If you are headed out of town ...........for vacation, ballgames, reunions, etc......... be sure to visit www.masstimes.org before you go to find out where Mass will be available during your trip.

     Totus Tuus (Totally Yours) is a fun and energetic parish-based summer catechetical program, for both grade school children and junior and senior high school youth. College students and seminarians join together on teams of four in order to be trained and sent out on the road to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in various parishes throughout the Diocese of Wichita. Their youthfulness, energy, and ability to witness to the Faith make the teachers particularly effective with children and young people.
     The team serves for a week in each parish by presenting a program Sunday – Thursday from 7:30pm – 9:40pm for junior and senior high youth (grades 7-12). Their goal is to put the youth in contact with the Lord so that they can develop a deep personal relationship with Him. To this end, they have a night of Adoration and the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, catechetical instruction on topics important to young people, and a night of fellowship with the team members.
     The team also presents a grade school program (entering grades 1-6) that runs Monday – Friday from 9 am – 3 pm. The time is spent on catechetical instruction, songs, games, daily Mass, the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, lunch, recess, and more! The focus is on imparting an understanding and love of the Eucharist, devotion to Mary, vocational discernment, and providing an enjoyable experience.
     Our Totus Tuus experience will begin on Sunday evening, July 22.  The seventh – twelfth graders will meet that evening. The grade school program will begin on Monday, July 23. More information will appear in the bulletin as the time for Totus Tuus approaches.

From USCCBlog:

Six Things Everyone Should Know About the HHS Mandate

1. The mandate does not exempt Catholic charities, schools, universities, or hospitals. These institutions are vital to the mission of the Church, but HHS does not deem them "religious employers" worthy of conscience protection, because they do not "serve primarily persons who share the[ir] religious tenets." HHS denies these organizations religious freedom precisely because their purpose is to serve the common good of society—a purpose that government should encourage, not punish. 

2. The mandate forces these institutions and others, against their conscience, to pay for things they consider immoral. Under the mandate, the government forces religious insurers to write policies that violate their beliefs; forces religious employers and schools to sponsor and subsidize coverage that violates their beliefs; and forces religious employees and students to purchase coverage that violates their beliefs. 

3. The mandate forces coverage of sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs and devices as well as contraception. Though commonly called the "contraceptive mandate," HHS's mandate also forces employers to sponsor and subsidize coverage of sterilization. And, by including all drugs approved by the FDA for use as contraceptives, the HHS mandate includes drugs that can induce abortion, such as "Ella," a close cousin of the abortion pill RU-486. 

4. Catholics of all political persuasions are unified in their opposition to the mandate. Catholics who have long supported this Administration and its healthcare policies have publicly criticized HHS's decision, including columnists E.J. Dionne, Mark Shields, and Michael Sean Winters; college presidents Father John Jenkins and Arturo Chavez; and Daughter of Charity Sister Carol Keehan, president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States. 

5. Many other religious and secular people and groups have spoken out strongly against the mandate. Many recognize this as an assault on the broader principle of religious liberty, even if they disagree with the Church on the underlying moral question. For example, Protestant Christian, Orthodox Christian, and Orthodox Jewish groups--none of which oppose contraception--have issued statements against the decision. The Washington Post, USA Today, N.Y. Daily News, Detroit News, and other secular outlets, columnists, and bloggers have editorialized against it. 

6. The federal mandate is much stricter than existing state mandates. HHS chose the narrowest state-level religious exemption as the model for its own. That exemption was drafted by the ACLU and exists in only 3 states (New York, California, Oregon). Even without a religious exemption, religious employers can already avoid the contraceptive mandates in 28 states by self-insuring their prescription drug coverage, dropping that coverage altogether, or opting for regulation under a federal law (ERISA) that pre-empts state law. The HHS mandate closes off all these avenues of relief. 

Six More Things Everyone Should Know About the HHS Mandate  

1. The rule that created the uproar has not changed at all, but was finalized as is. Friday evening, after a day of touting meaningful changes in the mandate, HHS issued a regulation finalizing the rule first issued in August 2011, “without change.” So religious employers dedicated to serving people of other faiths are still not exempt as “religious employers.” Indeed, the rule describes them as “non-exempt.” 

2. The rule leaves open the possibility that even exempt “religious employers” will be forced to cover sterilization. In its August 2011 comments, USCCB warned that the narrow “religious employer” exemption appeared to provide no relief from the sterilization mandate—only the contraception mandate—and specifically sought clarification. (We also noted that a sterilization mandate exists in only one state, Vermont.) HHS provided no clarification, so the risk remains under the unchanged final rule. 

3. The new “accommodation” is not a current rule, but a promise that comes due beyond the point of public accountability. Also on Friday evening, HHS issued regulations describing the intention to develop more regulations that would apply the same mandate differently to “non-exempt, non-profit religious organizations”—the charities, schools, and hospitals that are still left out of the “religious employer” exemption. These policies will be developed over a one-year delay in enforcement, so if they turn out badly, their impact will not be felt until August 2013, well after the election. 

4. Even if the promises of “accommodation” are fulfilled entirely, religious charities, schools, and hospitals will still be forced to violate their beliefs. If an employee of these second-class-citizen religious institutions wants coverage of contraception or sterilization, the objecting employer is still forced to pay for it as a part of the employer’s insurance plan. There can be no additional cost to that employee, and the coverage is not a separate policy. By process of elimination, the funds to pay for that coverage must come from the premiums of the employer and fellow employees, even those who object in conscience. 

5. The “accommodation” does not even purport to help objecting insurers, for-profit religious employers, secular employers, or individuals. In its August 2011 comments, and many times since, USCCB identified all the stakeholders in the process whose religious freedom is threatened—all employers, insurers, and individuals, not just religious employers. Friday’s actions emphasize that all insurers, including self-insurers, must provide the coverage to any employee who wants it. In turn, all individuals who pay premiums have no escape from subsidizing that coverage. And only employers that are both non-profit and religious may qualify for the “accommodation.” 

6. Beware of claims, especially by partisans, that the bishops are partisan. The bishops and their staff read regulations before evaluating them. The bishops did not pick this fight in an election year—others did. Bishops form their positions based on principles—here, religious liberty for all, and the life and dignity of every human person—not polls, personalities, or political parties. Bishops are duty bound to proclaim these principles, in and out of season.

Contact your representatives in Washington to let them know that we want our liberty restored.

This is the text of a homily delivered by Bishop Michael O. Jackels on Jan. 22, the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Many of us are familiar with the story of the prophet Jonah being swallowed by a whale. That happened because Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh and preach. Maybe Jonah didn’t want to deliver God’s message because it threatened doom, or because he didn’t know how the people would react: repent, or attack? I feel a little like Jonah. I would rather not have to deliver this message, mostly because the message itself is sad and disturbing.

You may have heard the news item from this past Friday: Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services director, decreed that a religious organization (like a Church) that offers health insurance to its employees will be forced to cover contraceptives (some of which can cause an abortion) and sterilizations, free of charge, even if it believes in conscience that these are morally objectionable.

Sebelius went so far as to say that she believes that this decree “strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services.” But how can you speak of balance when the result is taking away religious liberty and conscience protection?

There are exceptions; for example, a religious organization will not be forced to go against its conscience if it qualifies as a religious organization according to the federal tax code, and if it hires and serves mainly people of the same faith, and if its sole purpose is to teach religious doctrine. I can’t think of what kind of religious organization might possibly qualify for this exemption.

The only other exception is for religious organizations that since 2010 have made no changes to their health insurance plans beyond those specifically allowed by the federal government.

The Diocese of Wichita and its employee health insurance program enjoys this second exemption, at least for now. But we may still be forced by the federal government to provide notice to employees about where contraceptives and sterilizations are available.

Even though the Diocese of Wichita as an employer presently enjoys an exemption, the Catholic faithful here should still be concerned.
• Concerned because the federal government could in the future still make new requirements that would force us to do something against our conscience. A lot depends on who is running the government, and whether or not that administration is friendly towards religious liberty and conscience protection.
• Concerned because it does affect many other religious organizations, Catholic and others, that are denied religious liberty and forced to act against their conscience.
• Concerned because this mandate does not respect the diversity that is so much a part of our national unity.
• Concerned also because religious liberty and conscience protection are being threatened in a very real and concrete way, right here and now: the government forcing a Church to do something that it judges to be morally objectionable.

Catholic social justice teaches that, in keeping with human dignity, people have a right to health care. But it also teaches that, again, in keeping with human dignity, people have a right to freedom of religion and of conscience; to have that taken away is too high a price to pay for health care.

I said earlier that I feel a little like Jonah, also because I am not sure how people will react to this message. I am not looking that we fast, put on sack cloth and sit in ashes. My hope is rather that we will contact our elected leaders and let them know that we do not want to be forced to act against our beliefs, we or anyone else, and that we want religious liberty and conscience protection restored. And pray, pray more, pray more harder.

Want to take action? Visit the USCCB website.
To learn about how to respond to the decision, go to www.usccb.org. Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, president of the USCCB, sharply criticized the decision by the Obama administration. “Never before has the federal government forced individuals and organizations to go out into the marketplace and buy a product that violates their conscience. This shouldn’t happen in a land where free exercise of religion ranks first in the Bill of Rights,” he said.

The Knights of Columbus has been involved in evangelization since it was founded. In 1948, the Knights started the Catholic Information Service (CIS) to provide free Catholic publications for parishes, schools, retreat houses, military installations, correctional facilities, legislatures, the medical community, and for individuals who request them. They ask that the reader covers the cost of postage. Their website is full of information we can all benefit from.

The Luke E. Hart Series provides a systematic introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The author, apologist and philosophy professor Peter Kreeft, offers an explanation in everyday language of each area of Catholic belief and practice.

Podcasts of the Luke E. Hart Series booklets (based on the Catechism ) are now able to be heard on your computer or downloaded to your mp3 player. You can subscribe to these free podcasts for your PC or Mac computer. By subscribing to our RSS feeds through an RSS reader, you’ll receive a summary of our new content as soon as we post it. An RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is a regularly updated summary of Web content, along with links to full versions of that content.

What Catholics Believe: Topics in Lessons 1-10 deal with matters like faith, God, Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the body.

How Catholics Worship: Topics in Lessons 11-20 deal with matters on the liturgy, sacraments, the Lord's prayer and Mary.

How Catholics Live: Lessons 21-30 explore topics like Catholic morality, human nature, virtue and vice and the Ten Commandments.

The information listed above is also available in Spanish if you CLICK HERE.