Father Keehner appointed bishop-elect of Sioux City
|
Bishop-elect John E.
Keehner |
Pope Francis has accepted
the resignation of Bishop R. Walker Nickless and appointed Father John E.
Keehner as Bishop of Sioux City. Bishop-elect Keehner, 59, is a priest of the
Diocese of Youngstown and currently serves as pastor of four parishes:
- Our Lady of
Peace Parish in Ashtabula, Ohio
- Assumption of
the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Geneva, Ohio
- Corpus Christi
Parish in Conneaut, Ohio
- St. Andrew
Bobola Parish in Sheffield, Ohio
Bishop-elect Keehner’s
ordination and installation Mass is scheduled for May 1 at the Cathedral of the
Epiphany in Sioux City. Bishop Nickless, who has served the diocese since 2006,
will continue to serve as the diocesan administrator of Sioux City until the
installation. For more information go to www.scdiocese.org.
Congratulations and
prayers for Bishop-elect Keehner and Bishop Nickless!
Bills advancing through
the process
Intermittent bad weather
hasn’t stopped work at the State Capitol. Last week, several bills were
advanced by a subcommittee last week with the support of the Iowa Catholic
Conference:
- Both the Senate
and House versions of the bill (HSB 139 and SF 220) providing needed
conscience protections for medical professionals. Thanks to the Catholic
Medical Association for putting us in touch with three medical students
from Des Moines University, who did a great job of testifying.
- HSB 140, a bill
with incentives to encourage people on probation to work and get more
education so their time on probation can end sooner.
- HSB 141 allows
victims of domestic violence or sexual violence to terminate a lease early
if they provide landlords documentation of harm. This would reduce an
economic barrier to seeking safety, so victims are not stuck with an
abuser.
- SF 207, the
Senate’s version of the proposal requiring age verification for adult
websites.
- SSB 1057, a
joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State
of Iowa which would allow a child to testify on video rather than
face-to-face in court with the person accused of abusing them
The House Education
Committee passed HF 391, which requires schools to present a video to students
that shows prenatal human development throughout every stage of pregnancy. A
similar bill has already passed the Senate Education Committee with the support
of the ICC.
The Senate Education
Committee passed SF 288, which requires state universities to make reasonable
accommodations to students who are pregnant or who have recently given birth.
Newly-introduced bills of
interest include:
HSB 145 – Support
The governor’s preschool
and child care bill would allow community providers such as Catholic preschools
to apply directly to the state Department of Education for funding. We’re glad
the bill also keeps the current program in place where there is good collaboration
and a contract between community providers and the public school district.
HF 278 – Support
The bill requires parental
authorization for minors to create accounts on social media platforms.
USCCB president responds
to letter from Pope Francis
“As successor to Saint
Peter, you call not only every Catholic, but every Christian to what unites us
in faith – offering the hope of Jesus Christ to every person, citizen and
immigrant alike,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference
of Catholic Bishops in a letter responding to Pope Francis. The Holy
Father wrote to the bishops of
the United States affirming their work on behalf of migrants and refugees, and
offered his support, moral encouragement, and prayers.
International aid still
stopped
All U.S. foreign aid is
still under review, impacting our most vulnerable sisters and brothers around
the world. According to Catholic Relief Services, the administration issued an
exception for lifesaving humanitarian assistance, but organizations are currently
not able to access money to implement lifesaving programs.
Please continue to email your members of
Congress, asking them to engage with the administration to
ensure these critical programs can operate during the review process and ensure
organizations can access the necessary funds to deliver lifesaving work.
Encourage Congress to
support refugee resettlement
Carrying out the Gospel’s
mandate to care for the “least of these” (Mt. 25:31-46), the Catholic Church
has served refugees in the United States since well before the official
creation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).
Today, due to an executive
order, no refugees are being resettled through USRAP. This ban impacts
thousands of refugees who had already been fully processed, undergone extensive
security checks, and approved for refugee status by the federal government while
outside of the United States. This includes many persecuted Christians, as well
as Afghans who had been approved for special immigrant visas because of the
assistance they provided to the U.S. mission and U.S. service members in
Afghanistan.
On Jan. 24, the State
Department issued suspension notices to domestic resettlement agencies,
including the USCCB, impacting their ability to carry out services under the
Reception and Placement (R&P) Program. Services provided through the
R&P Program include help finding initial housing, securing employment,
enrolling children in school, scheduling medical appointments, and English
language classes.
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