Catholic Bloggers Network

HHS Mandate Sparks Nationwide Demonstrations

2012-03-04T20:22:00.000-05:00

Here's a post from Tom Ciesielka, one of our own Catholic Bloggers!

President Obama’s HHS Mandate Sparks NationwideDemonstrations

Pro-Life and Religious Groups To Gather at FederalBuildings March 23 in Defense of Religious Liberty

Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, tc@tcpr.net

Chicago, Illinois—The controversy over President Obama’s HHSMandate is now pouring out onto the streets. On March 23, concerned citizens inover 50 cities—including Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, andSan Francisco—will gather at federal buildings for a rally with the theme,“Stand Up for Religious Freedom—Stop the HHS Mandate!”

Thousands of Americans of all faiths are expected toparticipate in these rallies, organized by Citizens for a Pro-Life Society andthe Pro-Life Action League, to oppose the new mandate from the U.S. Departmentof Health and Human Services that requires all employers to provide freecontraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs through their healthplans. Religious leaders and other public figures will speak out against theHHS Mandate.

The HHS provided a “religious exemption” so narrow that itwould exclude Catholic hospitals, universities, and charities, forcing theseinstitutions to act in direct opposition to Catholic teaching through thehealth care plans they provide.

“With the HHS Mandate, the Obama administration has presumedupon itself the authority to decide what counts as a religious institution inthis country,” said Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life ActionLeague. “This is an unprecedented attack on the free exercise of religiousfaith protected by the First Amendment.”

“The Obama mandate is a complete affront to religiousliberty,” said Monica Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society.“Persons of faith or no faith at all should be alarmed at Obama ridingrough-shod over the conscience of American citizens. We are calling on allpeople of good will to rise up and vigorously oppose this ruling.”

Scheidler and Miller have formed the Stand Up for ReligiousFreedom Coalition, comprised of dozens of local and national pro-life andpro-family organizations, to fight the HHS Mandate through direct action. TheCoalition declares:

We protest the federal government’s definition of what constitutes a religious institution through the narrowly constructed “exemption” to the HHS Mandate, a definition which is both false and beyond the federal government’s authority to make.

We protest the fact that religious institutions, even after President Obama’s so-called “accommodation,” are being forced to facilitate contraception, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs through the health plans they are mandated to provide.

We protest the Mandate forcing all businesses—not just religious institutions—to provide coverage of contraception, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs, if even doing so violates their own moral convictions on these matters.

We protest the HHS Mandate because, in requiring all health plans to provide free contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs as “preventative care,” it treats pregnancy and childbirth as a disease.

Coalition members and more information about the NationwideRally for Religious Freedom—including rally sites coast to coast—can be foundat www.StandUpForReligiousFreedom.com

Contact Monica M. Miller: 248-444-9096, mmmillerlife@gmail.com

Contact Eric J. Scheidler: 773-251-8792, eric@prolifeaction.org

About Citizens for a Pro-life Society

Citizens for a Pro-life Society is an activist organization,founded on Catholic principles of morality and social justice, dedicated toadvocacy of the sanctity of human life, especially protection of the right tolife of unborn children. They organize public demonstrations, educationalprograms, literature distribution, and conferences, and offer mothers in crisispregnancy material and spiritual aid. For more information, go to www.prolifesociety.com

About the Pro-Life Action League

The Pro-Life Action League was founded by Joe Scheidler in1980 with the aim of saving babies from abortion through direct action. Notcontent to await a political or judicial solution to abortion, the League seeksto stop the killing of unborn children right now through all available peacefulmeans, including public protest, sidewalk counseling, education, youthoutreach, and national leadership.

Happy March! Monthly Blog Round Ups are open!

2012-03-01T08:45:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!
Just wanted to announce that the Monthly Round-Up has been opened for the month of March!
Link up your March blog posts in any of the FOUR different categories: Readings & Reflections, Liturgical Calendar Crafts & Homeschooling, Catechism & Apologetics, Catholic Family Journal.

Grab a button and link to this page to show off our Catholic Bloggers posts! Let's see if we can get a record number of links for each category for the month of March!
Check out the Monthly Round-Up Archives for our previous Monthly Round-Ups.
Leave a comment if you have a suggestion for a new category.

Catholic Blog Day

2012-02-17T21:31:00.001-05:00

from Catholic Blog Day:

February 22 (Ash Wednesday)

will be the first Catholic Blog Day!

All Catholic bloggers are invited to write on a common theme for the day. By speaking with many voices on a common aspect of the faith, we can help evangelize the digital continent and demonstrate the powerful presence of Catholics online.
The theme for February 22 is: penance. ...You can write about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving; a memorable experience in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation; or how accepting the call to repentance has made a difference in your life.

A running list of Catholic Blog Days posts will be available at Catholic Blog Day...
be sure to check it out and submit a link to your Catholic post!

Catholic Bloggers Network Share-A-Thon (Giveaway) $350 in Prizes Ends 2/27/12

2012-02-13T00:04:00.006-05:00

Here it is! The first ever Catholic Bloggers Network Colossal Giveaway. Prizes total over $350 (with shipping) and up to 16 winners!

What are we giving away?

Thanks to all of the participating Blogs!

Miracoli Rosaries

Mountain of Grace

Wondering

Ladies Of Our Lady: Denver

Mountaineer Country

Hair Bows 4 Life Bowtique

A Slice of Smith Life

Happy Saints

From The Pews

Catholic Homeschool Support

Conservamom

Blossoming Joy

How do you enter? Please follow the Rafflecopter form below! Each action is worth a certain number of entries....Best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2012-02-02T17:01:00.000-05:00

The Weekly Round Up is up and running!

Sorry, last week's Weekly Round Up may have been dated incorrectly: sorry for the confusion.

The Link-Ups are now open for an entire month in the 4 different categories:

Scripture, Sunday Readings and Homilies,

Homeschooling and Liturgical Calendar,

Catechism & Apologetics

and Catholic Family Journal.

Post as often as you like...

let's see how many posts we get for the month of February!

Come and Link Up and check back often!

Visit the other Catholic Bloggers and leave comments

and subscribe to their blogs to help build a strong

Network of Catholic Bloggers!

For previous posts, check out the Weekly Round Up Archives

Komen Also Stops Funding Embryonic Stem Cell Research Centers | LifeNews.com

2012-02-01T22:02:00.000-05:00

Fantastic news!

Komen Also Stops Funding Embryonic Stem Cell Research Centers | LifeNews.com

PLEASE keep their new VP in your prayers!

Lent Link-Up hosted by Equipping Catholic Families

2012-02-01T14:55:00.003-05:00

Check out the Lent Link-Up hosted by Equipping Catholic Families,
as part of the Fiestas de Enlaces (Festival of Links)!
Link up your Lenten traditions, activities, practices, or sacrifices
that will be part of your family Lenten journey, 2012!
Let's see how many of our Catholic Bloggers blog about LENT!
(Don't worry...there are still 3 weeks left before Lent starts,

to decide what you're going to do!)

Attention: Catholic Blogger Contributors!

2012-01-30T17:36:00.034-05:00

Welcome to the Catholic Bloggers Network!

Many of you have already joined and are participating in the new Catholic Bloggers Network on facebook and on the Catholic Bloggers Network blog. We just wanted to let you know that we are now opening up the Catholic Bloggers Contributors pages. If you would like to be a regular contributor to these pages, please respond with comments on this post (mentioning your Catholic blog address, your email address and which category you would like to contribute in).

Please keep in mind:

1. Try to limit your posts to one category. (No repeat posts across multiple categories)

2. We may end up creating a posting schedule if there are many contributors in one category, so that everyone gets some time in the spotlight. In any case, please post only ONE post at a time...and unless you post about DAILY Scripture readings...please only post once or twice a week.

3. As a courtesy to the other contributors...please shorten ridiculously long posts =)...so that previous posts are still visible on the page. If we get many posts each day, we may need to consider partial feeds which would automatically shorten everyone's posts.
Remember...you can always include a "read the entire post here" and a link.

4. We would like you to have a small blog button or portrait at the end of your post, with a brief introduction of you and your Catholic blog. Please feel free to link back to your blog to increase traffic on your site! We hope to create a standard template for the introduction...we will keep you posted!

5. We would also like all Contributors to have at least one Catholic Bloggers Network button on their blogs, linking back to our Catholic Bloggers Network . Help us spread the word!

These are the different Catholic Bloggers Contributors pages:

Homeschooling, Crafts, Traditions and the Liturgical Calendar

Scripture, Sunday Readings and Homilies

Catechism, Apologetics and Catholic Product Reviews

Catholic Family Life Journal

Don’t forget to Link your Blog and check out all the Catholic Link-Up parties

or add your favorite Catholic post for the week at our Weekly Round Up.

Looking forward to blogging with you at the Catholic Bloggers Network!

Erika Raising & Teaching Little Saints

Monica Equipping Catholic Families

Laura Day by Day in Our World

Alison Totus Tuus Family

Catholic Bloggers Network

If you are a contributor and would like to add a button to your blog, here it is!

A NEW Link-Up for REVIEWS and GIVEAWAYS by Catholic Bloggers

2012-01-27T14:08:00.004-05:00

Look what is NOW AVAILABLE at the
Catholic Bloggers Shoppe...
another Link-Up!

Do you post REVIEWS or PROMOS about Catholic books, gifts, artwork or crafts?
Do you host GIVEAWAYS for awesome Catholic products
or other products/design services of interest to Catholic Bloggers?

Now you can NOT ONLY promote your e-storefront at the Catholic Bloggers Shoppe,
but you can promote your REVIEWS, special deals and GIVEAWAYS at this NEW Link-Up!
Link-Up and Check-In OFTEN!

SPECIALS & GIVEWAYS!

Look at what we have in store for you!

REVIEWS OF CATHOLIC PRODUCTS

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.catholicbloggersnetwork.com" title="Catholic Bloggers Network"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vLbWI_OFGPI/TyL14J4d-0I/AAAAAAAAB3o/iecQ2MXrb1Q/s200/CBN_shoppe_150.png" alt="Catholic Bloggers Network" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

New Catholic Bloggers Network Weekly Round-Up!

2012-01-26T17:16:00.001-05:00

Add your posts for the next Weekly Round-Up!

So, we had 33 link-ups in our Weekly Round-Up for the last week

and 19 link-ups in our Catholic Bloggers 4 Life Link-Up.

Hopefully by next week, Monica will figure out how to post stats to see how many people clicked on our links.

It's a learning curve.

Have you added our buttons to your blog,

directing your readers to check out the Catholic Bloggers Network?

Have you heard about our upcoming Catholic Bloggers Network Blog Spotlight?

Have you invited all your Catholic Blogger friends

to contribute to this blog and to join us

on the Catholic Bloggers Network on facebook?

Help us spread the word!

The Headquarters of Catholic Link-Up Parties!

2012-01-24T20:13:00.002-05:00

I hope you enjoy the Catho-LINK LIBRARY, borrowed from Equipping Catholic Families.

Please add your own Catholic Link-Up parties, visit these links and add your own Catholic crafts, activities, celebrations and traditions to the various linkies!

Don't forget to grab the Catho-LINK LIBRARY button for easy reference and place it on your blog, linking back to the Catholic Bloggers Network. Scroll down to the bottom of this page for the button code. Thanks!

COOL CATHO-LINKIES

CATHOLIC LITURGICAL CALENDAR

Advent

Christmas

Ordinary Time

Lent

Easter

FIESTAS DE ENLACES / FESTIVAL OF LINKS

CATHOLIC CONFERENCES & CLUB LINK-UPS

SACRAMENTS

Cele-LINKY thru the SACRAMENTS

from Equipping Catholic Families

SCRIPTURE & PRAYER

Leave a comment with your own favorite Catholic Link-Up!

Please specify if it is seasonal or perpetually OPEN and let me know if you have a special button to share.

The following Catho-LINK LIBRARY button links back to the Catholic Bloggers Network!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.catholicbloggersnetwork.com" title="Catholic Bloggers Network"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rDbnJPlHVik/TwpxKhYL1iI/AAAAAAAABks/H5J4Pklt34Y/s200/cathoLINK+library+revised.jpg" alt="Catholic Bloggers Network" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Click the frog for your own inlinkz account to host your own link parties. It's not free for the thumbnail version...but it's pretty cheap and fun to use.

What does Choice REALLY Mean?

2012-01-22T12:25:00.001-05:00

Catholic Bloggers 4 LIFE!

What does CHOICE really mean?

If any of you blog about pro-life issues, here's a great opportunity.

Jill Stanek has offered to link any pro-life blogs to hers if you post about

"Ask Them What They Mean by 'Choice'"
today, Sunday, January 22 on the 39th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.

Announcing 2nd Annual "Ask Them What They Mean by 'Choice'"
Blog Day,
January 22 - Jill Stanek

www.jillstanek.com

"...But last year pro-lifers banded together on our blogs, their blogs, Facebook, and Twitter to cut through their ambiguous chatter with the disquieting question,
“What do you mean when you say, ‘choice’?”..."

How to Add Comments to Pages on Blogger

2012-01-20T22:34:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the Blog Academy!

Problem: So you set your blog up and added pages (not regular blog posts) but instead pages and created the nice row of tabs up top (you also have the option to place them on the side bar but you can't seem to allow visitors to comment on these pages?

Solution: Here is a step by step solution to adding comments to your pages on Blogger.:

1. Make sure you are signed in (upper right-hand corner), if you aren't do so now.

2. Click on Design.

3. Next click on Posting (upper left-hand corner of the tabs). It looks like this:

4. Click on Edit Pages.

5. Underneath the title of each page you will see three options, select "Edit".

6. Now look at the bottom of the page, you will see the Orange "Publish Page" button, right above it, are the words, "Post Options" click on that. It looks like this:

7. Where it says, "Readers Comments" on the left, select: "Allow".

8. Then click on "Publish Page". You should get a confirmation that says, "Your page was published successfully!"

9. If you would like to add comments to other pages, repeat steps #1-8 above. (You could also verify that this is working properly on your blog by clicking on, "View Page".

If you run into any problems, please leave a comment below and we'll get back with you ASAP. We hope this little tutorial has helped you with your blog today. Thank you for visiting us.

Blessings!
Erika @ Blog Academy Team
+JMJ+

Take a tour of the Catholic Bloggers Network!

2012-01-20T12:47:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the Catholic Bloggers Network!

We're glad you have dropped by!

(1) The Link your Blog page offers the opportunity for all Catholic Bloggers to link their blogs and since it's in the form of a Linky, the little thumbnail and title give clues to what the blogs are about. Check out all the awesome blogs and leave a friendly comment!

(2) The facebook, twitter and Pinterest link-ups on the Network page, offer opportunities to link social media addresses, building connections between new Catholic friends and to strengthen the Catholic Social Media Community!

(3) Every week, the Catholic Bloggers Weekly Round Up will host opportunities to post favorite Catholic Blog posts, of special interest to Catholics! There are even convenient categories, so that we can zoom in on what is of most interest to each of us and to discover other Catholic Blogs with the same interests! Choose from:

Liturgical Calendar & Homeschooling,

Sunday Readings & Homilies,

Catechism and Apologetics and

Catholic Family Journal.

(4) The Events page offers a venue to host special link-ups like our

first ever "Catholic Bloggers 4 Life" Link-up.

Share your pro-life posts before January 22 and let's see the strong voice we Catholic Bloggers have!

(5) You'll keep seeing these buttons! These buttons link to pages of special categories of Catholic posts. Catholic Bloggers will be able to send their posts directly to these pages through RSS feed. OK, so I'm still not 100% sure how this is set up or how it works and it's still UNDER CONSTRUCTION, but I think it's going to be VERY cool! You can comment on this post, if you are interested in being part of the RSS Feed...just tell us which category you fit best in, along with your blog address. (Try to limit it to 2-3 categories!)

(6) The Catholic Bloggers Shoppe is yet another link-up...for Catholic products created, sold or promoted by Catholic bloggers. I think it's about time that we string together a network of our little home businesses and apostolates and support and promote each other. From a Catholic blogger who has officially made a grand total of 10 cents from Amazon and Adsense combined (I know! not doing so well!), my family apostolate's Catholic training tools and gifts help to rationalize the vast amount of time I have spent crafting and blogging.

(7) Check out all the Catholic Link-Up parties in the CathoLINK LIBRARY.
Be sure to add you own Catholic Link-Up parties, where they fit! If the collections are no longer open...just include the year in the title.

(8) More to come!! We still have more ideas of link-ups and resources to support and promote Catholic Bloggers.

Subscribe to Catholic Bloggers Network
for updates and join in to our many link-ups!

Vatican encourages priests to use the Internet

2012-01-16T14:21:00.000-05:00

The Popes message for the 44th World Communications Day will be published on the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of journalists. This message, which falls within the Year for Priests, has as its theme: The priest and pastoral ministry in a digital world: new media at the service of the Word. Jean-François Mayer, director of the Religioscope Institute, based in Frieburg, Switzerland, explained that the message is in part dedicated to the Internet and the Churchs reflection on its use.The Catholic Church, for some time now, has demonstrated a great interest in the Social Communications Media, to which the Internet has been included. In this regard, the Church has published important documents that reflect on the use of the Internet and the Churchs presence on the Internet.However, the Church does not simply survey the Internet and reflect on the possible uses of these new networks -- from the Vatican to the laity, and including priests, she is equally involved. On the one hand, there are official initiatives: there is the very important Vatican website, which was developed on the initiative and encouragement of John Paul II, as well as diocesan websites. Likewise, there are many personal initiatives from different groups from within the Catholic Church, and from individuals -- for example, the expansion of blogs that are run by priests.According to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, this years message invites priests to consider the new media as a powerful resource for their ministry in the service of the Word and encourages them to address the challenges that arise from the new digital culture.

Pope Benedict XVIs message on the 44th annual World Day for Social Communications

2012-01-16T13:52:00.000-05:00

The internet has revolutionized the world of communications. Thats why the pope says he wants Catholics to stay ahead of the times and learn how to spread their message efficiently and effectively though digital media.

Mons. Paul Tighe
Secretary, Pontifical Council for Social Communications
The pope very clearly last year had said that the digital continent the probably there are people in the best position to be evangelized.

For the last 44 years, the pope has sent a special message to journalist on World Day for Social Communications.

Mons. Paul Tighe
Secretary, Pontifical Council for Social Communications
The world communication day was born as a decision taken in the Second Vatican Council to put a new emphasis in the importance of communications in the life of the Church.

This years theme is "The priest and the pastoral ministry in the digital world: new media at the service of the Word". It specifically makes reference to the Year for Priests, but its for all Christians to celebrate.

Mons. Paul Tighe
Secretary, Pontifical Council for Social Communications
This message always address to the completely whole Christian community, maybe focus the attention to a particular group but its a message that intended an universal relevance.

But the message is already being implemented by means of web sites such as Vatican.Va, or Clerus.org. The Vatican regularly uploads the latest news and activities surrounding the Pope.

For those who want to get to know Pope Benedict XVI a little better, over the past couple of years other initiatives have also come to life, such as independent websites like Romereports.com or whats considered the Catholic version of Facebook, XT3.

For these websites and the rest, the pope is urging to practice professionalism and to remember religious information is just as important in the headlines as the rest.

Headlines on religious information turned into specialized journalism using the latest technological tools, a way to take the Christian message to cyberspace.

BR/MC

Welcome to the Catholic Bloggers Network

2012-01-15T21:42:00.001-05:00