, the Church acknowledges the reign of Christ, not only privately, but publicly. This solemnity encourages us to celebrate and live out our faith in public” (https://www.usccb.org/committees/religious-liberty/solemnity-christ-king-background).

For more on resources for Religious Freedom and Conscience Protection, please visit https://www.respectlifekcsj.org/religious-freedom--conscience-protection.html.

Human Rights Month: December

Human Rights Day: December 10th, 2023

Human Rights Month (and December 10th specifically) marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Office of Life & Justice remains committed to upholding the dignity of every person and seeking God's justice here on earth by addressing issues such as:

Criminal and Restorative Justice/the Death Penalty

Immigration and Refugees

Stewardship of Creation

Human Trafficking

Racism

Religious Freedom

Economic Justice (poverty, hunger, housing, fair work/wages)

Stay tuned as we share ways we can observe Human Rights Month!

Life & Justice Grant Applications due December 31st, 2023

The Life & Justice Grant, funded by the Life & Justice Campaign, awards and funds new projects and/or programs which directly address injustice toward the dignity of the person or sanctity of human life. If an organization you are a part of or an organization you know match these criteria, please visit lifeandjusticekcsj.org to apply for the Life & Justice Grant by December 31, 2023. There you will find more detailed criteria and the application form and process. Please send questions to Deb Sheppard, Director of the Office of Life & Justice, at sheppard@diocesekcsj.org or 816.714.2367.