New York State Catholic Conference
The New York State Catholic Conference represents the Bishops of the state in working with government to shape laws and policies that pursue social justice, respect for life and the common good. We provide a unified voice for the eight dioceses of the state to speak on such issues as education, poverty, family life, abortion, assisted suicide and euthanasia, social services, health care, criminal justice and the environment. We apply the principles of Catholic social teaching to critical issues of the day and encourage citizen involvement in the legislative process.
The Catholic Action Network (CAN), an arm of the Catholic Conference, gives us all a larger voice in the halls of government. Through our email and social media alerts, CAN reaches tens of thousands of Catholics like you to provide educational updates on the important issues being debated and to provide the tools to simplify the process of contacting your elected officials.
Encourage your whole parish to sign-up and join the Network.
USCCB Action Center
Visit the USCCB Action Center to view our current action alerts and sign up for future alerts so that you can contact your elected representatives to express your concerns and opinions on upcoming legislation.
Encourage your whole parish to register for action center alerts.
Action Items
- NYSCC Opposition to SUNY and CUNY Abortion Pill Bill
Click here to read the Memorandum of Opposition, and call your representative!
- Dangers of Abortion Pills
Listen to the latest podcast from the New York State Catholic Conference on proposed legislation currently proposed in NYS, and contact your representative: https://www.nyscatholic.org/capitol-compass-podcast/
- Act Now! Tell the Federal Government to Do No Harm to Catholic Health Care Ministries
The Church’s ministries of healing, education, and social services bear witness to Jesus Christ and build up the common good. Church institutions are not mere providers of so-cial services. They are expressions of Christian ministry dedicated to human flourishing. We serve all people, without regard to race, sex, religion, or any other status, because God has imbued every person with inherent human dignity. Most Americans understand that mission-driven organizations should be free to operate in accordance with their missions. But a recent rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser-vices (HHS) would prevent Catholic hospitals, clinics, assisted living facilities, and health care workers from carrying out their work. HHS needs to hear your opinion by October 3rd! Click here to read the full statement and visit www.usccb.org/do-no-harm to learn more.
- Catholic Relief Services Accepting Donations to Aid Ukraine
There is great risk of additional suffering both within Ukraine and for those who are fleeing to neighboring countries for safety. CRS and their partners need immediate support to meet both ongoing needs as the situation intensifies.
Years of conflict along the eastern border have already displaced 1.3 million people from their homes and claimed 14,000 lives. Throughout this time, Caritas Ukraine, with support from CRS, has been providing emergency relief and recovery.
CRS and Caritas partners on the ground are preparing across Ukraine and in bordering countries, ready to provide safe shelter, hot meals, hygiene supplies, transport to safe areas, counseling support and more.
The situation there is rapidly unfolding, and we could not do this work without your help. When you donate, you provide immediate assistance for your Ukrainian sisters and brothers affected by this crisis.
Click here to donate:
News Releases and Statements
- NYSCC Opposition to SUNY and CUNY Abortion Pill Bill
Click here to read the Memorandum of Opposition, and call your representative!
- U.S. Bishops’ Pro-Life Chairman Commends House for Passing “Born Alive” Bill
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives voted 220 to 210 today to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 26). “We commend the House of Representatives for passing legislation to protect innocent children from infanticide, and urge the Senate to follow suit,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities. “Babies who are born alive during the process of an abortion deserve compassionate care and medical attention – just the same as any other newborn baby.”
H.R. 26 would require health care providers to give children born alive after an attempted abortion the same medical care that they would for any child born at that same gestational age and to transport them to a hospital. On Tuesday, Bishop Burbidge sent a letter to members of the House urging them to vote for the bill. His letter and other resources may be found at: https://www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/born-alive-bill.cfm
- U.S. Bishops’ Pro-Life Chairman Denounces FDA Action on Chemical Abortion Pill
WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the loosening of safety requirements to allow retail pharmacies, through a simple certification process, to distribute the chemical abortion drug, mifepristone (previously commonly known as RU-486), by prescription. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, issued the following statement in response:
“The Catholic Church is consistent in its teaching on upholding the dignity of all life, and that must include care for both women and their children. We decry the continuing push for the destruction of innocent human lives and the loosening of vital safety standards for vulnerable women. This week’s action by the FDA not only advances the obvious tragedy of taking the lives of the preborn, but is also harmful to women in need.
“The rate of serious complications after chemical abortion is considerably higher than after surgical abortion. Overturning the safety protocols around abortion-causing drugs to effectively make them available on demand at pharmacies, requiring no in-person medical supervision, facilitates the isolation of critically vulnerable pregnant women, and invites more risk, pain, and trauma. It may also result in new violations of conscience for pharmacy workers who cannot dispense such drugs. The FDA should protect the life and health of both mothers and children, not loosen safety standards under industry or political pressures. We call on the Administration to correct its policy priorities and stand with mothers in need. They deserve better.”
Read this and other statements from the USCCB here.
- Act Now! Tell the Federal Government to Do No Harm to Catholic Health Care Ministries
The Church’s ministries of healing, education, and social services bear witness to Jesus Christ and build up the common good. Church institutions are not mere providers of so-cial services. They are expressions of Christian ministry dedicated to human flourishing. We serve all people, without regard to race, sex, religion, or any other status, because God has imbued every person with inherent human dignity. Most Americans understand that mission-driven organizations should be free to operate in accordance with their missions. But a recent rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser-vices (HHS) would prevent Catholic hospitals, clinics, assisted living facilities, and health care workers from carrying out their work. HHS needs to hear your opinion by October 3rd! Click here to read the full statement and visit www.usccb.org/do-no-harm to learn more.
Educational Resources
- Eternal Rest: The Art of Dying Well
Augustine Institute has created a new, free resource for individuals and parishes! Eternal Rest: The Art of Dying Well offers a four part video series available on the website eternalrest.org. Also available on the website are posts and short videos addressing issues such as grief, palliative care, catholic funerals and more. Share with your communities and family!
- Building a Culture of Life in a Post-Roe World
Archbishop William E. Lori, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, has issued a moving statement on Building a Culture of Life in a Post-Roe World. Read the statement here!
- New York State Bishops Statement on Abortion available in English and Spanish
The New York State Bishops Statement, Toward a Pro-Life Future in the Empire State, is available in English and Spanish. For additional information, please visit the New York State Catholic Conference: https://www.nyscatholic.org/
- New York State Bishops Release Major New Statement on Abortion
The Catholic Bishops of New York State have released a major new statement on abortion as they anticipate the looming Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, and “the gathering societal unrest over the issue of abortion.” (The full statement is available HERE)
In the statement titled, “Toward a Pro-Life Future in the Empire State,” the Bishops acknowledge that, regardless of what the Court decides in Dobbs, “abortion in New York would continue unfettered.” They say that Catholics must respond “in charity and with sensitivity, but with clarity” to those for whom the prospect of an overturning of Roe v. Wade has led to “fear and anxiety,” and in particular to women facing sometimes overwhelming challenges of unplanned pregnancies.
The Bishops address head-on the false notion that the Church is more concerned with the baby in the womb than with the mother and child once he or she is born, and announce a renewed pastoral effort, challenging every Catholic entity in the state to join them:
“As far back as the 1980s, the late John Cardinal O’Connor, a giant of the pro-life movement, made a pledge that we reaffirm today: Any woman – regardless of age, religious belief or affiliation, marital status or immigration status – who is pregnant and in need, can come to the Catholic Church and we will give you the services and supports you need to carry your baby to term, regardless of your ability to pay. Furthermore, we will not abandon you and your baby after delivery, but, rather, we will see to it that you have the resources that you and your child both need and deserve. No one will be turned away from life-affirming care. If you have had an abortion that you regret, whether recently or in the distant past, please come to us as well, so that we may offer you services to help you to heal.
“We ask every Catholic parish, every Catholic Charities program, every Catholic health facility, every Catholic school, every Catholic college and university, and every religious community in our state to proactively engage with us in this pastoral effort.”To that end, the Bishops have launched a new pregnancy resources page, Help for Moms, at www.nyscatholic.org/helpformoms, where women can find services available to them. The page will be continually updated with new resources.
Finally, the Bishops call on elected officials to work toward a New York that is more supportive of women in crisis pregnancies, and to gear public policies away from continually seeking to increase abortions and toward helping those “who might well make a different choice, if only they were aware of and had other options.” The Bishops then present a list of 12 aspirational statements of what such a New York might look like. Over the coming days, the New York State Catholic Conference’s social media platforms will highlight each of the aspirational statements, with the hashtags #WeEnvision and #HelpForMoms.
“Let us work toward making New York a state where even if abortion is not illegal, it will one day be unthinkable.,” the Bishops conclude.
The statement is signed by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, archbishop of New York, and Bishops Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany, Robert J. Brennan of Brooklyn, Michael W. Fisher of Buffalo, Terry R. LaValley of Ogdensburg, Salvatore R. Matano of Rochester, John O. Barres of Rockville Centre, and Douglas J. Lucia of Syracuse, on behalf of all of the state’s bishops, including auxiliary and emeritus bishops.
Diocesan Public Policy Committe (DPPC)
The DPPC advises the Bishop on public policy matters, meets with legislators, and works to encourage parish participation in social justice advocacy addressing issues at the local, state, national and international levels.
To learn more about the DPPC Click Here
