Schools Quarterly Newsletter June 2021, ENGLISH A big thank you to our WSCC partners and especially Tracey Yackley for her consistent commitment to ensure all school leaders have information about the work and initiatives underway with the Washington State Catholic Conference… the public policy voice of the Bishops of Washington State. How Can I Learn More […]
WSCC Advocacy Bulletin 21-06-02 Virtual Cornerstone Catholic Conference: October 30 The bishops of Washington State invite you to attend the virtual Cornerstone CatholicConference on October 30. Fr. Robert Spitzer and Gloria Purvis will present keynote addresses in English, and the Washington bishops will be hosting a panel. Fr. Agustino Torres and Brenda Noriega will present […]
WSCC Catholic Advocacy Bulletin #18 – legislative wrap-up edition Good News: Newly Signed Bills The legislative session ended on April 25, and Governor Jay Inslee was given 20 subsequent days to sign bills into law. Bills in this section were recently signed into law and are listed by date signed. To read the full report […]
The Home Stretch Legislative Session Ends April 25 Nine days remain before the conclusion of the legislative session on April 25. The Legislature has these remaining days to reconcile any differences between versions of the same bill passed by the House and Senate and then deliver the bill to the governor. The governor may sign […]
WSCC 2021 Catholic Advocacy Bulletin, No. 14 April 9, 2021 Good News: Bills That Have Passed Both the House and Senate Next Steps: Bills in the section have passed both the House and Senate. If no amendments were made in the second chamber, the bill will move toward the governor’s desk for approval. If amendments […]
WSCC 2021 Catholic Advocacy Bulletin, No. 7 February 19, 2021 Bills Requiring Your Action Now Legislative Cutoff Dates Monday, February 15 marked the first cutoff day of the legislative session. All bills were required to pass out of committee in their house of origin (either the House of Representatives or the Senate) in order […]
WSCC 2021 Catholic Advocacy Bulletin, No. 6 February 12, 2021 Virtual Catholic Advocacy Day on March 23, 2021 Register for our first virtual Catholic Advocacy Day (CAD). Scheduled for March 23, CAD will include several opportunities to choose from: pray at Mass, learn about current legislation that is important to Catholics, talk with […]
WSCC Newsletter for Catholic Schools- Winter Quarter 2021 A Message From The Washington State Catholic Conference February 2021 Dear Catholic School Parents, Teachers, Administrators, and Supporters, Greetings from the Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC), the public policy voice of the bishops of Washington State. The WSCC is pleased to begin communicating with you regularly throughout […]
WSCC 2021 Catholic Advocacy Bulletin, No. 4 January 29, 2021 State Legislative Update Action Alert: Urge your State Representatives to Oppose Expanding Assisted Suicide Click here to urge your State Representatives to oppose expanding assisted suicide. House Bill 1141 (HB 1141) increases access to physician assisted suicide and accelerates the process. The bill broadens […]
WSCC 2021 Catholic Advocacy Bulletin, No. 3 January 22, 2021 State Legislative Update Bishop Mueggenborg Testifies Against Assisted Suicide Bill (HB1141) House Bill 1141 (HB 1141) increases access to physician assisted suicide and accelerates the process. The bill broadens the definition of “qualified medical provider” and broadens the definition of those who can provide […]
Join us for the Virtual Catholic Advocacy Day on March 23rd 8AM – 4 pm. Register your space by March 9th at ipjc.org/CAD The flyer is below to share broadly! 3.24.21 Virtual Catholic Advocacy Day flyer
WSCC 2021 Catholic Advocacy Bulletin, No. 1 January 15, 2021 State Legislative Update Today marks the end of the first week of the state legislative session. Below is a summary of bills on the move that are of importance to the Washington State Catholic Conference. As bills continue to be introduced throughout the session […]
Happy New Year to you all and I pray that your Christmas season has been a time of blessing. Wow – 2020 was a unique and challenging year. I am writing at the start of the Washington legislative session to greet each of you and to let you know that the Washington State Catholic Conference […]
TAKE ACTION Friends, in just the past couple days we have a seen a restart of the COVID Emergency Relief [votervoice.net] talks. There is a strong chance it could be attached to the “must pass” federal budget bill. A bi-partisan, bi-cameral group in Congress released a new $908B framework [votervoice.net] and it is catching steam. We know the […]
Updates from the Washington State Catholic Conference HHS Works to Ensure Access to Spiritual Care During COVID-19 Pandemic In a statement, USCCB Chair of Religious Liberty, Archbishop Thomas Wenski commended action by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure patients receive spiritual care, even while hospitals are under COVID-19 restrictions. Previously, […]
September 10, 2020 Dear Priests, Deacons, and Pastoral Leadership, The Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC) is the common voice of the Catholic Bishops of the Archdiocese of Seattle, the Diocese of Spokane, and the Diocese of Yakima. We wish to notify you of our support and encouragement for setting up voter education and registration booths […]
Washington State Catholic Conference – Direct link: https://wacatholics.org/stay-informed/civilize-it Resources and materials to support your efforts strengthening parent engagement. Catholic schools need your help. Urge our U.S. Senators to support “School Choice Now Act.” ACT NOW Spanish “Civilize It” series Share all four Facebook posts with your community. Click here for materials Share Civilize It series now through November 3. […]
July 8, 2020 WASHINGTON -The Supreme Court of the United States has issued its decision in the consolidated cases of Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel. These cases involved the right of Catholic schools, free of government interference, to choose teachers who will teach and model […]
WSCC Advocacy Bulletin is now available in both Spanish and English! The WSCC is happy to announce that the monthly WSCC Advocacy Bulletin is available in Spanish and English. This is an excellent tool to share with your school families so they are informed and invited to join in the advocacy work of the Church […]
A Statement from the Executive Director Confronting Racism: A Call to Conversion It has been a month since George Floyd died at the hands of a police officer. Two weeks ago we witnessed the death of Rayshard Brooks. Their deaths were preceded by those of Manuel Ellis, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others before them. […]
U.S. Bishops’ Religious Liberty and Catholic Education Chairmen Grateful for Supreme Court’s Decision in Blaine Amendment Case June 30, 2020 WASHINGTON – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in the case of Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, which challenged a decision by the Montana Supreme Court to invalidate a […]
Archdiocese of Seattle Bishops Welcome Supreme Court Ruling on DACA June 18, 2020 – It is with joyful hearts that we offer this statement regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The Catholic Church welcomes the Supreme Court’s ruling as it supports our efforts to promote and protect the life and […]
WSCC ACTION ALERT: Please share your voice! Catholic schools are integral to the education system in Washington state. They provide $302 million in annual savings to Washington taxpayers, educating over 28,000 students. In comparing school district sizes, the Catholic school system would rank as the fifth largest school district in the state. Additionally, Catholic schools […]
Bishops Address Racism and Protests in the US The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released statements on racism and protests in the US. In addressing the death of George Floyd, Archbishop José Gomez, USCCB president, stated [votervoice.net], “We should honor the sacrifice of his life by removing racism and hate from our hearts […]
Reopening Guidelines for WSCC 5-28-20 FINAL Final WSCC Statement on directives from Governor-05-27-2020 May 27, 2020 Dear Catholic Faithful of Washington State, Today the governor announced directives for resuming public worship. Like the governor, we bishops remain focused on public health and working on behalf of the common good. We bishops across Washington state look […]
WSCC Statement on the Reopening of Churches 05-22-2020 May 22, 2020 In response to President Trump’s statement today regarding church reopenings, the Bishops of Washington would like to provide a unified response. We want to let you know that the public celebration of Mass was suspended, not out of fear, but out of our deepest […]
The Bishops of Washington State urge us to actively support Referendum 90. Please share this letter broadly with your communities. Bishops’ letter_Ref 90 April 17, 2020 Dear Priests, Deacons, and Pastoral Leadership, We the Bishops of Washington state wish to notify you of our support and encouragement for gathering signatures for Referendum 90 (R-90). Any […]
WSCC 2020 Catholic Advocacy Bulletin, No. 11 April 3, 2020 CARES Act On March 27 the federal government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2.2 trillion aid package. Provisions of the act include direct checks to middle and lower income households, extended unemployment benefits, funding for the health care system, […]
WSCC 2020 Catholic Advocacy Bulletin, No. 10 March 13, 2020 Message from Mario Dear Friends in Christ, Our legislative session has now officially wound down and has come to a close for the year. This being the case and on behalf of our Washington Bishops, I want to take a moment to […]
A message from the Washington State Catholic Conference Last week, the Washington State House of Representatives approved SB 5395 , which mandates a statewide standard on all K-12 public schools to teach comprehensive sex education. The bill prevents locally elected school boards from fully self-determining their own approach in this sensitive area. While vaguely requiring […]
