Last Friday, as part of their spring meeting, the U.S. bishops approved a document regarding embryonic stem cell research. The document points out the grave moral problems that exist with the use embryonic stem cells, and then it points to another way which offers concrete help without raising moral concerns.

Nature in fact provides ample resources for pursuing medical progress without raising these grave moral concerns. Stem cells from adult tissues and umbilical cord blood are now known to be much more versatile than once thought. These cells are now in widespread use to treat many kinds of cancer and other illnesses, and in clinical trials they have already benefited patients suffering from heart disease, corneal damage, sickle-cell anemia, multiple sclerosis, and many other devastating conditions.1 Researchers have even developed new non-destructive methods for producing cells with the properties of embryonic stem cells—for example, by "reprogramming" adult cells. There is no moral objection to research and therapy of this kind, when it involves no harm to human beings at any stage of development and is conducted with appropriate informed consent. Catholic foundations and medical centers have been, and will continue to be, among the leading supporters of ethically responsible advances in the medical use of adult stem cells.

Click here to read the full document on the Virginia Catholic Conference Web site.

On Wednesday, February 20th at 8:00 p.m, a lecture will be given by Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The lecture entitled How Can the Dream Survive? will be presented at the University in Room 1020 of McLeod Hall.

Free parking is available next to the building. For more information, contact Diane Baltz at diane.gigantino.baltz@gmail.com.

For more information about Dr. Alveda King and her work, click here.

For a map of the University, click here.

Late in October 1973, grassroots prolife leaders became concerned that January 22, 1974, might come and go without properly memorializing the Supreme Court's infamous abortion decisions and without petitioning Congress for redress.

No established right-to-life organization was prepared to undertake the planning, financial and operational responsibilities for a high impact prolife March on the U.S. Capitol. But, grassroots prolifers wanted to march! About thirty prolife veterans resolved themselves into a committee and began making plans for the first March for Life.

On January 22, 1974, the first March for Life was held on the West Steps of the Capitol. An estimated 20,000 committed prolife Americans rallied that day on behalf of our preborn brothers and sisters.

In 1974, the March for Life was incorporated as a non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian organization.

(From the March to Life Web site)

On March 22nd, the 35th annual March for Life will take place in Washington, D.C. The theme for this year's march is "Build Unity on the Life Principles throughout America. No Exception! No Compromise!" You can participate by joining a group from Charlottesville who will be heading up on the 22nd to march with thousands of others in support of a culture of life.

On Tuesday, January 22nd a bus will go to DC for the March for Life. The bus will leave the Church of the Incarnation at 8 AM and return at 6 PM. Cost is $15 adults/$10 children. Wear clothing according to the weather and bring drink and food. E-mail Diane G-Baltz at cvillerespectlife@gmail.com for more info or to sign up.

Monday, January 28th is Catholic Advocacy Day at the Virginia General Assembly hosted by the Virginia Catholic Conference. The day is an opportunity to practice faithful citizenship especially for the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities.

The events of the day will be held from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at St. Peter's Catholic Church and at Capitol Square in Richmond. Both Bishop Paul Loverde of the Diocese of Arlington and Bishop Francis DiLorenzo of the Diocese of Richmond will speak. In addition, there will be many opportunities to meet with your legislators and their assistants in order to discuss with them regarding pro-life, social justice, and education issues.

There is a $10 fee to cover lunch and materials. Parking is separate.

You are asked to register by January 22nd. However, if you register by January 10th, the Conference will assist in setting up meetings between your legislators and you.

Click here to view the flyer and access the registration form.

The Virginia Catholic Conference engages in legislative advocacy on behalf of Virginia's two bishops and their dioceses. All those who would like to stay informed about issues of peace and justice which are addressed by our elected officials should sign up to receive regular alerts and updates from the Virginia Catholic Conference.

The alerts and updates provide information about legislation related to respect life, social justice, family, and education issues on both the state and federal level. In order to receive these alerts, simply click here and sign up to receive the email notifications.

Sunday, January 6th has been designated as "Virginia Catholic Conference Sign-up Sunday" in order to help expand the network of Virginians who are informed of legislative activity that helps "build a culture of life, providing for the poorest and most vulnerable in our midst and enhancing family life."

Your free membership will enable you to communicate directly with legislators without having to look up their addresses or compose time-consuming letters. The alerts which you receive will include pre-drafted messages which you can then send to elected representatives. Note, your contact information will not be shared with others.

For more information about the Virginia Catholic Conference, click here.

Tomorrow, September 26th, will mark the beginning of 40 days of prayer, fasting, peaceful vigil, and community outreach to help bring an end to abortion. Men, women, and children from various backgrounds and faiths will unite together in Charlottesville to provide a witness to the Gospel of Life. The Charlottesville community will be united with our brothers and sisters across the nation in 89 cities in 33 states who are participating in similar 40 Days for Life campaigns.

A goal of the campaign is to peacefully reach out to the community and share a point-of-view about abortion that considers both the woman and her child.

We believe we can love both women and babies and that abortion is not a real solution to women's problems of poverty, lack of partner support, fear of losing a job, or fear of giving up the chance at education.

We want our neighbors to think about how we treat the vulnerable--women in crisis pregnancies and unborn children--and think about ways we can better support women who would like to keep their babies or who would like to put them up for adoption but for economic or social reasons feel they have no choice but abortion.

If a woman chooses abortion because she fears losing her job, due to inflexible policies at that company, is it really a choice? If a woman chooses abortion because her boyfriend or husband will throw her out of the house, is that a free choice? If a woman chooses abortion because she doesn't want to interrupt her education, we ask, why must she choose between her baby and her education?

We challenge our society to love them both--to love both women and babies--and to enact policies and social programs that show that love. We ask our faith community to step up and support the non-profit groups that we already have in our area that provide housing, economic support, food, diapers, clothing, parenting classes, job skills classes, help with education, and other services to women (and babies) in need. We ask our local businesses and schools to rethink their policies that relate to pregnant women in the workplace and to working mothers and fathers and to ask if their policies support a truly free choice for women. Women should not have to choose between their children and their job or their education. Source

At the heart of the campaign is prayer. Accordingly, there are specific intentions for prayer that everyone can remember during the day whether they are able to physically be present at the vigil or not. Today's campaign prayer intention is:

Pray that the Body of Christ unites together in prayer and fasting across America -- and around the world -- through 40 Days for Life.

For more information, visit the 40 Days for Life Charlottesville Web site where you can sign up to participate.

There will be a 40 Days For Life meeting today Monday, September 17th at 7:30 p.m. in Room 12 at St. Thomas Aquinas. The meeting will provide information about the 40 Days for Life campaign in Charlottesville.

Briefly, the 40 Days for Life Campaign is an ecumenical movement of prayer, fasting, peaceful vigil, and community outreach in defense of life. Over the days from September 26th through November 4th, people from throughout the Charlottesville area will come together as a community to pray and fast for an end to abortion in our city and throughout the nation. The peaceful vigil will be held outside of the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic on 2964 Hydraulic Road in Charlottesville.

To keep up with the latest on the campaign, contact Diane Gigantino Baltz at cvillerespectlife@gmail.com or by calling 760-2916 or visit the Charlottesville 40 Days for Life Web site. On the site, you can sign up to receive regular email updates.

As was noted in the bulletin, there will be a 40 Days For Life meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, September 4th at 7:30 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas. The meeting will provide information about the 40 Days for Life campaign in Charlottesville.

Also, to learn more about 40 Days For Life, tune in to EWTN tonight, September 3rd at 6:30 p.m. The 30-minute TV special "beingHUMAN: 40 Days for Life" will be shown. The program highlights the successes of 40 Days for Life campaigns in the past and presents information about this year's national campaign, in which Charlottesville is taking part.

If you are not able to view EWTN on cable, you can watch online at the EWTN web site. The program will be shown at the same time that it airs on TV.

At 6:30 p.m., go to the EWTN Web site at http://www.ewtn.com. On the top bar, click "Television" then choose one of the "Live TV" options (English or Spanish) and then select your preferred media player. The show should start in that player.

Finally, to keep with the latest on the campaign in Charlottesville, contact Diane at cvillerespectlife@gmail.com or by calling 760-2916 or visit the Charlottesville 40 Days for Life Blog.