September Newsletter 

The latest from CCO - action alerts, legislative news, updates, and more.

Learn more about CCO: View our brochure or visit our website.

Defeat Issue 1: Abortion Amendment

CCO on Issue 1 
The Catholic Conference of Ohio firmly opposes Issue 1, which would enshrine the “right” to abortion in the Ohio Constitution. This extreme amendment endangers the health and safety of women, threatens parental rights, and allows for abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.
 

CCO's Resources

• 4 Things You Need to Know (Video) 
• Frequently Asked Questions (English | Spanish) 
• Where Does It Say That? (English | Spanish) 
• 54-Day Novena (pray54ohio.org)
   

Other Resources

Articles:

• The Columbus Dispatch: Opinion: My son was tortured, kidnapped and murdered. Abortion, death penalty easy answer| Mother
• Catholic News Agency: Catholic imagery doesn’t belong in pro-abortion Ohio campaign ad, critics say

Visit www.ohiocathconf.org/protect to access all resources from the Catholic Conference of Ohio to defeat Issue 1. 

NO on Issue 2: Recreational Marijuana
 

CCO Opposes Issue 2
The Catholic Conference of Ohio encourages Catholics and all people of good will to Vote NO on Issue 2, "An Act to Control and Regulate Adult Use of Cannabis,” which would legalize recreational marijuana.

Issue 2 would:

Threaten Public Health - per the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life." (paragraph 229) 

Endanger Children - marijuana use by youth has risen considerably in states where recreational use has been legalized, harming child development, especially neurologically. 

Endanger Communities - studies show legalization of marijuana increases traffic accidents and fatalities as well as increasing rates of workplace accidents and injuries.

Action Alerts

USCCB Action Alert
Ask Congress to Pass Funding Measures that Further the Common Good
Much is at stake as Congress debates federal funding for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, including our nation’s fundamental commitment to humanitarian protection. 

Urge your US legislators to work on a bipartisan basis to avoid a government shutdown and enact a just budget for Fiscal Year 2024 that furthers the common good, all while excluding the harmful provisions contained in the Secure the Border Act of 2023 (H.R. 2), a sweeping immigration bill that would eliminate longstanding protections in U.S. law. These include provisions that would endanger unaccompanied children and inflict harm on other vulnerable persons, restrict access to legal employment, limit—and potentially eliminate—federal partnerships with faith-based and other nongovernmental organizations, and more.

Abolish the Death Penalty - House Bill 259
For 46 years, the Catholic Conference and Catholics throughout Ohio have sought to end the death penalty in Ohio. Our desire to foster a culture of life throughout Ohio requires a commitment to recognizing the sanctity of human life in all stages and circumstances, including those who, at one time, blatantly disregarded the humanity of others and need to face justice. Additionally, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person." It is time for Ohio to end this practice and ensure our laws respect life without exception. 

Click the button below to ask your Ohio Representative to abolish the death penalty.

CCO Events

Happening in Ohio

March for Life - October 6

Join us for the 2023 Ohio March for Life!

Friday, October 6, 11 am 
Ohio Statehouse
Columbus, OH 
www.marchforlife.org

Day of Prayer to End the Death Penalty - October 9-10

All communities of faith are invited to join a 24 hour Day of Prayer to end the death penalty. The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the death penalty "inadmissible" and Pope Francis has called for its worldwide abolition. The CCO will be leading a rosary at the event. 

October 9-10
Ohio Statehouse
Columbus, OH
www.nodeathpenalty.com

Special Feature

Migration

You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God.
(Leviticus 19:34)

National Migration Week was September 18-24 where the faithful and others of good will are encouraged to reflect on the challenges facing migrants, refugees, and others impacted by the complex phenomenon of forced displacement, the ways these newcomers enrich welcoming communities, and how we are each called to respond to them as members of the same human family.

Pope Francis in his message for the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees said, “The decision to migrate should always be free, yet in many cases, even in our day, it is not. Conflicts, natural disasters, or more simply the impossibility of living a dignified and prosperous life in one’s native land is forcing millions of persons to leave.... Migrants flee because of poverty, fear or desperation. Eliminating these causes and thus putting an end to forced migration calls for shared commitment on the part of all, in accordance with the responsibilities of each.”

Visit the Justice for Immigrants website or the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development for resources on migration.

Let Us Pray

Pope Francis' Prayer for the 2023 World Day of Migrants and Refugees

God, Father Almighty,
grant us the grace to work tirelessly
for justice, solidarity and peace,
so that all your children may enjoy
the freedom to choose whether to migrate or to stay. 
Grant us the courage to denounce
all the horrors of our world,
and to combat every injustice
that mars the beauty of your children
and the harmony of our common home.
Sustain us by the power of your Spirit,
so that we can reflect your tender love
to every migrant whom you place in our path,
and to spread in hearts and in every situation
the culture of encounter and of care.
Amen.