2001-2002
November 1, 2002 Two election statements addressed to Catholics were issued, one by the Massachusetts Bishops urging voters to consider the protection of life to be the priority issue when evaluating candidates, and the other by the Mass. Catholic Conference opposing Question 2 on English immersion in bilingual education. See Election Statements 2002.
July 19, 2002 The State Legislature voted to adjourn the joint session without taking up the Protection of Marriage Amendment, effectively killing it. See Protection of Marriage Amendment Vote.
May 6, 2002 The Acting Governor signed a bill into law on May 3 that adds clergy and certain categories of lay church employees to the state's list of persons mandated by law to report child abuse. See Abuse Reporting Bill.
April 9, 2002 Committee to hear Protection of Marriage Amendment: See Hearing Alert
February 22, 2002 Background on a bill mandating contraceptive insurance coverage in Massachusetts. See House Vote tally; Background on Mandate (includes MCC testimony and fact sheets).
December 13, 2001 Various individuals, including a representative of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference testified on December 12 at a hearing before the Massachusetts Senate Committee on Science & Technology on cloning. See Cloning Testimony of Fr. Tad Pacholczyk; Cloning Testimony of Dr. Peter Cataldo; Cloning Testimony of Dr. Micheline Roth; Legal Analysis on Cloning in MA by Daniel Avila.
December 10, 2001 Catholic newspapers in Massachusetts provided more coverage last week on the cloning debate. See Pilot article on cloning announcement; Pilot editorial on cloning announcement; Catholic Free Press article on cloning announcement.
December 3, 2001 The Pilot newspaper (Archdiocese of Boston) published two commentaries on the proposed Massachusetts Protection of Marriage Amendment and its impact on health care insurance and other benefits for unmarried persons. See On the "Protection of Marriage Amendment".
November 28, 2001 The Catholic Free Press newspaper (Diocese of Worcester) published this week a commentary on stem cell research and the status of early human embryos. See Deciding When an Individual Human Being Begins. In addition, the Joint Committee on Health Care Special Oversight Hearing Briefing Packet, released on Nov. 25, 2001, included a legal analysis of the status of the human embryo under Massachusetts law provided by the Massachusetts Catholic Conference. See Memorandum on the Legal Aspects of Question Regarding Status of Human Zygotes and Embryos in Massachusetts.
November 27, 2001 Bishop Daniel P. Reilly of Worcester issued a statement on Nov. 26 responding to reports of human cloning by a Worcester company. See Bishop Reilly Cloning Statement.
November 19, 2001 Bernard Cardinal Law remarked last week on the process behind the drafting of a statement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the appropriate response to the Sept. 11 attacks. See Remarks Regarding the Pastoral Message on the Aftermath of Sept. 11
November 14, 2001 Bishop Sean O'Malley of Fall River issued on November 9 a pastoral letter on in vitro fertilization, marriage and embryonic stem cell research. See Bishop O'Malley pastoral on IVF.
September 19, 2001 Bishop Sean O'Malley of Fall River issued on September 10 a statement addressing the issue of public housing . See Bishop O'Malley statement on public housing.
September 12, 2001 Bernard Cardinal Law has issued a statement concerning the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. See Cardinal Law statement on NY-DC attacks.
August 22, 2001 Two more Massachusetts Bishops, Bishop Daniel Reilly of Worcester and Bishop Thomas Dupre of Springfield, issue statements on the stem cell debate; see Bps Reilly & Dupre stem cell statements. Excellent reports were published in the Boston Pilot and Worcester Catholic Free Press; see Free Press stem cell stories and Pilot stem cell story.
August 13, 2001 On Friday, August 10, Cardinal Law, Archbishop of Boston and Bishop Sean O'Malley of Fall River issued statements responding to President Bush's announcement on federal policy regarding embryonic stem cell research; see Cardinal Law & Bishop O'Malley stem cell statements
August 7, 2001 The Massachusetts Catholic Conference announces its support for legislation mandating clergy reporting of suspected child abuse; see clergy reporting press release. For a background story by the Worcester Catholic Free Press, see clergy reporting story.
August 1, 2001 The Catholic Free Press (Worcester Diocese) July 13, 2001, reported on a hearing on domestic partnerships in the State House, see domestic partnership hearing, editorialized on a federal proposal to make unborn children eligible for federal health care coverage, see benefits for unborn, and reported on the hiring of Patricia O'Leary Engdahl as new director of the diocesan Office of Social Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation, see social teaching guides attorney.
July 18, 2001 The July 13 issue of the Catholic Observer newspaper of the Springfield Diocese reports and editorializes on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision involving the rights of an immigrant represented by a Catholic attorney from Springfield. Click on immigrant rights case.
June 4, 2001 For copies of articles published in the Catholic Free Press (Worcester Diocese) covering the May 18 Judiciary Committee hearing, click on consent hearing and marriage hearing.
May 18, 2001 The MCC delivered testimony before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary on May 17 focusing on bills requiring informed consent for abortion and defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. For copies, click on informed consent testimony and protecting marriage testimony.
May 15, 2001 The MCC has issued a Briefing Paper entitled "Abortion Consent in Massachusetts: Women Are Being Denied Their Right to Know" detailing the refusal by the State of Massachusetts to enforce key provisions of the current law requiring informed consent and a reflection period before abortion can be performed. For a copy, click on Briefing Paper (pdf) or Briefing Paper (text). The Appendices in the original are not available over the web but can be obtained by calling Daniel Avila, MCC Associate Dir. of Policy & Research at 617-367-6060.
May 7, 2001 The MCC delivers testimony to the Joint Committee on Health Care in the Massachusetts State House on a bill requiring women to be informed about the link between abortion and breast cancer before obtaining an abortion. For a copy of the testimony and a press release, click abortion-breast cancer link.
May 4, 2001 Catholics in Boston respond to the recent vote in the U.S. House of Representatives favoring the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. For a report by Brian Smith in the May 4, 2001, issue of the Pilot, Archdiocese of Boston, click Applauding Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
May 1, 2001 Bernard Cardinal Law recently addressed the Vanderburgh County (Indiana) Right to Life Committee on the call to be "pro-life, pro-family, and pro-poor". To read the speech, click on "What it means to be pro-life".
April 24, 2001 The cover story of the April 15 edition of The Catholic Observer addresses the issue of stem cell research, the beginning of human life, and Catholic theological opinion. To read the story click on stem cell research.
April 12, 2001 The Massachusetts Catholic Conference issues a press release commenting on the filing a lawsuit in Boston seeking to redefine marriage to include relationships not consisting of a man and a woman. To read the release and a background memo, click redefining marriage.
April 10, 2001 An article published in the April 5 issue of the Catholic Observer (Springfield Diocese) by Sr. Cathy Homrok, SSJ, describes a restorative justice program in the Springfield area. To read the article click reconciling offenders and victims.
April 10, 2001 The President of Catholic Charities in Boston, Dr. Joseph Doolin, discussed the need for job skills training for persons leaving welfare in his April 6 column in the Pilot. For the text, click overcoming employment barriers.
March 30, 2001 On March 22, Bishop Thomas L. Dupre of the Springfield Diocese submitted in the death penalty phase of Kristen Gilbert's federal murder trial an affidavit opposing the application of the death penalty--the jurors eventually decided in favor of life imprisonment instead. For the text of Bishop Dupre's affidavit, click Bp Dupre's affidavit.
March 29, 2001 The Massachusetts Catholic Conference testified at the Statehouse on March 28 on bills dealing with end-of-life concerns. For a copy of the testimony click MCC hospice testimony.
March 19, 2001 The Massachusetts Council of Churches has issued an historic ecumenical statement opposing the legalization of assisted suicide; the Massachusetts Catholic Conference has issued a press release applauding this development. For text of these and other related materials, click Mass. Council of Churches PAS statement.
March 12, 2001 The Massachusetts House defeats by a vote of 60 to 94 the reinstatement of the death penalty in the Commonwealth, effectively preventing the issue from being raised until 2003. Several new first year legislators opposed the death penalty and four veteran legislators switched from favoring to opposing the death penalty, while one veteran legislator switched from opposing to favoring the death penalty. See how your legislator voted by clicking 2001 death penalty vote.
February 26, 2001 Tanya Conner of the Worcester Diocese Catholic Free Press covers the Feb. 20 death penalty hearing
February 20, 2001 The Massachusetts Bishops issue a statement to be presented to the Massachusetts Legislature today against the death penalty.
February 9, 2001 Bishop Dupre reflects on moral dilemmas of biological revolution in his Feb. 2nd column in The Catholic Observer of the Springfield Diocese.
February 7, 2001 Bishop Dupre's Jan.19th column in The Catholic Observer of the Springfield Diocese touches on racial and social justice issues.
February 2, 2001 Read the story by Marianne Rea-Luthin and Cardinal Law's commentary in the Feb. 2 issue of the Pilot newspaper, Archdiocese of Boston, regarding the dialogue between 6 Massachusetts leaders in the abortion debate.
January 29, 2001 Cardinal Law addresses pro-life pilgrims before March for Life
January 19, 2001 The Catholic Observer newspaper of the Springfield Diocese published three articles of note in its January 5, 2001 edition, dealing with welfare reform, end-of-life issues, and commentary by Bishop Dupre on scientific advances and moral responsibility.