Media Contact
Kathy Dempsey
Communications Director
410-269-1155/301-261-1979
kdempsey@mdcathcon.org
In the Image & Likeness of God
Special Needs Directory of Maryland's Catholic Schools
In the Image & Likeness of God is a directory of special needs programs available in Maryland's Catholic schools. This directory, prepared for parents and administrators, gives a broad overview of the impressive range of educational opportunities provided for children with special needs in Maryland Catholic schools despite not having access to the fully funded services available to students in public schools.
News & Events
It is Done. Let the Light Shine!
Maryland Repeals the Death Penalty
Catholic Conference Urges Against Signing Repeal Petition
The Catholic Church in Maryland celebrated the signing of Maryland's death penalty repeal bill by illuminating the Baltimore Basilica on Thursday, even as repeal opponents scheduled an announcement regarding plans to petition the bill to referendum the next day. Read full release here.
"When Did We See You Hungry?"
Maryland Bishops Call Attention to Increasing Needs and Struggles
Maryland’s Catholic bishops bear witness to the devastating impact that hunger, homelessness and unemployment have on individuals and families.
When Did We See You Hungry? is a joint statement signed by Washington Archbishop Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Baltimore Apostolic Administrator Cardinal-elect Edwin F. O’Brien and Wilmington Bishop W. Francis Malooly. “Loving those among us who are struggling, poor, unemployed or homeless is not merely something that we do out of the goodness of our own hearts. Rather, it is an obligation and a requirement of true justice,” they wrote.
“The principle of Catholic social teaching … instructs that we cannot wash our hands of the work of caring for the poor by simply asking the government to do it. However, the government has a crucial role to play; and part of our responsibility is to be sure that our leaders take action when they must.”
The Most Sacred of All Property
Religious Freedom and the People of Maryland
A Joint Statement by the Bishops of Maryland
Maryland’s bishops call on Catholics and all Marylanders to reaffirm and uphold America’s First Freedom and the foundational principles upon which its democratic society is built. “Religious liberty – a right rooted in our human dignity and protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – is being silently and subtly eroded,” wrote the bishops of Maryland in the statement. “[I]n recent years there has been a subtle promotion of the idea that religious liberty should be restricted to Sunday morning worship.”
The Most Sacred of All Property: Religious Freedom and the People of Maryland is signed by Washington Archbishop Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Baltimore Apostolic Administrator Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, and Wilmington Bishop W. Francis Malooly. The statement was issued with input from a task force chaired by John Garvey, President of The Catholic University of America, that included experts in legal, theological, and historical issues.
“Religious liberty is the most important civil rights issue of our time. This thoughtful statement by the Maryland Catholic bishops is a reminder of the role it has played in our history, and of the continuing need to cherish and protect it,” noted Garvey. The statement will be distributed to Maryland’s nearly 280 Catholic parishes and other Catholic institutions, as well as to all of Maryland’s state and Congressional elected officials.
“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religious belief. No one should be subject to coercion because of those beliefs. ... Society as a whole benefits when all citizens in our pluralistic democracy – including religious citizens and institutions – remain free to participate in public life and to do so in accordance with their sincerely held beliefs,” wrote the bishops.
A copy of the complete statement along with additional resource materials may be found at www.mdcathcon.org/religiousfreedom.
Our First, Most Cherished Liberty
A Statement on Religious Liberty
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty
We are Catholics. We are Americans. We are proud to be both, grateful for the gift of faith which is ours as Christian disciples, and grateful for the gift of liberty which is ours as American citizens. To be Catholic and American should mean not having to choose one over the other. Our allegiances are distinct, but they need not be contradictory, and should instead be complementary. That is the teaching of our Catholic faith, which obliges us to work together with fellow citizens for the common good of all who live in this land. That is the vision of our founding and our Constitution, which guarantees citizens of all religious faiths the right to contribute to our common life together. Read entire document.
Another Abortion Clinic Death
In February, a young woman died following a late-term abortion at LeRoy Carhart's clinic in Germantown. Read more in our news release.
Less than four weeks later, another woman died at a Baltimore clinic owned by Steven Brigham. Watch news segment by WBAL-TV.
Pray for these women, their families and all those who are injured or die from abortion, especially the tiniest of victims.
Archbishop Lori Testifies for Repealing the Death Penalty
Read Archbishop Lori's testimony before the Senate and House committees.
"We urge a response that meets evil with a justice worthy of our best nature as human beings, enlightened by faith in the possibility of redemption and forgiveness."