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CCI coordinates a statewide effort of prison and jail ministry offered through the dioceses. Lay Catholics receive training to offer hope to inmates through the salvation of the Gospel.
Catholics in Illinois
The Latest News & Updates
Illinois bishops offer guidance for Election Day 2020
The general election set for Nov. 3 offers voters the opportunity to make their voices heard about representation for federal, state and local elected offices. Illinois residents will also consider an amendment to the state Constitution that will change the income tax from a flat rate to a graduated rate. The bishops of Illinois offer voting guidance during presidential election years and have approved the following reflection points for Catholics to consider before casting their ballot.
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Pope Francis releases new encyclical, “Fratelli tutti”
Pope Francis today called for a renewed spirit of global community with the release of his new encyclical, 'Fratelli tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship." The eight-chapter encyclical examines contemporary social and economic problems against a backdrop of the current coronavirus pandemic, which "unexpectedly erupted" during its composition. Yet Pope Francis notes the global health crisis only underscores that “no one can face life in isolation” and that the time has truly come to “dream, then, as a single human family” in which we are “brothers and sisters all."
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Illinois bishops offer thoughts on clean energy in Illinois
State lawmakers are expected to craft clean energy legislation during the spring 2021 legislative session. After celebrating the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis's Laudato Si' encyclical on the environment this past June, our Illinois bishops have looked to the groundbreaking document for specific points that would do well to be included in any legislation. The result is the following statement.
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CCI Radio Hour: Sept. 21, 2020
Gloria Purvis, co-host of EWTN Radio’s "Morning Glory" show, talks about her call for Catholics to confront the sin of racism in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. Then, state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, discusses the efforts of the Illinois Legislature’s Black Caucus to craft comprehensive legislation targeting systemic racism slated to be unveiled during the fall veto session. Next, Sr. Stephanie Baliga, a Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist of Chicago who ministers from the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels in Chicago, last month ran a marathon on a treadmill after learning the Chicago Marathon was cancelled because of the ongoing pandemic. Finally, Molly Perry, board member of Aid for Women, talks about the crisis pregnancy center's virtual benefit dinner on Oct. 7 featuring retired Super-Bowl winning tight end Benjamin Watson as the keynote speaker.
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Chicago, Joliet Catholic ministry leaders urge funding of Cook County immigrant legal services
Leaders of immigration ministry and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Joliet diocese today sent a letter to Cook County officials asking that legal services for noncitizen immigrants be funded in the county's fiscal year 2021 budget set to begin Dec. 1.
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Pope Francis names three new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Chicago
Pope Francis today announced that he has appointed three new auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Chicago: Bishops-elect Kevin M. Birmingham, Jeffrey S. Grob and Robert J. Lombardo, CFR. The episcopal ordination of the bishops-elect will take place on the feast of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, November 13, 2020.
“We are grateful to the Holy Father for the gift of these new auxiliary bishops,” said Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago. “Each of these fine priests has made a unique contribution to the life of the church and society, yet they share in common a solid record of pastoral service, fidelity to the Gospel and inspiring personal witness.”
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Pope Francis names Auxiliary Bishop Ronald Hicks, vicar general of Archdiocese of Chicago, as Bishop of Diocese of Joliet
Pope Francis today announced that he has named Bishop Ronald A. Hicks, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chicago, as the sixth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Joliet, Ill. Pope Francis had previously accepted the resignation of Bishop Emeritus R. Daniel Conlon and had named Bishop Richard E. Pates as Apostolic Administrator of the diocese until a new bishop could be appointed. Bishop Hicks, 52, will be installed at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet, Ill. on September 29, 2020.
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Little Sisters of the Poor score top court win on contraceptive mandate; legal saga could continue
The Little Sisters of the Poor today notched a big win in their fight for religious freedom, as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 against a challenge by two states that argued an exemption from the Affordable Care Act’s mandate to provide employee health insurance coverage of contraceptives violated federal law. But the victory may be short-lived, since the court left open the possibility for opponents to challenge in lower courts the exemption as arbitrary and capricious. Any further litigation will most assuredly continue past the 2020 election, which could bring a new U.S. president and his perspective on the issue.
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Nation’s high court upholds ‘ministerial exception’ in Catholic school discrimination case
The U.S. Supreme Court today looked to a 2012 decision establishing the doctrine of “ministerial exception” in ruling that Catholic school teachers could not sue for employment discrimination. In writing the majority opinion in the 7-2 decision in Our Lady of Guadalupe School vs. Morrissey-Berru, Justice Samuel Alito expanded upon the concept of “ministerial exception” created in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School vs. EEOC. In the 2012 case, the court ruled that ministers could not sue churches and religious institutions for employment discrimination. The high court today agreed the exception applied to two Catholic school teachers because they played a key role in educating their students in the faith.
read moreU.S. Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion law
The U.S. Supreme Court today in a 5-4 vote ruled against a Louisiana law requiring doctors who perform abortions in the state to have admitting privileges in nearby hospitals, four years after striking down an almost-identical Texas law. Chief Justice John Roberts voted with the four liberal-leaning justices in rebuffing the Louisiana law, pointing in a separate concurring opinion to the legal doctrine of stare decisis – the idea that courts should generally not overrule their rulings made in prior cases.
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Find out who are your elected officials, and how to contact them. Learn who is in the state leadership positions, and who sits on relevant committees in the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives.